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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at Union Elementary this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
413
Elementary
DISTRICT 425 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CLEVELAND COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370090002289
Union Elementary
1440 Union Church Road, Shelby, NC 28150 · (704) 476-8250 · Cleveland County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL413 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 68% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded North Carolina public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
13.7:1
30 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.2:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
410 students
DISTRICT 97% · STATE 82%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 33 | 8% |
| Kindergarten | 64 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 53 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 62 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 62 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 75 | 18% |
| Grade 5 | 64 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (64) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (64).
Student demographics
57%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · STATE 71% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)English Language Arts
47.1%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
68.6%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 47 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 69 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all North Carolina schools, those numbers are about 51 and 52.
Source: NC EOG / EOC. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
60.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.5%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+11.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 60% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 49% typical for North Carolina schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among North Carolina's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Union Elementary
Union Elementary's state test result (60.2% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union Elementary this school | 413 | 99.3% | 60.2% |
| Perquimans Central Winfall | 423 | 99.3% | N/A |
| Hertford Grammar Hertford | 420 | 99.3% | 62.4% |
| Haw Creek Elementary Asheville | 402 | 99.3% | 65.3% |
| Alamance Elementary Greensboro | 499 | 99.4% | 70.0% |
| Monroeton Elementary Reidsville | 493 | 99.0% | 42.4% |
Matched among North Carolina elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Union Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Cleveland County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 60.2% | #493 of 1,297 | #8 of 15 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 68.6% | #379 of 1,296 | #9 of 15 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 47.1% | #721 of 1,300 | #11 of 15 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 413 | #856 of 1,485 | #8 of 15 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.7:1 | #388 of 1,377 | #3 of 14 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.3% | #795 of 1,379 | #7 of 14 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.3% | #425 of 1,414 | #8 of 15 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +7.6% | #215 of 369 | #5 of 7 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
413
+14 (+4%) vs 2020
-34% since 2000-01, when it was 629
Student : Teacher
13.7:1
was 13.8:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 413 | 30.2 | 13.7:1 | 99% (410) |
| 2023-24 | 424 | 29.9 | 14.2:1 | 99% (421) |
| 2022-23 | 423 | 31.2 | 13.6:1 | 80% (339) |
| 2020-21 | 399 | 29 | 13.8:1 | 67% (266) |
| 2017-18 | 384 | 30.6 | 12.6:1 | 99% (381) |
| 2015-16 | 424 | 27 | 15.7:1 | 72% (304) |
| 2010-11 | 462 | 33 | 14.0:1 | 59% (271) |
| 2000-01 | 629 | 49 | 12.8:1 | 61% (383) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Union Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 8% (384 to 413); teachers down 1% (30.6 to 30.2).
About Union Elementary
Union Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in North Carolina, with an address in Shelby. Total enrollment is 413 students, and the grades served are pre-K through 5.
Cleveland County Schools is responsible for 28 schools, Union Elementary included, with 14,504 students in all.
The student body at Union Elementary is 60% White. Beyond that, enrollment is 23% Black, 10% multiracial, and 7% Hispanic. The White share of the county population is higher, at 72%. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 57%.
Union Elementary has 30.2 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff and a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.7:1. The gap from the 14.9:1 average for elementary schools in North Carolina is 1.2 students per teacher. At Union Elementary, 99% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25. The average for public schools in Cleveland County is similar, at 99%.
Among North Carolina public elementary schools, Union Elementary outscored 68%, which works out to a B+ on the allk12 Grade.
Union Elementary's average proficiency rate across its state test results of 60.2% is 11.7 points above the 48.5% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
Cleveland County is the school's county. There, median household income comes to about $58,534, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 22%, and about 12% of people live in poverty. Cleveland County's 29 public schools enroll about 15,682 students and include Union Elementary.
Burns Middle, about 5.1 miles away, is the closest public school. A ten-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Of the 7 nearby schools with scores, including this one, Union Elementary is 2nd on average proficiency.
Under the NCES locale system, Union Elementary is Rural: Distant.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, Union Elementary had a net gain of 14 students, or 4%.
People can post here about open houses, carpools, and field trips and other school topics. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Cleveland County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
100,991
Census ACS
Median income
$58,534
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
22%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
29
15,682 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Cleveland County Schools
- Kings Mountain HighHigh · 1,305 students
- Crest HighHigh · 1,098 students
- Burns HighHigh · 928 students
- Crest MiddleMiddle · 810 students
- Shelby HighHigh · 792 students
- Burns MiddleMiddle · 744 students
Other schools in Shelby
- Pinnacle Classical AcademyCombined · 1,178 students
- Crest HighHigh · 1,098 students
- Crest MiddleMiddle · 810 students
- Shelby HighHigh · 792 students
- Elizabeth ElementaryElementary · 649 students
- Springmore ElementaryElementary · 618 students
Other Union Elementary schools
25 other US public schools in 14 states are named Union Elementary. Union Elementary is the 10th largest of the 26.
- Union ElementaryShallotte, NC · 654 students
- Union ElementaryClinton, NC · 466 students
- Union ElementaryRowland, NC · 351 students
- Union ElementaryVale, NC · 342 students
- Union ElementaryWingate, NC · 296 students
Nearby schools
- Burns Middle5.1 mi · 744
- Burns High5.3 mi · 928
- Fallston Elementary7.2 mi · 502
- Crest Middle7.8 mi · 810
- Turning Point Academy7.9 mi · 142
- Cleveland Innovation7.9 mi · 187
Frequently asked questions
About Union ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Union Elementary?
Union Elementary enrolls approximately 413 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Union Elementary serve?
Union Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Union Elementary?
Approximately 13.7:1 students per teacher at Union Elementary.
What is the student diversity at Union Elementary?
Student demographics at Union Elementary are roughly 60% White, 7% Hispanic, 23% Black, 0% Asian, 10% Two or more.
What district is Union Elementary in?
Union Elementary is part of Cleveland County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.