Students and staff in the Wright City R-II School District will experience significant adjustments in their schedules for the 2020-21 school year.

The school board approved the calendar during its monthly meeting on Dec. 19. 

Typically the discussion is brief and changes are minimal, but legislation at the state level prompted additional compliance this time.

“We had three major changes, with two of those affected by laws that prevent us from starting school more than 10 business days before Labor Day,” said Superintendent Dr. David Buck. 

R-II will begin the 2020-21 school year with the earliest possible start date allowed by law on Aug. 24 and conclude with a scheduled final day of June 4.

These dates, among others, were decided upon by a calendar committee consisting of representatives from each building. 

“We had parents and staff members on the committee and they went out and got their own feedback from the community as well,” said Buck. “The committee met multiple times and came to a strong consensus. Everyone was on the same page, and this was one of the smoothest years we’ve had when it comes to agreeing on dates.”

Feedback included being in favor of students having Halloween off school to allow more time for festivities.

“We were finding that by the time parents got their kids off the bus, fed them and got them dressed in their costumes, it made it a rush to trick or treat and enjoy the night,” said Buck.

This year Halloween is on a Saturday, but students will have the previous day, Oct. 30, and following days, Nov. 2 and 3 off, as the district plans fall break around the holiday.

Students will again have a full two weeks off for the Christmas holiday season, but the later start date presents an imbalance in semesters. The first semester has just 76 days, while the second has 95. If the district incurs more snow days, the second semester could be extended to 99 days. 

This circumstance had an impact on the start date, as committee members would’ve preferred to start students with an abbreviated week, beginning on a Thursday. 

“They really like that two-day week to start, but we felt the semester was already off balance enough,” said Buck. “And we really want them to take finals before the holiday break. It’s really hard when you have a two-week break and come back. You end up having to review more and lose instruction time during the second semester.”

Finals were a topic of discussion among the board and administration, along with the impact on semester-long classes and the need to abbreviate curriculum due to time constraints. 

In the second semester, the focus was on aligning spring break with other districts. Superintendents in the area are working to parallel their breaks so that teachers who have children in other districts can be out at the same time. R-II has opted to schedule its spring break in alignment with St. Charles and St. Louis County from March 22-26. 

The final day of school is also much later this year, pushing graduation back along with it. The intention is to host graduation on the evening of the final day on June 4.

Buck says while this date may not present challenges directly, it will likely push summer school into the week of the Warren County Fair for the first time during his stint in the district. 

“Our biggest concern with getting out in June is we have to have a small break before summer school can start, and we’re most likely going into the county fair,” said Buck. “We’ve really tried to avoid that all 12 years I’ve been in the district, because we have so many students involved in that community event.”