The top reported proficiency rate is 87% in Social studies. The lowest is 60% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Union Elementary School
Union Elementary School serves grades two through six in a quiet suburban setting north of Dayton. The school is part of Northmont City School District, which recently emerged from a period of fiscal strain after voters approved an emergency operating levy in May 2025 following two failed levy attempts in 2023. That passage has stabilized day-to-day operations, though the district earlier closed Englewood Elementary and made significant staffing cuts, reshaping attendance boundaries across the system.
The school's current enrollment is roughly evenly distributed across its grade bands, with slightly more students in fifth grade than in other grades. Just over half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a community with moderate economic diversity. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students, and very small Asian enrollment. The school does not report counts or rates for students with individualized education programs or for English learners, a data gap that limits visibility into special-population support.
On state testing in the most recent school year, Union Elementary's performance is mixed. In math, the school's proficiency rate is in the low-to-mid range; in English language arts, it is slightly lower. Science proficiency is the strongest of the three, sitting several points above the other two subjects. The school is performing above the midpoint among county districts on an overall proficiency index that averages results across tested subjects and grades, placing it in the top quartile for its comparison set. Older social studies results from 2017 showed stronger performance at the fourth-grade level, though those data are not recent and do not reflect current conditions.
Reading and math proficiency below the two-thirds mark suggests that a substantial share of students are not meeting grade-level standards in literacy and numeracy. A parent might want to look into further detail with the school on how it addresses reading intervention, math support, and differentiation for students working below grade level. The school does not report chronic absenteeism data, so attendance patterns are not publicly visible.
Union is a small, growing suburban city straddling Montgomery and Miami counties, about ten minutes north of Dayton. It is almost entirely car-dependent, with houses spread across subdivisions and no public transit. The town has added substantial new housing in recent years, particularly developments like Concord Farms and Stoney Crest at middle and upper price ranges. Historic downtown along North Main Street is minimal; civic life centers around city parks and nearby regional trails. Housing values in the area are below state and national benchmarks, making the community accessible to families with moderate incomes. The cost of home ownership relative to income is reasonable, and rental costs are modest by national comparison.
Northmont City Schools operates three elementary buildings across the district, and Union's location on West Martindale Road places it in a conventional school-campus setting rather than embedded in town center. The district remains in a rebuilding phase following the levy passage; how resources will flow back into schools and whether previous program cuts will be reversed is not yet fully clear. For families considering this school, the practical questions are whether the younger grades receive adequate reading support, how the school uses data to identify students needing help, and what recovery looks like as the district regains financial stability.
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