From the Southeast Missourian...

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Number of students getting free or reduced-price lunches rises

By Erin Ragan ~ Southeast Missourian

Educators can spend months of a school year preparing for assessment tests and making sure their students learn to read, do math and understand concepts of science and social studies at their grade level.

They can offer extra tutoring, parent-teacher conferences and try to control the learning environments for their students. But they can't stop the ever-growing number of families in need.

The number of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunches in area schools has risen again this fall, following state and nationwide trends. In both the Cape Girardeau and Jackson school districts, the number of students who now receive free or reduced lunches has grown by 3.5 percent since November. In the Scott City School District, there has been a 6 percent increase.

Higher numbers of students qualifying for free or reduced lunches have long been associated in studies with lower scores on standardized tests, such as the Missouri Assessment Program tests administered annually to students statewide and used to determine whether schools are making adequate yearly progress under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Children who qualify for free lunches through the National School Lunch Program must come from families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the poverty level. Reduced-price lunches for 40 cents are available to children from families with incomes between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty level.

For the period July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2012, income eligibility guidelines show 130 percent of the poverty level for a family of four is $29,055 and 185 percent is $41,348.

Local administrators say the higher numbers are affecting instruction methods in public schools from kindergarten up because more and more children are entering without the skills they need to understand the basics of reading, writing and math.

Cape Girardeau assistant superintendent Dr. Sherry Copeland said more students entering school lacking experiences that prepare them to understand concepts key to learning to read and write are often due to limits set by a family's income. A limit of enriching experiences can limit a student's overall comprehension, she said.

"Cape is a good example of what is happening nationwide and statewide," she said. "We do have students who have never been outside the city limits because their parents just can't afford to do many things."

Alma Schrader Elementary principal Ruth Ann Orr said social concepts that students need at an early age are reflected in the change the school has made this year in field trip planning.

Simple things adults take for granted are important to children's understanding of the world, she said. This year some students will visit a bank.

"We have a student who has never been to one," she said. "Their mother was always paid in cash, so there was no need for that family to go there."

District curriculum coordinator Theresa Hinkebein said the district has to make sure all children can contribute equally.

One way the district tries to do that is through the use of small instruction groups, Copeland said. Students are separated into tiers according to their tested ability in reading and math for 45 minutes each day. According to the plan for Jefferson Elementary, students' skills are broken down into specific areas teachers need to address.

"Addressing the needs of each child is the only way to go," Copeland said. "The days of whole group instruction are gone."

The plans provide time each day where students are exposed to personalized levels of reading and math and also get to learn concepts that they don't have, she said.

The Jackson School District has a similar approach, assistant superintendent Dr. Rita Fisher said. In 2010, the district implemented an elementary reading program. Fisher said many programs throughout the district also aid its ability to provide low-income students with necessary enrichment.

In Scott City, superintendent Diann Bradshaw-Ulmer said the district is continuing to track the progress of students who receive free or reduced lunches and make any additional services needed readily available.

A review of data for each district shows a higher percentage of students receive free or reduced lunches at the elementary level than at the high school level. The reason for that, Cape Girardeau School District nutrition services coordinator Lisa Elfrink said, is that students slack off on returning applications for free or reduced lunches around the time they reach junior high.