By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–Once again, the Union City School System has distinguished itself among its peers.
The UCSS ranked No. 1 overall is one of just six school districts in Tennessee to have 80 percent or more students to meet or exceed growth standards in the English language proficiency assessment.
Union City ranked at the top of the list with 87.8% of the English Learners meeting or exceeding the growth standard.
The assessment looks to make sure EL students are developing in their understanding and mastery of the English language — similar to the state assessment — and provides an apples-to-apples point of comparison across Tennessee.
All students who qualify for English learner services take the WIDA ACCESS assessment each spring until they reach proficiency in English.
Union City once again received recognition as one of the top districts in Tennessee to have more than 40% or more meet the exit criteria as 48.4% of the English Learners met the exit criteria in 2018.
Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen announced the results of the WIDA (World-Class Instructional Design Assessment) ACCESS assessment in a release.
“Tennessee students speak more than 140 languages, and it is our responsibility to ensure all of these students are supported in both their English language development and in their academic growth,” McQueen stated.
“These results show encouraging progress and that what we are doing to support our students is working. In Tennessee, we are committed to the growth and development of all students, and our continued efforts we will be able to better support our English learners.”
Christa Taylor and Debra Lawrence are ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers at Union City Elementary School who specifically drew praise from Director of Schools Wes Kennedy and Supervisor of Student Services Michael Paul Miller for their efforts in helping the Union City School System gain the high recognition.
“I truly believe a lot of it has to do with the drive for excellence we have all throughout our school system,” said Taylor, who, like Lawrence, has taught in another system before coming to Union City. “I think all the teachers see our students as their students and we all work together to help each student make progress.
“We collaborate with English Language Arts teachers and provide instruction on their standards as well as our English language development standards.”
Lawrence said she and Taylor are continuing to meet the challenges of communicating with parents of students and learning new languages themselves, but insisted “it makes all the difference in the world to work in a system where you have the materials and administrative support you need to be successful.”
Lawrence and Taylor are always rising to meet new state regulations. This year they created an Individual Learning Plan for each English Language Learner, as required by the state. Included was an eight-page document that provides parents, teachers, and the student a closer look at each individual student’s strengths and weaknesses, according to assessment data.
UCES also offers an hour-and-a-half tutoring session after school and is hopeful of getting more students involved in that program. The ESL students also benefit from CAMP ROCK, a summer program at UCES designed to reach out and cultivate knowledge during the summer months.
“We really hope to do even more than we’ve already done, and hope to improve family outreach,” Lawrence said. “We work hard to make them feel like they are a part of the Union City Schools family and have provided assistance outside of school to help our families acclimate into the community.”
Both teachers said they’re continuing to see an increase of students in their classes, with Lawrence noting “We are no longer servicing students that speak only Spanish. In our district, we are currently servicing students that speak Spanish, Vietnamese, K’iche, and Gujarati.”
Perhaps Taylor summed up the roles of both she and Lawrence best.
“Any time you work with people of diverse backgrounds, it’s so important to teach them the language they need to help them meet academic standards and to live and work in their communities,” she said.
“That’s our main goal and what we strive for.”
