Dear Parent,

Once a year we provide you with updates on our school’s achievements through the North Carolina School Report Card.  We provide regular updates to you about your student’s academic progress by sending home a Report Card.

Please be mindful that the NC School Report Card is only one way to measure what is happening at Union Elementary.  We have many great initiatives in place to support the whole child. We are appreciative of our parental support and community partnerships.

School report card grades haven’t been issued from the state since the 2018-2019 school year due to Covid.  School grades are based 80% on proficiency rates in 3rd-5th grades on Reading, Math, and Science EOGs.  20% of the grade is based on the amount of growth that students made from the previous year.  I am saddened to say that Union Elementary did not do as well as we had hoped.  We received a D rating, low-performing.

The amount of students passing the EOG’s last year was 4% higher than 2020-2021, but we are not back to the same proficiency rates that we had pre-pandemic. Our biggest challenge has been the amount of time not in school since March 2020.  Last year, we had over 40% of our students considered chronically absent, meaning they missed 17 or more days of school.  Student absences, regardless of the reason, have a direct impact on learning.

We have a plan in place to support our students and teachers this year so that more students finish the year on grade level and our school report card grade will increase.  The three focus areas include Academics, School Culture, and Health/Safety.

To increase our Academics, we are implementing a math tutoring program in 2nd and 4th grade this year for those students that did not end the year working on grade level in Math in 1st & 3rd grade.  Two additional teacher assistants have been hired to support these efforts by working with students in small groups all day.  Our current teacher assistants will also be part of this program.  Another teacher assistant has been hired to support at-risk students in K-1 to help get them on grade level before they get to the testing grades.  We are departmentalizing in 5th grade this year with three teachers specializing in a subject area and students rotating classes. Each school in the county was allotted a Literacy Teacher Specialist.  Again, based on our particular data, 2nd and 4th grade will be targeted by our LTS. 

In the area of School Culture, we began the year with a heavy emphasis on PBIS and school-wide discipline.  We will continue to grow teacher leaders while supporting our new staff.  We will be celebrating our students at assemblies every 9 weeks. Teachers will be participating in additional professional development this year in the areas of Reading and Math.

The third focus area will be Health and Safety. Our Student Support Services staff will meet frequently to discuss student needs including attendance, social-emotional needs, and types of support that can be offered. As mentioned earlier, attendance is half the battle.  Please make every effort to have your child at school every single day unless they are truly sick. Students need to be in class prior to 7:30 and stay the full day until 2:00.

Our staff is fabulous, and I am very proud of their hard work and dedication over the years.  They are reflective practitioners and put students first. Another point of pride is our new Ag-Tech initiative beginning in August 2022!  This Encore class will give students the opportunity to explore many topics related to plant & animal science, food & nutrition, robotics, and future careers.  We will begin an outdoor garden and have regular classroom teachers begin to integrate Ag-Tech topics into their instruction.  This will increase student engagement and their joy of learning.

Union Elementary is a fabulous school and we have so many positive things happening on a daily basis!  I hate for one day or one test to define who we are.  There is no doubt in my mind that we will make many improvements this year!  We need your help as parents.  Please check your child’s agenda and homework folder nightly, stay in contact with your child’s teacher, and attend as many school functions as possible.  

Union Elementary is united for success!

Sincerely,

Jennifer Deaton, Principal