Volume 29, No. 4 Published by Union Public Schools Tulsa, OK 74134
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Volume 29, No. 4 2002-2003 Administrators Published by Dr. Cathy Burden, Superintendent Union Public Schools Debra Jacoby, Chief Financial Officer Tulsa, OK 74134-6711 uu Dr. Jim Jones, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction Mark Robertson, Executive Director for Support Services Kirt Hartzler, Director of Secondary Curriculum Dr. Kathleen Workman, Director of Elementary Curriculum Gretchen Haas-Bethell, Director of Communications Jackie White, Director of Student Services Dr. Bonnie Johnson, Director of Special Education Cynthia Solomon, Director of Human Resources Lee Snodgrass, Director of Technology Geoffrey Wood, Director of Accounting Bill Blankenship, Director of Athletics Ed Tackett, Director of Fine Arts Gary Greenhill, Director of Transportation Terry Wright, Director of Food Services Moore Elementary students Patrick Metz (left) and Camden Kickbusli like to work hard, but they like to play hard as well, Benny Dixon, Director of UMAC/ Marketing enjoying playground equipment often made possible for Union Schools by local Parent Teacher Associations and their commu nities. 2002-2003 Principals Dave Stauffer, High School Jarod Mendenhall, Intermediate High School Richard Storm, Alternative School Charlie Bushyhead, Eighth Grade Center Richard Berumen, Sixth/ Seventh Grade Center Larry Williams, Andersen Elementary Becky Hale, Boevers Elementary Courtney Elias, Briarglen Elementary Ellen Crager, Cedar Ridge Elementary Theresa Kiger, Clark Elementary Susan Crowder, Darnaby Elementary Angela Bauer, Grove Elementary Patti Pitcock, Jarman Elementary Karen Vance, McAuliffe Elementary Sandi Calvin, Moore Elementary Jennifer Randall, Peters Elementary Cathy Collins, Community Education Elementary Principal Behind every great student is a great teacher who is willing to give the extra attention when it is needed. Pictured here are Mehrad Mousavi and teacher Teresa Moore from Clark Elementary. Union Public Schools 5656 S. 129th E. Ave. Tulsa, Oklahoma 74134-6711 www.unionps.org Board of Education . .. .. .. ...... ...... Page 2 The pride of Union Public Schools is in its people. We Superintendent's Message .... ..... ... .. Page 2 have students with character, dedicated staff and District Overview . .. .. .. .. .. .. ... Pages 3-15 patrons with high expectations. It is a pleasure to Introduction .. .. .. ... ... .... .. ... Page 3 present this annual report to educate the community concerning the challenges and the successes of th Mission, Goals, School Sites . .... ... .. .. ... Page 4 2002-2003 school year and to celebrate the District Map .. ... ... .. ... ..... ... Page 4 plishments of the Facilities/Operational Statistics .. ... .. Page 5 people who have Student Statistics ... ... .. .... .. ... ...... Page 5 made them hap Student Achievement .. ....... ... Pages 5-10 pen. Employee Information & Recognition ... Pages 10-11 Curriculum/Programs/ Due to the overall Special Events/ Initiatives .. .. .......... .. Page 12 economic condi Economic Condition & Outlook ..... .. Pages 12-14 tions in the state, Revenue .... ... .... ... ...... ..... Page 13 education funding Spending .. ... ... ... .. ..... ... ... Page l3 during the 2002- Grants/ Federal Programs . .... ... .... Page 14 2003 school year Bond Issue & Millage History ..... ... ... Page 14 continued to spi Communications . .... .. .... ... Pages 14- 15 ral downwards District Website . .. ... ..... .. .. Page 14 requiring district Publications .. ... ....... .. ... ..... ... Page 14 budget cuts API-1237 District Videos & CDs . ... ...... .. Page 15 throughout the Technology Progress .... ... .. ... .... Page 15 year. Every effort Oklahoma District Report Card was made to cur with API Index . ........ .. ........ Pages 16-19 tail spending Dr. Cathy Burden Administration . .. .................. .. Page 20 while minimizing the impact on student learning. However, the severi ty of the budget reductions required vacated positions to be left unfilled, professional training to be cur tailed, and adjustments to be made in every site and department. With no relief in sight by the end of the year, staff members were advised that planning for 2003-2004 anticipated a reduction of about one h dred teaching and support positions. Even in the face of pervasive budget worries, morale and dedication remained strong. The 2002 6A State Championship in football set the tone for the year and a record number of National Merit Scholars, talented fine arts students, and caring contributors to their community kept things going in a positive direction. Union programs were highlighted for Awards of Excellence in many areas including alternative educa tion, the district webpage, the Native American pro gram and financial reporting. A total of seventeen Union teachers were Nationally Board Certified attest Union's Board of Education consists of five members elected by ing to the high standards of our staff. district zones for five-year terms. Pictured above are (left to right) ]ames Williams-District #3, Scott McDaniel·District #4, This administration takes our responsibility to be Beverly Laubach·District #1, Bill Bruner-District #5, Dr. Cathy Burden-Superintendent and Derek Rader-District #2. Mrs. accountable to our public seriously, so I hope that you Laubach was appointed by the Board October 20, 2003 to make it a point to review some of the year's highlights replace long-time Union patron Phil Barr who resigned to accept an out-of-state job. as a way of tracking our progress. Community sup port is a critical component in our success, and I am confident that the more patrons know about our dis the Communicator trict, the more pride and support there will be. The Communicator (USPS 097 430) is published bi-monthly with extra issues in October and January by Union Public lli-titu~ Ph :D . Schools, 5656 S. 129th E. Ave., Tulsa, OK 74134-6711. It is ~a~hy 4;den, Ph.D. ' issued to patrons of the Union Public School District free of Superintendent charge. Dr. Cathy Burden is Superintendent of Schools. the Eighth Grade Center was not available from the Gretchen Haas-Bethell is Communications Director/Editor. o' fdWi? The Communicator staff includes Janie Froman, Beverly Thummel and Michael Yore. Periodicals postage paid at On the Cover r... ,~•'Rirf,.,.,. fifth grader Nolen Herbert ponders a question during an aca- Tulsa, OK. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The ,h,rlll!inl1e against another Cedar Ridge team. The fast recall ot events Communicator, 5656 S. 129th E. Ave., Tulsa, OK 74134-6711 Read_ing is encouraged a_t all Union Schools. First graders practice for the students, enrichment teacher Cherry, Redus said, or call 459-3305. ' the event teaches students good life skills because they have to learn ~abnn~ Bogle (left) and ]11lian Gonderman enjoy reading dur mg the1r class at Moore Elementary. to work in teams. / \. Introduction GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL API- 1065 Mathematics Reading % API API Completion Students Total API Union Public Schools is a rapidly growing suburban, K- 648 622 Tested 12 district in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The 28-square-mile area Reaular 904 1244 976 100 1065 :hat comprises Union is unique in that it does not Male * * * 100 1049 encompass a township, but rather incorporates within Female 863 1304 * 100 1074 its boundaries much of southeast Tulsa and the north Black * * * * 925 west portion of nearby Broken Arrow. The school sys Amer. Indian * * * * * tem acts as a unifying organization within the commu Hispanic * * * * * ~~ nity, providing activities for its families and a sense of Asian * * * * * pride, support and identity for its patrons. White 894 1278 * 100 1076 /~ Other * * * * * When Union was founded in 1919, it combined four Econ . Disadv. * * * * 1009 :\ small, rural communities and had only four students in ELL * * * * 156 ~ its graduating class. A two-story brick building housed IEP * * * * 453 all of its classes, K-12. In the 1980s, Tulsa's residential All Students 777 1034 976 100 913 and commercial building began booming toward the southeast, and Union's student population grew along with it. Today the district serves more than 13 ,500 stu dents in its eleven elementary sites, the Sixth/Seventh Grade Center, the Eighth Grade Center, the Intermediate High School, the Alternative School and Union High School. All have State Department of Education and I North Central Association accreditation. Thanks to a supportive community, the district has been A familiar ring, the school bell welcomed hundreds of Union students to able to fund computers, local- and wide-area networking school last year. The Grove bell, pictured here, is a fixture outside Grove and other instructional technology to enhance reading, elementary, which opened in 1975. The school was named after Robert language, math, science, music and writing skills. Every B. Grove, who served as superintendent from 1960 to 1975. school has media specialists, nurses and counselors. Clark Elementary students Union's comprehensive secondary curriculum provides Marcus Parker lead the lineup in Programs for gifted students and students with special to art and music. eeds are also offered at every grade level, as are music, both college-bound and non-college-bound students a trt and physical education. wide range of offerings. Among them are Advanced Placement (AP) courses in all core academic areas and Elementary school students and their parents have the Concurrent Enrollment, which enables students to earn Boevers student Daniel Cecena finds his option of following Union's Continuous