Union Superintendent December Newsletter

Greetings from the Union Community School District. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the holiday season. Please find below the stakeholder communication for December 2024.
Congratulations
Congratulations to L. Parson for winning the 100 yd breaststroke at the IGHSAU state swimming meet. Congratulations to the boys’ wrestling team for being ranked #2 in the pre-season in Class 2A. Congratulations to LPC Elementary students and staff for being designated as High Performing on the most recent Iowa School Performance Profile (ISPP).
Congratulations to the UHS students and staff for improving their designation on the ISPP to Commendable.
Congratulations to K. Uchiyama-Hansen for being the latest UHS student to earn a 30 or more on the ACT.
Congratulations to all the newly inducted members of the UHS National Honor Society. Congratulations to the dance team for earning a Division I rating at the Iowa State Dance and Drill Team State Championship.
Board of Education
The board approved a new member, Cady Schmidt, at a recent meeting. Cady replaces Corey Lorenzen, who resigned from the board in the fall. At the November organizational meeting, Ben Schemmel was elected president, and Maureen Hanson was elected vice-president.
School Calendar 2025-2026
Thanks to all the parents/guardians who responded to the survey related to the 2025-2026 calendar. We had nearly 400 responses; that is tremendous. The district calendar committee met for the first time this month to begin formulating the 2025-2026 calendar. The goal is to have an option for the board of education to approve at the February board meeting.
Iowa School Performance Profile
For the last few years, the state of Iowa has designated schools based on their performance in a multitude of categories. The rankings for 2023-2024 recently were made public, and our schools, once again, have done very well. Please see below for each school’s designation for 2023-2024
DG Elementary: Commendable
LPC Elementary: High Performing
UMS: Acceptable
UHS: Commendable
Winter Weather Decisions
Winter is here and with that comes school delays and cancellations. The district has posted some guidance/information in terms of making these decisions, and the results of those decisions, on our social media options- Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the district website. If this impacts you, as a stakeholder, please see the postings. Again, please know our #1 priority is student and staff safety.
Winter Activities
The winter activity season has started off very well. Everybody has represented themselves, our schools and our district well. As usual, I also want to thank the volunteers, staff and parents/guardians who help with these events. Without these groups of individuals, we could not have concerts, games, meets, etc.
Future No School/Early Out Days
December 20, 2024: Two hour early dismissal December 23, 2024- Jan. 3, 2025- No School January 20, 2025: No School
February 17, 2025: No School
Happy Holidays
On behalf of the students and staff of the Union Community School District, I want to wish everyone a Happy Holidays! Thank you for your continued support of our district. Go Knights!