As the Wright City R-II School District heads into the second semester, teachers will be working rigorously to prepare students for the state assessment tests.On one hand, the fall semester brings disappointment for the district, in that it failed to pass the Proposition K initiative to enable higher salaries for teachers. But there also were many breakthroughs for R-II, as it celebrated an Annual Performance Report score of 96.4 percent on the MSIP 5 tests.This was the fourth year of the MSIP, with Wright City having scored above 90 percent in each of those years. Only seven of the 29 districts along the I-70 corridor have accomplished that feat.“The MSIP 5 has been a highly volatile system in terms of scores going up and down dramatically from year to year in many districts,” said Superintendent David Buck. “We are excited about what our kids have achieved, and sustained excellence is our goal.”In addition to the positive test results, R-II also unveiled several new programs to assist with children in need or the advancement of students in other creative ways.The Lunch Buddy program, which provided informal mentors for students in the district, saw immediate success.“The effect has been profound on both the students and community members,” said Buck.R-II also joined the Care to Learn initiative, which helps students with health, hygiene and hunger needs.The district had 20 students receive free eye exams and glasses through a program called One Sight.“One thing we just started rolling out and will continue to do so in the second semester is a program called Positive Coaching,” said Buck. “It was created by retired Mizzou track coach Rick McGuire and will first focus on our coaches. After time, we may extend that to the classrooms district-wide and to our students and community.”Buck says it’s too early to evaluate the effectiveness of that program yet.As for challenges, he said the state bill moving for new standards in English, Math, social studies and science have put some strain on teachers to rewrite and implement curriculum aligned to those standards.“All the state testing this coming spring will be on the old standard,” said Buck. “That is a lot of changing on the fly and caused every district a little stress this year. For elementary teachers, who teach all those subjects, it is particularly challenging.”In looking forward, he said the district is excited about the opportunity to host a Special Olympic Track Meet at the high school April 28. The event is expected to draw 800 to 1,000 people.“Moving forward with this year, we will continue to be fiscally sound and offer our teachers a wonderful place to grow and be connected with our community,” added Buck.R-II Wright City School District