VIENNA — Maries R-1 Superintendent Mark Parker said at this point he is not ready to make a recommendation about whether or not the Vienna school district should begin to use a four-day school week. He provided the following letter to this publication:

“On Monday night we had our regular monthly board meeting and I wanted to share an update with the community about the discussion on a four-day school week.

I personally want to express to the community, parents, students, and staff of Maries R-1 that I am in no way ready to make a recommendation to move our school to a four-day school week. At this time, we are still and will continue to gather information from various sources to include parents and community members, about the pros and cons of this type of schedule. Our first and foremost mission will continue to be the education and well-being of our students. 

During the next year, the board and I will continue to examine the four-day school week and looking at the concerns and comments that have been brought forth by the surveys that were administered last week. We will continue to work through this over the next year and if a decision to move to this schedule is made, it will be for the 2021-22 school year at the earliest. At this time, we are just in a fact-finding mission for the district to help gather the needed information in order to make the decision.

I want to thank all of those that participated in our survey to help us gather information. I want to reassure you that if you listed a positive comment or a concern on the survey, your comments were shared with the board and they have been heard. As we continue to work through this, we will strive to keep these concerns and comments in mind to make the best decision possible.”

Persons with questions about this or school in general may email or call Mr. Parker at school at 573-422-3304 or superintendent@viennaeagles.org