VIENNA — Vienna High School Principal Tim Metcalf during the May 21 Maries R-1 Board of Education meeting shared an update on how changes to Eagle Time have helped reduce the number of students failing classes.

When Metcalf came to the district last summer as the new VHS principal, he said he had a plan to revamp the Eagle Time period, which is time set aside for students during the school day to get extra help from teachers if they need it. If students do not need extra help, the period is a study hall. Eagle Time has also been a time when students can participate in ACT prep.

Beginning with the 2023-24 school year, teachers reviewed student grades and missing assignments every two weeks to make recommendations for certain students to receive individualized and content-specific help during Eagle Time. The number of students who failed classes dropped from 18 in the first semester of the 2022-23 school year to 10 in the first semester of the 2023-24 school year. The number of total failing grades dropped from 27 to 11.

Metcalf shared the school’s improvement in the number of failing grades for the second semester. During the 2022-23 school year, 24 students failed at least one course. In the 2023-24 school year, 11 students failed at least one course in the second semester.

“I hope that transitions into our test scores,” he said.

Metcalf’s report also featured recognition for the end-of-year achievements of the VHS athletic teams. Vienna Eagles baseball finished second in the district tournament. The students who made the All-District Track team include Aubrey Reeves, Jaedyn Schell, Kaylee Bresnahan, Madison Weeks, Claudia Wieberg, Julianna Davis, Aubrey Schwartze, Ava Kloeppel, Gabe Kleffner, Eli Hayes, Dalton Breeding, Gavin Schwartze and Cooper Auten. Aubrey Schwartze also made the All-State team in shot put.

Two middle school rooms are in session for summer school, which ends on June 20. The courses offered include personal finance, driver’s education and credit recovery.

Maries R-1 Special Education Director Joe Edwards also gave an administrative report.

The district completed Early Childhood Outcome forms and submitted them to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Edwards said the forms collect entry data about students going into kindergarten who receive special services.

The end-of-year numbers for the district’s special services were 63 individualized education plan (IEP) meetings, 56 students served with IEPs, three students receiving private or homeschool services, two students attending Discovery Schools, 32 students with 504 education plans and 44 evaluations or reevaluations of students.

The budgeting for special services in the district was in progress. The district received a $115,802 allocation from DESE for Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act during the 2024-25 school year. Edwards said the allocation is about $4,600 less than the previous school year. After contacting DESE to find out why the funding was lower when the district has a higher caseload, he found out that the decrease results from the way the district’s free and reduced lunch and poverty rates factor into the state’s calculations for funding. He said the decrease in funding is why it is crucial to get parents to submit free and reduced lunch forms. The status of families who receive free and reduced lunches is confidential.

Board President Dave Long asked what the district can do to get more guardians to turn in the free and reduced lunch forms for their students.

“It helps the kids,” he said. “It helps the kids with funding for the school, the food and everything like that.”

Superintendent Teresa Messersmith said the numbers were higher during the 2023-24 school year because food services director Amy Rowden has made an effort to get more forms returned to the school. The district has also incentivized students with ice cream sandwiches in exchange for returning their forms.

Special services funding is not the only funding affected by free and reduced lunch rates. Messersmith said grants often ask for the rates and do not consider districts that do not meet a minimum rate. Title I and State Adequacy Target money is also affected by the rate. Qualifying for free and reduced lunches can also qualify students for discounts on academic fees, such as the cost to take the ACT or dual-credit classes.

“It’s important that they know that will not just help them if they’re going to a four-year college, but also if they’re going to attend a college like State Tech,” board member Matt Novak said.

Board members asked if Messersmith could make informational videos to promote the benefits of guardians returning free and reduced lunch forms when school goes back into session in August. She said she could do that and also repost graphics on the subject she previously posted on the district’s Facebook page.