The top reported proficiency rate is 64% in Math. The lowest is 56% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Union Elementary School
Union Elementary School sits on Forest Street in the small rural town of Union, Mississippi, serving prekindergarten through fourth grade as part of the Union Public School District. The town of Union straddles Newton and Neshoba counties and goes by the local nickname "U-Town." Its historic core developed along the Old Jackson Road, an old stagecoach route connecting Jackson and Meridian, with Boler's Inn as a surviving landmark from that era. The community is car-dependent, with most residents commuting alone to work and averaging two vehicles per household. Publicly reported data shows the town's population has been declining slightly since the most recent census, with no major new housing developments or commercial construction projects identified.
The school itself draws a modest enrollment across its early-grade span. Every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which is consistent with the broader community's low-income rural character. The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Black enrollment and a small multiracial presence. Data on English learners and special-education enrollment was not available in the provided records, so those population details remain an open question. The town's largest employment sectors are educational services, manufacturing, and retail trade, and the school district is naturally one of the community's central institutions.
On Mississippi's state assessments, the MAAP, Union Elementary's results paint a mixed but generally encouraging picture for a school serving an economically disadvantaged population. In third grade math, a majority of tested students reached proficiency or above, and that share climbed substantially in fourth grade math, where the proficiency rate was notably strong. English language arts followed a similar upward pattern, with third grade showing a slim majority proficient and fourth grade improving further. The fourth-grade math result in particular stands out as a genuine strength, suggesting the school is helping students build solid computational skills as they prepare to transition to upper elementary grades. Participation rates for the assessments were not reported, so it is worth noting that gap, though the tested counts were recorded for each grade and subject.
Because Union Elementary stops at fourth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, no high school course access data, and no college-readiness or career-pathway information. These gaps reflect the grade band the school serves rather than any omission by the school itself. The same logic applies to civil-rights and discipline data, which was not included in the provided materials. A parent looking for information on programs, staffing ratios, attendance patterns, or Title I status would find those fields empty here and may want to ask the school or district directly for current details.
Housing in the area is relatively affordable compared with state and national benchmarks. The typical home value in the school's zip code sits well below the Mississippi state average and far below the national figure, and recent data shows a modest year-over-year decline in values. Rental data was not available. For a family considering a move to the area, the housing market suggests accessible homeownership, though the declining population and limited commercial growth context are worth weighing.
The district-level research turned up no parent-relevant changes in recent months, such as bond referendums, curriculum shifts, facility projects, or tax adjustments, so there is little new structural change to report. East Central Community College, which serves both Neshoba and Newton counties, has its main campus in nearby Decatur, providing a regional higher-education option for families thinking longer term.
Union Elementary is a small early-grade school in a close-knit rural community where nearly all students come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Its state assessment results, particularly in fourth-grade math, suggest it is delivering solid foundational instruction despite the challenges that concentrated poverty can bring. Families considering the school should ask about the missing pieces in this picture, including special-education services, English-learner support, attendance patterns, and any enrichment or intervention programming the school offers beyond what the assessment data captures.
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