By Derrick ForsytheRecord Staff WriterThe threat of losing the after-school program, Magical Adventures, drew a large and passionate crowd to the Wright City R-II School Board meeting on April 27.Five supporters spoke on behalf of the program, which was up for grant renewal, but is facing some scrutiny.Ultimately, the board decided to renew the grant for one more year under the terms that program officials would improve communications with school administrators and move forward with the possibility of utilizing an off-site location.“The community’s concerns were well-founded,” said Board President Austin Jones.Magical Adventures Director Tanya Brewington says she was “overjoyed” at the decision.“Ultimately, that’s the goal of everybody involved is to develop an off-site plan,” said Brewington, who says a previous off-site option fell through due to time constraints.Presently, the after-school program is held on-site at Wright City East and West Elementary Schools, with certified staff providing tutoring to students. High school and middle school students are also welcome to attend.The program, which is entering its fifth year, begins immediately after school and concludes at 6 p.m. Students work on homework, participate in activities and have snack time.“We help the kids with what was directly related to that school day,” said Brewington.“During class we create hands-on fun activities. If they’re doing fractions in class, we’re doing the hands-on applications to help with that.”Brewington expressed her support for the program at the meeting, along with several parents, who indicated Magical Adventures has been of great benefit to their children.Board members polled principals from Wright City East and West Elementary Schools, who implied the need for better communication between the parties.It was also stated that representatives from Magical Adventures and the elementary school principals had recently met to discuss several concerns. Among those were a lack of supervision, cleanliness in both the classrooms and bathrooms, and concerns over the timeliness of addressing student behavior.Brewington said she chalks up the previous concerns to a “lack of communication,” which appears to have been resolved.“We’re definitely going to have monthly meetings (with the administration),” added Brewington. “We want to know what the principals would like to see.”Before voting unanimously to renew the grant, the board discussed the possibility of returning to an after-school program offered by the O’Fallon YMCA that was utilized in the past. Concerns over transportation, the convenience of that program and its academic influence were questioned.Hearing about the importance of the program to parents, and the lack of a fallback plan in place affected his decision, Jones said.“For me, personally, it was lack of an alternative plan for the parents,” said Jones. “Also, the fact during the last week the folks at Magical Adventures had spoken with our administrators and seemed like they had come to mutual understanding of what needed to happen.”Magical Adventures