Fast Facts

Where did Western Union begin. . .

Over the past 80+ years, our school has been an integral part of the Union County community.   At various times in our long history, the school has been a High School, a Junior High School, and an Elementary School. It has pioneered Civil Rights for the Union County and surmounted severe hardships.   Many local families have had several generations come through our halls.

We are pleased to share our interesting and unique history:

In 1940, Western Union High School began in a 4-room brick building in the Marvin area. The 1941 graduating class was 3 students. The total enrollment was 96. In the 1940s, the school built additional rooms for elementary education, home economics, and agricultural education.

Western Union High School was the first local high school for Black students in Union County.

In 1954, the school building was destroyed by fire. A new school was built in the present-day location of Mineral Springs. During the 2 years, it took to build a new school building, the 428 students and 13 teachers continued teaching and learning wherever they could find space for a make-shift classroom, including buses and churches.

In 1956, our current location opened to students in grades 1^st -12^th. There were 14 classrooms, 27 teachers, and over 900 students.

As with a lot of schools in this area, the school year was split to allow time off for students to support their families with the harvest. This was later changed to follow the "typical" academic school calendar.

As the population grew and changed, so did Western Union. In 1970, Western Union became a Junior High School. Local 7^th and 8^th graders from Mineral Springs, Prospect, and Waxhaw Elementaries attended Western Union Middle School.

In 1975, a new Parkwood Middle School was built across from Parkwood High School. At that time, Mineral Springs Elementary closed and the students began attending the newly-repurposed Western Union Elementary School.

In the fall of 2014, we welcomed our first Dual Language Spanish Immersion class. This class is for English-speaking children to learn Spanish. They are immersed in the Spanish language and culture, starting in Kindergarten.

The school facility now is far different from our humble beginnings. We have kindergarten through fifth grade in multiple classrooms and wings. In 1997, the Media Center and Cafeteria were expanded. In 2002, classrooms were added and administration offices were centralized in the former shop area.   In 2009, the cafeteria was remolded and upgraded. During the summers of 2017 and 2018 all classrooms were completely gutted and remodeled, providing new floor tile and cabinets.

A bond referendum passed in November 2016. With these funds, our school received a new hallway that connects two of our buildings, sound system in the auditorium, awnings in the car rider areas, and perimeter fencing.

Western Union teachers and staff members overflow with pride and strive for excellence. We have had several teachers reach the top 10 in UCPS Teacher of the Year. We have had two teachers honored with being named UCPS Teacher of the Year - Amanda Stinchcomb 2017-18 and Ashley Erb 2018-19. WUES was the first UCPS school to have back-to-back UCPS Teachers of the Year. Excellence continues with our Teacher Assistants. We have had several Teacher Assistants serve as UCPS Teacher Assistant of the Year.

Our school continues to adapt to suit the community we serve. In the last several years, our enrollment has varied from 415 students to 725 students. The 2022-2023 enrollment is approx. 550 students.

As this area has grown and changed, the school has expanded and transformed. The core constant all these years has been the sincere commitment to students and the community by the Western Union staff.

Give your best and nothing less!

School colors - Royal blue and white

School mascot - Rocky the Eagle

School motto - Give your best and nothing less!

Western Union Elementary School

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Fast Facts

We are pleased to share our interesting and unique history:

In 1940, Western Union High School began in a 4-room brick building in the Marvin area. The 1941 graduating class was 3 students. The total enrollment was 96. In the 1940s, the school built additional rooms for elementary education, home economics, and agricultural education.

Western Union High School was the first local high school for Black students in Union County.

In 1956, our current location opened to students in grades 1^st -12^th. There were 14 classrooms, 27 teachers, and over 900 students.

As with a lot of schools in this area, the school year was split to allow time off for students to support their families with the harvest. This was later changed to follow the "typical" academic school calendar.

As the population grew and changed, so did Western Union. In 1970, Western Union became a Junior High School. Local 7^th and 8^th graders from Mineral Springs, Prospect, and Waxhaw Elementaries attended Western Union Middle School.

In 1975, a new Parkwood Middle School was built across from Parkwood High School. At that time, Mineral Springs Elementary closed and the students began attending the newly-repurposed Western Union Elementary School.

A bond referendum passed in November 2016. With these funds, our school received a new hallway that connects two of our buildings, sound system in the auditorium, awnings in the car rider areas, and perimeter fencing.

Our school continues to adapt to suit the community we serve. In the last several years, our enrollment has varied from 415 students to 725 students. The 2022-2023 enrollment is approx. 550 students.

As this area has grown and changed, the school has expanded and transformed. The core constant all these years has been the sincere commitment to students and the community by the Western Union staff.

Give your best and nothing less!

School colors - Royal blue and white

School mascot - Rocky the Eagle

School motto - Give your best and nothing less!

Fast Facts

We are pleased to share our interesting and unique history:

In 1940, Western Union High School began in a 4-room brick building in the Marvin area. The 1941 graduating class was 3 students. The total enrollment was 96. In the 1940s, the school built additional rooms for elementary education, home economics, and agricultural education.

Western Union High School was the first local high school for Black students in Union County.

In 1956, our current location opened to students in grades 1st -12th. There were 14 classrooms, 27 teachers, and over 900 students.

As with a lot of schools in this area, the school year was split to allow time off for students to support their families with the harvest. This was later changed to follow the "typical" academic school calendar.

As the population grew and changed, so did Western Union. In 1970, Western Union became a Junior High School. Local 7th and 8th graders from Mineral Springs, Prospect, and Waxhaw Elementaries attended Western Union Middle School.

In 1975, a new Parkwood Middle School was built across from Parkwood High School. At that time, Mineral Springs Elementary closed and the students began attending the newly-repurposed Western Union Elementary School.

A bond referendum passed in November 2016. With these funds, our school received a new hallway that connects two of our buildings, sound system in the auditorium, awnings in the car rider areas, and perimeter fencing.

Our school continues to adapt to suit the community we serve. In the last several years, our enrollment has varied from 415 students to 725 students. The 2022-2023 enrollment is approx. 550 students.

As this area has grown and changed, the school has expanded and transformed. The core constant all these years has been the sincere commitment to students and the community by the Western Union staff.

Give your best and nothing less!

School colors - Royal blue and white

School mascot - Rocky the Eagle

School motto - Give your best and nothing less!

In 1956, our current location opened to students in grades 1^st -12^th. There were 14 classrooms, 27 teachers, and over 900 students.

As the population grew and changed, so did Western Union. In 1970, Western Union became a Junior High School. Local 7^th and 8^th graders from Mineral Springs, Prospect, and Waxhaw Elementaries attended Western Union Middle School.