The Wright City R-II School District resumed classes on Monday of this week. For first-year students and teachers, the feeling at Wright City East Elementary was a mixture of anxiety and excitement as many kindergartners left the comforts of home for their first experience in a classroom setting. Kindergarten teacher Diane Dreyer said some apprehension from new students was expected. "One of the kindergartners said she was nervous, but all the teachers are too," she said. "I'm always excited to see new faces and see kids from last year and how they've grown." New kindergarten teacher Lindsey Chrismer echoed Dreyer's comments. "I'm excited to meet all of the new kindergartners and have a great year," she said. New students, accompanied by their parents, made what may have seemed like an endless walk from the backseat of the car to the school's front doors. Superintendent Dr. Chris Gaines, along with the school's front office staff, awaited students and parents, helping to direct them to their classrooms. Gaines said he expects a good year for students, parents and faculty across the district. "We're glad to have everybody back," he said. "We've been looking at all the student achievement data and we're seeing a lot of positives from the prior year. There's a lot of good news to start off the year with." He said the transition into a new environment could be difficult for younger students, but reassured parents he and the faculty would do everything possible to help the process. "East Elementary is a great place for students to start their schooling career," Gaines said. "It's not too early for parents to start thinking about college readiness. A lot of parents envision their children going to college in about 13 years, so we'll be looking for positive results on our benchmark assessments and we'll have the kids more engaged. "We're going to up the level of rigor in the classrooms," he added. "We're looking forward to this year." -erecord@centurytel.net