Worth County R-III School has finished the first semester of the 2023-2024 school year. The first four months of school have been busy for the 268 K-12 students, 60 staff members, parents, and community. The year started with 23 new kindergarten students and ended with students taking semester tests and Christmas parties with learning, achievements, challenges, and excitement over the 81 school days.
The students have been busy throughout the first semester. Thirty high school students are enrolled in 48 dual credit courses throughout the year. Dual credit courses allow students to enroll in college-level courses while still in high school. This provides cost savings, advanced coursework, and helps with the transition to post-secondary education. There are also nine juniors and seniors that are enrolled at Northwest Technical School in programs focused on: automotive, building trades, collision repair, culinary arts, health science, childcare, and welding.
December was the release of the state’s Annual Performance Report (APR) for the 2022-2023 school year. The district increased the APR score compared to the score from the prior school year. There have been 2 iterations of this scoring mechanism under Missouri School Improvement Plan 6 (MSIP 6), as the scale is much different from APR scores of previous years (MSIP 5 and prior). MAP and EOC end of year assessment scores are part of the calculation for the APR. The school district improved math, English, and science end of year assessment scores, scoring in the top 27% on English assessments, top 36% of math assessments, and top 16% of science assessments when compared to the rest of the districts in the state. The district received 100% of the points possible for the Continuous Improvement monitoring. Worth County R-III will continue to focus on using data to improve instruction, while keeping the biggest focus on daily instruction, assessment, and interventions that are happening in the classroom.
Another piece of data that is used throughout the district are formal assessments that are given to guide instruction. K-12 teachers participate in data teams that focus on student achievement related to priority standards. Interventions and instruction are adjusted based on data-driven collaborative meetings by teams of teachers and administrators. The district’s professional development is also continuing its focus on Developing Assessment Capable Learners.
Along with the achievements students are having in the classroom, the students have been busy in extracurricular activities during the first semester. A few of the many activities include: the football team finishing as state runner-ups in December at Mizzou, the music department has been active in parades and honor bands/choirs, FFA began a trap shooting team this fall, FBLA and FCCLA are gearing up for district contests, fall sports seasons are concluded and HS basketball is in full swing.
More information on these activities and other school content can be found on our website at wc.k12.mo.us or on Worth County Tiger Talk’s Facebook page, as well as the district’s winter newsletter.
It is the mission of the Worth County R-III Schools to equip students with the character traits and academic skills to be productive, caring, problem-solving adults in our society. As the district strives for that mission, it is implementing the Continuous School Improvement Plan that outlines district goals. This plan can be found on the district website under the Central Office tab. The school is always encouraging parents and community members to be involved in the educational process. Contact Chris Healy at chealy@wc.k12.mo.us or 660-564-3389 if you would like to know of opportunities to get involved. Go Tigers!
