The top reported proficiency rate is 44% in English language arts. The lowest is 34% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Union Sd
Union School District serves a small rural area in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, covering the towns of Rimersburg and Sligo. The district enrolls a little over five hundred students across kindergarten through twelfth grade, split between Sligo Elementary and Union High School. The student body is overwhelmingly white, with a very small representation of Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students. The district does not report free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility or data on students with IEPs or English learners, so a complete picture of economic need or special populations is unavailable.
Academic performance in Union is below the midpoint among Clarion County's districts. On the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment in grades 3 through 8, proficiency in English language arts is below half of students, and in math it is significantly lower. This places the district in the bottom quartile for overall proficiency across tested subjects when compared to other districts in the county. Chronic absenteeism is also higher than most peers in the county, sitting in the bottom quartile. The district does not publicly report a four-year graduation rate, so high school outcomes beyond attendance patterns cannot be assessed from available data.
The per-pupil spending in Union is in the upper range among county districts despite the relatively low proficiency results, suggesting the district is investing more per student than some comparably performing neighbors. Regarding programs and course offerings, the data provided did not include information about AP courses, dual-credit pathways, career programs, or elective breadth, so a parent would want to contact the district directly to understand what academic and career options exist at the high school level.
Two recent curriculum changes have reshaped instruction at Sligo Elementary. Starting in the 2024-25 school year, the district adopted "Wonders" as the reading curriculum for kindergarten through second grade and "Into Science" for grades 3 through 5, both of which reflect alignment to updated state standards. These changes affect how reading and science are taught across the younger grades. In the middle grades, a notable shift took effect this year: cell phones are now completely prohibited during the school day for grades 6 through 8. The district also introduced three "Data Days" in November, January, and March, when students attend school in the morning and complete an at-home assignment in the afternoon, fundamentally altering the rhythm of the school week.
Athletics have consolidated under enrollment pressure. Union has maintained a long-standing athletic cooperative with A-C Valley, competing together as the Falcon Knights in football, girls' basketball, softball, baseball, cross country, track and field, and competitive spirit. A proposed three-way cooperative with Keystone was rejected by Keystone's board in late 2023, so the two-district arrangement remains in place. This affects transportation, scheduling, and which teams students can join.
Housing in the district's towns is affordable by national standards, with median home values well below both state and national benchmarks. The regional unemployment rate is low and household income is solid, suggesting stable economic conditions in the community, though property tax roles across Clarion County underwent a comprehensive reassessment effective for the 2026-27 school year, which altered individual assessed values and millage rates. The district also proposed a small additional tax increase on top of reassessment, so families should anticipate shifts in property tax obligations.
A parent or resident considering Union should weigh the below-average proficiency in core subjects, higher chronic absenteeism, and limited visibility into high school offerings against the district's small, cohesive rural setting and affordable housing market. The curriculum refresh in early grades and structured pedagogical changes show ongoing investment in instruction, but test results and attendance patterns suggest room for improvement. Contacting the district to discuss specific academic pathways, support services, and extracurricular offerings would help clarify fit for a particular student and family.
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