Union Elementary School

Summary:

Union Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Buckhannon, West Virginia, serving grades PK-5 with a total enrollment of 264 students. The school is part of the Upshur County Schools district, which is ranked 50 out of 55 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Union Elementary School consistently underperforms the state and district averages in academic proficiency, with particularly low performance in Mathematics, English Language Arts, and Science. For example, the school's 3rd-grade Math proficiency rate was 23.9% in 2023-2024, compared to the state's 53.2% and the district's 47.3%. The school has also consistently ranked in the bottom quartile of West Virginia elementary schools, with a ranking of 321 out of 368 schools in the 2023-2024 school year and a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger. Additionally, the school struggles with the performance of specific student subgroups, such as male students, white students, and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, who consistently rank in the bottom quartile of West Virginia elementary schools.

Compared to nearby schools in the Upshur County district, such as Buckhannon Academy Elementary School and Tennerton Elementary, Union Elementary School generally performs worse academically, with lower proficiency rates and lower rankings. The school also has a significantly higher percentage of white students (99.24%) compared to the state and nearby schools, indicating a lack of diversity that may impact the educational experience for its students. Additionally, the school has a high percentage of free and reduced lunch recipients at 52.32%, suggesting that it serves a population of students from low-income families, which can present additional challenges in terms of academic achievement and access to resources.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

 481 Heavner Grove Rd
       Buckhannon, WV  26201-4859


(304) 472-1394

District: Upshur County Schools

SchoolDigger Rank:
321st of 368 West Virginia Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $10,914 Help


Student/teacher ratio:  15.6 Help
Number of students:  258

Racial breakdown:

White:
99.6%
Hispanic:
0.4%

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  52.3% Help


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 Compare Union Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends
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Compare Details Union Elementary School ranks worse than 87.2% of elementary schools in West Virginia. It also ranks 5th among 7 ranked elementary schools in the Upshur County Schools District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 21.28. (See more...)
Student Body
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Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (99.6%), Hispanic (0.4%). (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Union Elementary School is 15.6. 4 elementary schools in the Upshur County Schools District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)
Help
Compare Union Elementary School employs 16.5 full-time teachers.
Finance
Help
Compare Details The average total spent per student at Union Elementary School is $10,914. 3 elementary schools in the Upshur County Schools District spend more per student.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Union Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Union Elementary School 321st of 368 West Virginia public elementary schools. (See Union Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
White students:


Upshur County Schools:

SchoolDigger ranks Upshur County Schools 50th of 55 West Virginia school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Your rating for Union Elementary School?

Rank History for Union Elementary School

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Union Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools WV State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2009 80.16 47th 420 88.8%
2010 78.34 50th 427 88.3%
2011 72.06 64th 426 85.0%
2012 57.76 146th 426 65.7%
2013 48.62 209th 428 51.2%
2014 44.73 241st 422 42.9%
2015 34.30 305th 408 25.2%
2016 31.97 297th 402 26.1%
2017 40.33 258th 399 35.3%
2018 34.19 279th 392 28.8%
2019 39.35 239th 383 37.6%
2021 24.70 322nd 380 15.3%
2022 12.28 367th 375 2.1%
2023 14.36 343rd 368 6.8%
2024 21.28 321st 368 12.8%
See the entire list of West Virginia Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Union Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools WV State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 30.12 315th 377 16.4%
2018 23.18 235th 258 8.9%
2019 57.65 57th 185 69.2%
See the entire list of Best West Virginia Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Union Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools WV State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 45.41 212th 382 44.5%
2018 31.73 291st 368 20.9%
2021 26.56 295th 335 11.9%
2022 10.04 344th 347 0.9%
2023 20.13 308th 333 7.5%
2024 15.89 325th 336 3.3%
See the entire list of Best West Virginia Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Homeless students at Union Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools WV State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 37.72 12th 16 25.0%
2021 39.69 6th 10 40.0%
2022 26.94 6th 6 0.0%
2023 66.30 6th 21 71.4%
See the entire list of Best West Virginia Elementary Schools for Homeless Students!

Rank History for Female students at Union Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools WV State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 46.22 217th 381 43.0%
2018 43.09 222nd 366 39.3%
2019 38.99 224th 339 33.9%
2021 27.17 265th 322 17.7%
2022 16.04 308th 325 5.2%
2023 20.06 284th 317 10.4%
2024 17.67 290th 316 8.2%
See the entire list of Best West Virginia Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Union Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools WV State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 37.16 261st 382 31.7%
2018 30.90 286th 364 21.4%
2019 42.83 195th 338 42.3%
2021 25.26 279th 333 16.2%
2022 14.44 316th 330 4.2%
2023 13.51 308th 322 4.3%
2024 27.44 262nd 325 19.4%
See the entire list of Best West Virginia Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Union Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools WV State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 20.35 156th 187 16.6%
See the entire list of Best West Virginia Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Union Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools WV State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 49.46 71st 156 54.5%
See the entire list of Best West Virginia Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Union Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools WV State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 40.33 250th 382 34.6%
2018 34.17 268th 374 28.3%
2019 39.35 229th 373 38.6%
2021 24.02 326th 376 13.3%
2022 12.23 366th 373 1.9%
2023 13.53 347th 366 5.2%
2024 20.34 326th 367 11.2%
See the entire list of Best West Virginia Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: West Virginia Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Union Elementary School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: West Virginia Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 5)
100%

0%

0%

0%

0%

  

Reviews:
by a student
Monday, October 2, 2017

Open Quote i use to go there and when i did i loved it! it's my favorite school out of all my schools! Close Quote


by a teacher
Friday, August 3, 2012

Open Quote Union is a nurturing, inviting environment for parents, students, staff and community! It is a school where children are taught to be respectable, good citizens. Dr. Stankus has high expectations for her school and it's members, both big and small! Union is a family and any child would be lucky to attend. Close Quote



Enrollment information for Union Elementary School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1989 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 263 263
1990 251 0 0 1 0 n/a n/a 0 252
1991 257 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 257
1992 254 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 254
1993 246 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 246
1994 251 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 251
1995 246 0 0 0 2 n/a n/a 0 248
1996 246 0 0 0 2 n/a n/a 0 248
1997 253 1 0 0 2 n/a n/a 0 256
1998 241 0 0 0 1 n/a n/a 0 242
1999 247 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 247
2000 238 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 238
2001 229 2 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 231
2002 230 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 231
2003 230 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 231
2004 235 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 236
2005 223 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 224
2006 280 2 1 0 0 n/a n/a 0 283
2007 273 3 0 1 0 n/a n/a 0 277
2008 270 3 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 273
2009 279 3 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 282
2010 292 4 0 0 1 0 1 0 298
2011 311 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 316
2012 312 6 0 0 1 0 2 0 321
2013 307 3 0 1 1 0 3 0 315
2014 299 3 0 2 1 0 4 0 309
2015 309 3 0 3 0 0 4 0 319
2016 293 3 0 4 0 0 1 0 301
2017 297 1 0 5 0 0 3 0 306
2018 303 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 308
2019 300 0 0 3 0 0 3 0 306
2020 318 0 0 2 0 0 4 0 324
2021 297 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 302
2022 270 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 272
2023 262 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 264
2024 257 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 258

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Union Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1989 263 13.0 20.2 n/a
1990 252 13.0 19.3 40.5
1991 257 14.0 18.3 39.7
1992 254 14.0 18.1 42.9
1993 246 13.0 18.9 47.6
1994 251 15.0 16.7 49.8
1995 248 14.0 17.7 55.2
1996 248 14.0 17.7 55.2
1997 256 17.0 15.1 51.2
1998 242 16.0 15.1 49.2
1999 247 16.0 15.4 58.7
2000 238 17.0 14.0 59.2
2001 231 17.0 13.6 53.7
2002 231 18.0 12.8 50.2
2003 231 18.0 12.8 50.2
2004 236 18.0 13.1 51.3
2005 224 18.0 12.4 51.3
2006 283 17.0 16.6 48.1
2007 277 16.0 17.3 41.9
2008 273 18.0 15.2 42.9
2009 282 18.5 15.2 45
2010 298 19.5 15.2 51
2011 316 17.4 18.1 43.4
2012 321 18.3 17.4 49.8
2013 315 18.7 16.8 55.2
2014 309 18.8 16.3 51.5
2015 319 20.0 15.9 51.4
2016 301 18.0 16.7 43.9
2017 306 19.3 15.8 43.5
2018 308 18.3 16.7 51
2019 306 18.1 16.8 51.6
2020 324 19.6 16.4 48.8
2021 302 19.5 15.4 52.3
2022 272 17.0 16.0 n/a
2023 264 17.0 15.5 n/a
2024 258 16.5 15.6 n/a

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Union Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1989 263 13.0 20.2 n/a
1990 252 13.0 19.3 40.5
1991 257 14.0 18.3 39.7
1992 254 14.0 18.1 42.9
1993 246 13.0 18.9 47.6
1994 251 15.0 16.7 49.8
1995 248 14.0 17.7 55.2
1996 248 14.0 17.7 55.2
1997 256 17.0 15.1 51.2
1998 242 16.0 15.1 49.2
1999 247 16.0 15.4 58.7
2000 238 17.0 14.0 59.2
2001 231 17.0 13.6 53.7
2002 231 18.0 12.8 50.2
2003 231 18.0 12.8 50.2
2004 236 18.0 13.1 51.3
2005 224 18.0 12.4 51.3
2006 283 17.0 16.6 48.1
2007 277 16.0 17.3 41.9
2008 273 18.0 15.2 42.9
2009 282 18.5 15.2 45
2010 298 19.5 15.2 51
2011 316 17.4 18.1 43.4
2012 321 18.3 17.4 49.8
2013 315 18.7 16.8 55.2
2014 309 18.8 16.3 51.5
2015 319 20.0 15.9 51.4
2016 301 18.0 16.7 43.9
2017 306 19.3 15.8 43.5
2018 308 18.3 16.7 51
2019 306 18.1 16.8 51.6
2020 324 19.6 16.4 48.8
2021 302 19.5 15.4 52.3
2022 272 17.0 16.0 n/a
2023 264 17.0 15.5 n/a
2024 258 16.5 15.6 n/a

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Union Elementary School

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $1,245 (11.4%) $9,669 (88.6%) $10,914

Data source: West Virginia Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Union Elementary School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 239th of 383 Elementary schoolsRanks 343rd of 368 Elementary schools
 30.8%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade Mathematics (Union Elementary School)53.217.7
 35.5%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Upshur County Schools)42.436.5
 5.9%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (West Virginia)50.951.6
 0.7%
3rd Grade English Language Arts (Union Elementary School)53.211.8
 41.4%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (Upshur County Schools)40.131.3
 8.8%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (West Virginia)4439.9
 4.1%
4th Grade Mathematics (Union Elementary School)33.326.8
 6.5%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Upshur County Schools)37.235
 2.2%
   4th Grade Mathematics (West Virginia)47.345.7
 1.6%
4th Grade English Language Arts (Union Elementary School)39.629.3
 10.3%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (Upshur County Schools)40.337.4
 2.9%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (West Virginia)48.844.2
 4.5%
5th Grade Mathematics (Union Elementary School)26.914.3
 12.6%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Upshur County Schools)33.326.2
 7.1%
   5th Grade Mathematics (West Virginia)4038.1
 1.9%
5th Grade English Language Arts (Union Elementary School)44.231.3
 12.9%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (Upshur County Schools)33.736.3
 2.6%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (West Virginia)47.244.3
 2.9%
5th Grade Science (Union Elementary School)32.725.5
 7.2%
   5th Grade Science (Upshur County Schools)25.423.7
 1.7%
   5th Grade Science (West Virginia)35.430.8
 4.6%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students306264
 13.7%
African American00
American Indian00
Asian00
Hispanic31
 66.7%
Pacific Islander00
White300262
 12.7%
Two or More Races31
 66.7%


Schools Near Union Elementary School









Frequently Asked Questions about Union Elementary School

Union Elementary School ranks in the bottom 12.8% of West Virginia elementary schools.

Students at Union Elementary School are 100% White.

In the 2023-24 school year, 258 students attended Union Elementary School.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the West Virginia Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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