The Union County Board of Education’s October work session lasted longer than the regular meeting; the former consisted of academic updates and data reflecting an uptick in student performance and good news regarding attendance and cellphone policies.
As part of the academic update, Director of Teaching and Learning C.T. Hussion revealed that Union County Schools has a 96.9% graduation rate, but the statistic that earned applause was the 100% graduation rate for special education students.
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“This is saying that every student that started with us in ninth grade or moved in and joined that class graduated, so that is a huge accomplishment,” explained Special Education Services Director Christal Chastain, who added that state-level graduation averages rank much lower.
According to other Georgia Regional Education Service Agencies data, Union County students are excelling over their peers.
Hussion shared that as of the 2024-2025 Top Three Milestone RESA Rankings, Union earned No. 1 ranks in six subjects: Third Grade Math, Third Grade English-Language Arts (ELA), Sixth Grade ELA, Sixth Grade Math, Seventh Grade Math and U.S. History. That’s saying nothing of the 24 other listings in which Union County ranked No. 2 or No. 3. Hussion attributed this largely to increased attendance.
On that note, Hussion presented some changes to current attendance policies that have helped boost student presence. For example, the allowance of written notes from parents per semester was dropped from five to three, and some exam exemptions are allowed for perfect attendance throughout the semester. Indeed, attendance numbers have gone up since last year according to the graph shared with board members.
Speaking of changes in the classroom, Union County High School Principal Josh Davis shared an update on how students are reacting to the new cellphone ban. Although he expected heavy pushback, he said the policy has been good for socialization.
“I get a lot of positive feedback,” Davis said. “Kids were more worried about the bags than the policy.”
From there, some updates followed for the progress of individual schools. Principal Debby Decubellis of Union County Primary said that the Benchmark curriculum was “working great” overall, but that phonics must be supplemented with other options like Heggerty.
Similar results have been observed in Union County Elementary School, although the supplement of choice originates from the UFLI curriculum. By contrast, Woody Gap uses both, and Principal Wendy Reynolds shared that because the class is so small, elementary students can be put into groups based on where they are with their learning.
“They can … actually move where they need to. So, if they are in one group for a while and start making big progress, we move them up to a group that is doing more,” Reynolds explained, saying that some kids can fluctuate even more in their placement by moving back before going forward. “It just depends on what we’re working on and what they need.”
Thanks to new ELA standards at the ninth-grade level, the high school has launched a pre-Advanced Placement literature course. Additionally, since eighth graders are used to focusing on ELA for a full year, some students showing signs of struggling can take a “support” class that helps with retaining information for more than just a semester.
The Union County School Board will meet next on Thursday, Nov. 20, in the Board Room located at 124 Hughes Street. Board training will run from 5-7 p.m. that evening, with the regular voting meeting scheduled to start as always at 7 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend.
