Superintendent Richard Baird recently informed the North Union Board of Education about improvements being made within the district to address shortcomings in student achievement.
During his superintendent report at a recent meeting, Baird focused on the areas of programming, wellness and community engagement.
According to student achievement data, North Union students are struggling with writing and literacy skills, which Baird said is in part a result of remote learning during the pandemic.
“Writing affects every single area of learning,” Baird said.
Teachers are adapting instruction to meet the needs of students.
“I would describe it as a challenge, but it’s a challenge that is welcomed,” Baird said.
He stressed that they need to evaluate student growth data that will come out later in the year.
The Building Leadership Team at North Union Elementary School evaluated testing data, set goals for developing writing skills and implemented various strategies to help students.
The team assesses students progress as they learn, and each classroom has a poster displaying the grade level’s goals in writing.
According to preliminary growth data, students continue to perform better than the state average, North Union Elementary School Principal Darlene Allison added.
Furthermore, a Title One teacher, who assists students with academic needs, has also been assigned for each grade level at the elementary school.
Baird added that the district has seen a decrease in students attending four-year colleges after graduation, as students have opted for two-year institutions or vocational schools. More students have also pursued careers in the military or law enforcement.
“A superintendent hearing that 10 years ago would be held to a different set of standards than we are today,” Baird said. “We are actually looking at four years of college could also mean a lifetime of debt.”
He sees this shift as North Union graduates “contributing to society” sooner.
“Most importantly, we’re getting them ready for that,” Baird said. “I’ve always said the challenge to get ready to go into the workforce is tougher than the challenge to go to college.”
In accordance with board policy, North Union students are permitted to leave school for religious instruction. The district is allowing students to partake in a religious program called Lifepoint provided that “the student’s parents or guardians submit a written request to the building principal, the private entity providing instruction maintains attendance records and makes them available to the district and the student is not absent from core curriculum subject courses,” the policy states.
As for wellness, the district is using social workers and navigators to help address behavioral concerns.
Baird explained that the definition of harassment has changed over the years but it may be a one-time incident; whereas bullying must be pervasive and repeated.
Over recent years, cases of harassment have decreased at the high school but have increased at the middle school. The elementary school did not have any cases of bullying during the 2021-22 school year, but there were several cases of harassment. Across the district, 14 cases of bullying and 45 cases of harassment were addressed during the 2021-22 school year. Some of the cases involve repeat offenders, the superintendent said.
“One of my concerns is the out of school suspension consequences … it was as high as it has ever been last year,” Baird said.
He added that this is troubling as the district strives to limit student drop-outs. An effort to retain students has been to offer new and enhance existing educational programs, including the addition of information technology (IT) to the high school’s career technical education program.
The automatic suspendable offenses that led to a rise in out of school suspension are vaping and fighting, he said.
Baird said the three most common reasons for referral to the principal’s office are for disruption, defiance and disrespect.
Allison explained the elementary school offers Project Pride to students as well as social-emotional learning to help teach them “to self-regulate” their behavioral responses.
To address students’ well-being, North Union Middle School offers Ruling Our Experiences (ROX) for girls, DRIVEN program for boys, D.A.R.E. with Deputy Shawn Dyer, field days and Wellness Wednesdays. Students are also offered reward trips.
Baird also shared some concerns about responses to the Ohio Healthy Youth Environments Survey (OHYES!) by seventh, ninth and 11th graders in the district in fall 2021.
He said the percentage of North Union students who responded that they do not participate in extracurricular activities because of the following reasons was greater than the percentages in the county and state: the student has no time because of a job, the student is afraid others would make fun of them, the student does not have a mode of transportation home from activities, the student does not think they are good enough, and the student is concerned about their weight. He encouraged administration to consider how to support students who work and to address other student concerns.
As for community engagement, Baird said the district has prioritized enhancing communication with parents and encouraging the students to participate in the surrounding community.
During the 2021-22 academic year, North Union Elementary School hosted a can drive, a career day, a Veterans Day Reverse Parade, a Safety Town event, a Touch a Truck event, a literacy night and a musical. As for the middle school, students participated in a winter food drive and Richwood Area Business Association (RABA) meetings.
In addition, the high school will establish a Drug Free, Hire Me program and has an ongoing partnership with Union County Sheriff’s Office to instruct a Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) program.
The superintendent also expressed gratitude for the support of local businesses and organizations, many of whom sponsor the district’s athletics.