Union County Public Schools (UCPS) is the sixth-largest public school system in North Carolina. It serves approximately 40,000 students at 53 schools and has approximately 5,000 staff members. With a long-term goal of ensuring all students are equipped to succeed in college, career and life, UCPS is committed to offering quality instruction for all children.
We hope you will enjoy this interactive annual review, which features highlights and videos from academic, athletic and employee achievements from 2022. From innovative programming to improving facilities, UCPS is proud of the great work our students and employees accomplished this year.
As the new year approaches, we invite you to read about our district's milestones from 2022.
Citizens can begin to see developments for the new schools this spring. The design process will be complete in early winter and construction is expected to begin by the summer of 2023.
It is a K-12-aligned program offered at Wingate Elementary, Union Elementary, East Union Middle and Forest Hills High. Students at the elementary level explore plant and soil sciences, animal sciences and nutrition. Students can continue in the AgTech pathway in middle and high school to further their education, connect with agribusiness leaders and explore career options. Union County Public Schools is thankful for the support of partnerships including the North Carolina Cooperative Extension, South Piedmont Community College and Wingate University.
Pictured above are Union Elementary fifth-graders learning how to extract wheat DNA.
Health Sciences at the elementary level focuses on college and career awareness, middle on exploration and high on specification. Each level targets different interests. The elementary level mainly consists of neuroscience and nutrition. Middle school students focus on everything from career exploration and business to medical investigators and medical Spanish. As students move from middle to high school, they can apply to Monroe High's Health Sciences Academy, which is part of our Career and Technical Education program.
Students also experience field trips to area hospitals and simulation labs, hands-on projects, medical research and other opportunities to help them better understand the health sciences field.
Pictured above is a Health Sciences Academy student dissecting a sheep's heart.
Two schools earn Leader in Me Lighthouse status
Benton Heights Elementary School of the Arts and Sun Valley Middle joined more than 600 schools around the world as Lighthouse schools. Leader in Me is an evidence-based, school improvement model that empowers students with the leadership and life skills they need to thrive in the 21st century.
The Lighthouse designation is a highly-regarded standard set by FranklinCovey that is attainable by every Leader in Me school. As it is a significant benchmark, applying for this certification typically occurs four to five years after a school begins the Leader in Me process.
Sun Valley is the first middle school in UCPS, and the ninth in North Carolina to earn this prestigious recognition.
UCPS now has four Lighthouse schools—Indian Trail Elementary, Rocky River Elementary, Benton Heights Elementary and Sun Valley Middle.
Books and Brackets
Students from the district's 30 elementary schools participated in the 2022 Books and Brackets reading challenge. During the challenge, modeled after the March Madness basketball competition, students spend their days and nights immersed in books as the playing field narrowed down each week to the Sweet 16, Elite Eight and Final Four.
The Elite Eight elementary schools East, Indian Trail, New Town, Sandy Ridge, Shiloh Valley, Stallings, Unionville and Wesley Chapel attended the Books and Brackets event. The students who participated in the challenge and advanced to each round read 9,359,827.
The winner of the 2022 Books and Brackets was Unionville Elementary.
2021-2022 Accountability highlights
UCPS continued to outperform the state and several large districts in multiple testing and accountability areas.
Most notably, the district’s 2022 four-year cohort graduation rate is 92.3 percent, taking the top spot among the 12 largest school districts.
UCPS also outperformed the state’s four-year cohort graduation rate of 86.2 percent. The district’s graduation rate was 92.7 percent in 2021.
Additional UCPS accountability accomplishments:
- The district’s passing rate on Advanced Placement exams was 68.5 percent, the highest it has been in six years.
- Among the 12 largest districts, UCPS ranked number one for ACT composite score of 19 or higher (57.6 percent). The state overall is 41.7 percent.
- Math Course Rigor scores remain greater than 95 percent.
- Middle school proficiency scores are up from the 2020-2021 school year in reading and math.
Career readiness through new partnerships
UCPS and Scott Clark Toyota teamed up to offer high school students a unique opportunity for career development. Through SCALE, students have access to a digital marketing internship program where they gain experience in graphic design, communications, business relations and more.
Students interested in this program should contact the Career Development Coordinator at their school.
Awarding excellence
UCPS values its employees and their hard work. Awards do not simply recognize achievement. They reward many other qualities, such as ability, challenges, effort, and, most importantly, excellence.
- Carolyn Hoobler, a family and consumer science teacher at Parkwood High School, is the first recipient of the Career and Technical Education (CTE) award.
- Union County Sheriff's Deputy Christopher Byrum was named the 2022 UCPS School Resource Officer of the Year. He also earned the state's coveted C.C. McGee School Resource Officer of the Year award. He is the first Union County Public Schools SRO to win the award.
- Dr. Cassie Eley of Piedmont Middle School is the 2022-2023 Principal of the Year.
- Jared Gatewood of Forest Hills High School is the 2022-2023 Assistant Principal of the Year.
- Cheryl Konopka from Rocky River Elementary is the UCPS 2022 Teacher of the Year.
- Virginia Griffith of Cuthbertson Middle is The Beginning Teacher of the Year.
- Megan Gutelius, an Exceptional Children’s (EC) teacher at Rock Rest Elementary is the 2022–2023 Exceptional Children’s Teacher of Excellence.
We are the champions
Team
- February - Weddington Boys Basketball
- February - Cuthbertson Boys Indoor Track
- February - Cuthbertson Girls Indoor Track
- May - Cuthbertson Boys Track and Field
- May - Cuthbertson Girls Track and Field
- May - Marvin Ridge Boys Tennis
- November - Cuthbertson Girls Cross Country
- December - Weddington Cheer (NCHSAA Game Day Division)
- December - Marvin Ridge Cheer (NCHSAA Medium D1 Division)
Individual
Indoor Track
- Aria Weigh - Marvin Ridge (High Jump)
- Brandon Benitez - Porter Ridge (55 M. Hurdles)
- Jacob Laney - Porter Ridge (1600)
- Jacob Laney - Porter Ridge (3200)
- Stella Kermes - Cuthbertson (1000)
- Zachary Moore - Sun Valley (55 m Wheelchair)
- Girls 4 X 800 Relay - Cuthbertson
- Boys 4 X 800 Relay - Marvin Ridge
- Boys 4 X 200 Relay - Cuthbertson
- Boys 4 X 400 Relay - Cuthbertson
Wrestling
- Nathan Carnes - Porter Ridge
- Kyle Monteperlo - CATA
- Brady Ross - CATA
- Aiden Curry - CATA
- Cody Hardy - Parkwood
- Noah Cauble - Piedmont
Swimming
- Madie Geyer - Parkwood (200 IM)
- Madie Geyer - Parkwood (100 yd Breastroke)
Outdoor Track
- Charlotte Bell - Cuthbertson (800)
- Killian Fahy - Cuthbertson (400)
- Caden Townsend - Weddington (1600)
- Jacob Laney - Porter Ridge (3200)
- Zachary Moore - Sun Valley (Boys Discuss Wheelchair)
- Girls 4 X 800 Relay - Cuthbertson
- Boys 4 X 100 Relay - Cuthbertson
- Boys 4 X 200 Relay - Cuthbertson
Cross Country
- Stella Kermes - Cuthbertson
