ANNUAL REPORT
A
YEAR OF PROGRESS
Strategic Plan
RESOURCES
BELONGING
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
After more than a yearlong planning process involving stakeholders from across the community, the WSD approved its strategic plan that will lay the groundwork for the District’s next five years.
Mission: Champion excellence in education, creating a studentcentered community where all are empowered to thrive and grow.
Vision: The WSD is dedicated to an educational experience that maximizes the potential of every student. We are defined by our commitment to academic excellence, fiscal responsibility, and collaboration. We aspire to be the district of choice for students, families, staff, and the community.
Our strategic priorities for the next five years include academic excellence, resources, and belonging.
Hands-on Experiences
Students received hands-on experience with industry professionals this year during the Andy Rice Trade Scholarship event hosted at Holt High School on April 2. The event offered immersive learning through experiences with different companies.
The WSD launched its Pathways program for 7th-11th grade students in January. WSD Pathways is a program of interconnected academic and elective classes revolving around career pathways and clusters. The new program will help WSD students find and explore interests and develop skills through project-based courses and real-world experiences. It will also provide students with postsecondary connections, capstone experiences, and practical applications.
WSD Pathways offers five focus areas — Arts & Communication, Business & Global Studies, Health & Human Services, STEM, and Explorer — that will combine traditional academics with elective classes focused on career clusters.
BREAKING GROUND FACILITIES
Facility Upgrades
From a renovation at Pearce Hall and a new nursing suite at Holt High School, to a new traffic light outside Frontier Middle, WSD facilities made several major improvements this past year as part of the District’s commitment to properly maintaining and caring for its facilities.
Future Focus
The Facilities Team also identified several areas that may require attention in the coming years, including addressing needs at aging schools like Heritage Elementary and finding solutions for elementary and secondary buildings that are nearing or at maximum capacity.
NEW REACH & EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY
The WSD broke ground on its new REACH Adaptive Learning Center and Early Childhood Center on March 22, 2024. The new building will be located on the North Point campus.
REACH will have 36,250 more square feet than its current facility and will provide multiple shared learning spaces as well as support spaces for one-on-one student focus to better meet the needs of learners. REACH, which currently operates in a rental property within a strip mall in O’Fallon, provides adaptive education placement and therapy to students from kindergarten through 12th grade.
The new Early Childhood Center will have 20 classrooms and will offer programming opportunities that are in addition to what the District already provides at Barfield Early Childhood Center and other satellite locations. This added space will allow for more five-day-aweek and full-day early childhood options for District families.
REACH and the Early Childhood Center will operate independently of each other but will have access to several shared spaces for convenience and efficiency. Parents as Teachers will also be located in this building.
Thanks to the fiscal responsibility of the District, funding for the REACH and Early Childhood Center was made available through construction projects that were favorable to the budget. This allowed the project to be funded without needing to ask for additional taxpayer funding.
EXPANDING ACCESS FOR LITTLE LEARNERS
In January 2024, the WSD opened a total of four satellite early childhood classrooms at Peine Ridge Elementary (PRE) and Discovery Ridge Elementary (DRE) for children ages three to five. The District also approved opening a satellite location with four classrooms at Heritage Elementary, an additional classroom at DRE, and a full-day option at Barfield Early Childhood Center for the start of the 2024-25 school year.
Barfield, the District’s only dedicated early childhood facility, held approximately 400 students in half-day programs during the 2023-24 school year and had 128 students on its waitlist.
Research shows that reaching kids at an early age provides strong evidence of future academic success and even points to increased MAP performance. Not only does early childhood education have a direct academic impact, but it has a significant and sustaining economic and societal impact as well.
“The need for early childhood education in our community is significant, and we are fully aware of the positive impact it can have on the lives of our District kids,” said Dr. Katie Brettschneider, assistant superintendent of academic services. “We are looking for creative ways to get kids into WSD early childhood programming even if space is limited for the time being.”
These new classrooms filled within just a few hours with children who were on Barfield's waitlist or who were in our Parents as Teachers program. The District is continuing to explore ways to meet this high-demand need within the community.
NEW ADVENTURES
Learning Resources
This year, the WSD selected Wonders as its new elementary English Language Arts curriculum resource. Teachers received a first-hand look at the resource during their professional development day in April. The new resource will roll out in PreK-5 classrooms starting this school year to support teachers and the District in moving students forward in English Language Arts.
Boys Volleyball
The WSD high schools added boys volleyball as a MSHSAA (Missouri State High School Activities Association) Interscholastic Sport in Spring 2024. The WSD has historically added sports when the sport becomes a MSHSAA Interscholastic Sport/Activity.
Last summer, MSHSAA announced that effective the 2023-24 school year, the spring sport of boys volleyball would transition from “provisional” to an official MSHSAA Interscholastic Sport/Activity.
One dollar invested in early childhood education yields a $16 return according to James Heckman, a Nobel prize-winning economist.
STEWARDSHIP FINANCIAL
The WSD finished fiscal year 2024 operations favorable to budget. Five-year projections show positive balances through 2028.
DISTRICT TAX RATE
$4.6532
The District tax rate remains the lowest it has been in more than 10 years.
In June 2024, the Board of Education approved a balanced 2025 operating budget.
OPERATING
EXPENSE BREAKDOWN 2023-24 ACTUAL
unaudited
In its most recent audit, the WSD received a clean opinion of its financial records, accounting practices, and compliance with state and federal requirements. The audit was conducted by Fick, Eggemeyer, & Williamson, CPAs, for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2023.
$57,160,202 benefits $20,382,013 supplies 8%
$157,061,102 salaries
$20,382,013 purchased services 8%
$1,718 WSD’s average perpupil operating expenditure is $1,718 less than Missouri's average (2023). of our operating funds pay for salaries and benefits. 84%
PICTURE DAY
Wentzville Middle School's yearbook staff took the opportunity to make some memories with residents at The Boulevard Wentzville, a local retirement community, by hosting a picture day event.
VETERANS DAY
Buildings across the District hosted veterans and their families to honor their service and sacrifice. Veterans Day ceremonies have become a proud tradition in the WSD and an important learning opportunity for our students.
SUPPLEMENTAL PROGRAMMING
The District provides a well-rounded educational experience through preventative programming, health education, academic assessments, and leadership education to help grow and enrich our student learners. Learn more about this programming on the District’s Community Agencies & Partnerships / Opt-Out Information webpage.
The light outside may have dimmed during this year’s partial solar eclipse, but our students' curiosity shined brighter than ever. Students around the District made their way outside to witness this historic event and participated in various integrated learning activities throughout the day.
UNIQUE LEARNING
SCIENCE CURRENT EVENTS
EVENTS LEARNING
Teacher of the Year
Hester Menier
Stone Creek Elementary
Support Staff Employee of the Year
Heather Sweeten
Pam Glidewell Administrative Center
GRADUATION RATE** 94.8%
EARLY CHILDHOOD ENROLLMENT*
406
STUDENTS PER CLASSROOM TEACHER**
K-12 ENROLLMENT*
17,611
18:1 FULL TIME TEACHERS
TOTAL SQUARE FOOTAGE
3,426,064
47 FULL-TIME STAFF 994
1,375 PART-TIME STAFF
NUMBER OF SCHOOLS 23 DROP-OUT RATE** 1.0%
PROPORTIONAL ATTENDANCE**
78.2% FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH ELIGIBLE**
ACT COMPOSITE AVERAGE**
22.2
14.8%
MISSOURI ASSESSMENT PROGRAM STATISTICS**
As we reflect on our accomplishments from this past year, I am filled with gratitude for all the dedicated WSD educators, hardworking students, and supportive community members who have made them possible. I look forward to the 2024-25 school year and what it will have to offer our families.
KATIE LYCZAK
Board of Education, President Wentzville School District
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Standing from left: Julie Scott, vice president; Katie Lyczak, president; Jen Olson, director and MSBA delegate, Renee Henke, secretary. Seated: David Biesenthal, director; David Lewis, director; Brad Welsh, director. Previous Board members not pictured but who served in the 2023-24 school year: Shannon Stolle and Jason Goodson.
**most recent DESE report card figures (2022-23 data)
