By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–The future is big for Union City Schools.
A large turnout of future Golden Tornadoes made their way through the early registration process for pre-K and kindergarten signups for the 2021-22 school year Thursday at Union City Elementary.
Parents and their children began arriving at Union City Elementary just before the 9 a.m. scheduled start of the process and there was a steady stream of activity until the close of registration at 6 p.m.
Faculty and administration welcomed the prospective UCES students to the campus library, where several stations were set up to aid the sign-up process.
Several one-on-one informal sessions between eager students and teachers were part of the screening process for future kindergartners. There was also needed paperwork to be completed for both pre-K and kindergarten students, plenty of photo opportunities and a snack provided.
Children were also encouraged to place their palm print in purple and gold paint and put their hand on a bulletin board with the inscription “Class of 2034.”
Essentially all of the current 80-member pre-K class signed up for kindergarten next year. With the new enrollees Thursday, numbers for the class are expected to be north of 125 students.
Many of the 80 slots for the 2021-22 pre-K class have been filled, though a handful of spots do remain.
Enrollment will continue until classes begin in August.
“It’s always one of my favorite days of the school year,” UCES Principal David Byars said. “To see the future students walk onto our campus for the first time is a memory I’ll always have of them as they go through our school system.
“Our faculty members do such an awesome job of making them feel welcome, wanted and that they all matter and have a place here at Union City Schools. The turnout was fantastic, and that’s a sign to me that there’s word of mouth out there that we continue to provide the best education option there is in this area.”