UNION COUNTY, N.C. — Union County Public Schools’ Board of Education celebrated state test results Thursday night, giving credit to teachers, students, staff and parents, as well as its own decision to let kids come back to school starting in the fall of 2020.

Union County finished first among the state’s 12 largest districts in both overall proficiency and cohort graduation rate, according to the state data. In overall proficiency, UCPS ranked second across all the state’s districts.

“UCPS continues to outperform the state and several large districts in multiple testing and accountability areas,” a statement from UCPS read late Thursday night.

UCPS’ graduation rate in 2021-2022 was 92.1%, outperforming the state’s average of 86.2%, according to the district’s data comparison.

There was some bad news in the data, however. Thirteen of the district's 50 schools receiving state grades got a D or an F, or 26%. Thirty-seven of the district’s schools scored an A, B or C, accounting for 74%.

Dating back to the 2016-2017 school year, the highest percentage of D and F schools in UCPS was 12%. So, 2021-2022’s results more than doubled the number.

During the meeting Thursday night, Union County’s board of education celebrated the majority of the data, saying it was a direct result of its decision to allow children to return to classrooms, if desired, starting in the fall of 2020.

“If you’re going to tell the story,” said board member Jimmy Bention, “then tell the story that Union County Public Schools, the board of education, got it right for the children and made sure that they were in class.”

Bention’s conclusion was shared by other members of the board.

“I have two big takeaways from this information,” added member Gary Sides, “On the elementary level, students being in the classroom is essential to their success. Remote learning does not work. We did a terrible disservice to that generation.”

Sides, Bention and many of the others said they felt it was the district’s decision to give in-person instruction options early on in the pandemic, at times facing fierce criticism, which led to the district’s improving test results.

“Thank you Madame Chair, thank you all, for us getting it right and saving our children. Cause, without that, we wouldn’t be looking at this today. We would not be looking at this today,” Bention said.

“I remember this time last year and during the last school year,” added Chairperson Melissa Merrell. “We fought really hard to have healthy kids in the classroom.”

Sides expanded on Merrell’s comments, saying the board made several decisions to get children back in class.

“UCPS students had an extra day of in-class instruction that most districts didn’t,” Sides said, referencing the district’s changing in-person policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the decisions were not without controversy.

Starting in the fall of 2020, UCPS began offering 1-day in-person instruction for students and their families wishing to partake, before eventually expanding the option to two days in late September. By spring break 2021, UCPS was back offering a full five-day school week for students. A hybrid or fully virtual option remained for families the entire school year, according to district records.

When the next new school year started in the fall of 2021, UCPS was fully back in-person and decided not to offer a virtual option. Eventually, during fall last year, the UCPS board bucked up against state recommendations and guidelines regarding quarantines and COVID-19-related absences.

At the time, school board meetings were a battleground for parents, educators, students and the board as they debated mask, quarantine and other COVID policies. At one point, the UCPS board even got a verbal critique from the Union County Board of Commissioners, which included a failed vote of confidence in UCPS’ decisions. 

However, when presenting Thursday’s results, many of the board members said, in their view, the results showed their decisions up to this point had worked.

“I just think Union County, and Union County Public Schools, is a very special place to be,” Merrell said to applause from the board.

On a grade level by grade level scale, Union County’s elementary, middle and high school students all improved in proficiency in 2021-2022, compared with 2020-2021.

In elementary grade levels, every score in reading, math and science improved from year to year, with some approaching pre-pandemic levels.

At the middle school grade levels it was a similar story. Reading, math and science proficiency scores improved across the board between the two years, with eighth-grade science surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

Lastly, the high schools’ math, English and biology scores also improved year to year, with NC Math 3 and English II surpassing and nearly level, respectively, with pre-pandemic results.

“I don’t know how they’re doing it, but thank you very, very much. I know with the teachers that we have in Union County Public Schools, I’m excited to see what happens this year. I know we have the best and the brightest in these classrooms,” Merrell said, thanking elementary, middle and high school teachers for the improving results.

Union County’s high schoolers also had a record number of CTE credentials and passing AP exam results in 2021-2022, according to the district’s data. 

“We had an all-time high pass rate, of Advanced Placement, at almost 70%,” added Superintendent Andrew Houlihan.

Overall, the board said it was extremely pleased with the district’s testing results and said they were looking forward to this school year.

“I’m very proud of team UCPS. Are we where we want to be? No,” Houlihan said. “Have we made great strides from the past few years? Absolutely, 100%.”