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| Dr. Ed. Davis |
Welcome to Union County Public Schools.
As the UCPS Superintendent, I continue to be impressed with the outstanding instruction I observe taking place in our schools on a daily basis. I am also impressed with the safe and orderly climate that, without exception, exists in each of our fifty-three schools and with the creativity and can-do attitude of our employees in their quest to accomplish the UCPS mission of “Preparing All Students to Succeed.”
As the sixth largest school system in North Carolina, we continue to grow, but at a slower rate than in past years. Over the past five years, our student enrollment has increased more than 3,300 students, bringing our total to 40,359 students. During this five-year period, we opened eleven new schools.
I am proud that the 2010-11 tests scores show that UCPS continues to be a top-performing school district. We had 94 percent of our schools make the top three highest state tests score designations, Honor School of Excellence/School of Excellence (43%), School of Distinction (31%) and/or School of Progress (20%).
I am also proud to report that results of the No Child Left Behind federal accountability requirements show UCPS has a higher percentage of its schools meeting 100 percent of the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) goals than any of the fifteen largest school systems in the state; and our four year cohort graduation rate rose to 89.1 percent, exceeding all but four of the 115 school districts in the state.
I want to commend the 2011 graduating seniors whose SAT scores exceeded the state and national averages and were awarded over $75.7 million in scholarships.
Meeting the needs of students in our high priority schools, those with high numbers of socio-economically disadvantaged students continues to be a challenge. These students require more resources and are more at risk of failure than other students. Efforts to further reduce class sizes and provide instructional program-enhancing personnel for these schools are underway. Greater emphasis is being placed on diversity awareness, early intervention, and parent, business and community involvement in the high priority schools.
Our two-year trend in test score performance shows that our percentage of students on grade level continues to improve. The percentage of students in our district scoring at or above grade level in reading and math for grades 3-8 is higher than the number doing so at the state level. Three-year trend information is available on the school-level report card.
In Union County Public Schools we make every effort to test each student. Data is disaggregated by gender, race, ethnicity, disability status, English proficiency and socioeconomic status for the District and each school. This data is available on the NC Report Card Site. The number of students not tested by each subgroup is less than five percent for the District and each school.
Title I schools Rocky River Elementary, Union Elementary and Wingate Elementary made AYP for the 2010-2011 school year. Benton Heights Elementary School of the Arts, East Elementary, Rock Rest Elementary, Sardis Elementary and Walter Bickett Elementary were our Title I schools that failed to make AYP for the 2010-2011 school year and are considered Title I Schools of Improvement for the 2011-2012 school year.
According to No Child Left Behind, Title I schools not making AYP are required to offer an opportunity for students to transfer to another school in the system and/or offer free after school tutoring. Students at Benton Heights Elementary School of the Arts were given the option to transfer to Shiloh Elementary or Poplin Elementary or remain at Benton Heights and receive free after school tutoring for eligible students. Students at Walter Bickett Elementary were given an option to transfer to Wesley Chapel Elementary or Indian Trail Elementary and students at Rock Rest Elementary were offered a transfer to Union Elementary or Wingate Elementary.
UCPS continues to be a leader in offering teachers high quality professional learning opportunities. Approximately 1,860 individuals attended high-quality professional development during the 2010-2011 school year. All professional development activities are aligned to the county strategic plan, the school improvement plans, state board policy and licensure requirements. Professional development opportunities consist of a minimum of 10 contact hours and follow-up activities.
The goal of UCPS is to have 100 percent highly qualified teachers. The percentage of highly qualified teachers is 99.8 percent for the current school year. The Human Resources division is working with the Instructional Directors of UCPS to develop appropriate staff development opportunities for teachers not considered highly qualified.
My pledge to the community is to provide a safe and orderly environment filled with high quality instruction for all of our students. My challenge to the community is to be supportive of our schools and to become involved in the education of our students. Together, we can accomplish the UCPS mission of “Preparing All Students to Succeed.”
Sincerely,
Dr. Ed Davis
Superintendent