National Attendance Month

September is National Attendance Awareness Month, created to shine light on a problem hidden in plain sight. The Annie E. Casey Foundation has defined three main causes for the lack of literacy by third grade we see happening. One of those main causes is chronic absenteeism. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or 18 out of 180 school days/year. Even missing one day of school every two weeks can cause a child to fall behind.



Nationally, researchers sort chronically absent students of all ages into one of three types:


•Those who can’t — because of illness, family responsibilities, housing instability, parental incapacity because of drug abuse for example, transportation issues, the need to work, or involvement with the juvenile justice system.
•Those who don’t — because they, or their parents are unaware of the value of school. Some think kindergarten is playtime, when it is in fact one of the most formative years of learning
•Those who won’t — because the social and emotional climate is not nurturing for them.
These children choose to avoid bullying, unsafe conditions, harassment, embarrassment, or the prospect of failure. Chronically absent children often don’t read on grade level by third grade, putting them at risk for being retained, and not graduating from high school. Lack of literacy by third grade is the number one indicator that a child may not graduate from high school.

Happy Pack

HappyPack is a community-based weekly, take-home food program for children in need of food when school meals are not available. Nonperishable foods are sent home in a backpack with children who have little or no food on the weekends.

HappyPacks help alleviate childhood hunger and help meet a basic need for children who might otherwise be going without food on the weekends. Easy-to-prepare foods are sent home in backpacks on Friday afternoon to ensure the child has something to eat until they return for breakfast on Monday morning.

The HappyPack program is provided to Union County students through the Tri-State Food Bank, various churches in Union County, and the Family Resource Centers of Union County Public Schools.

World's Greatest Baby Shower

Teen Pregnancy Month

The month of May is Teen Pregnancy Month. Help to prevent Teen Pregnancies by spreading awareness.

Relay for Life

May 31 Relay for Life will be held at Union County High School!

Happy Feet

May 6 there will be a Happy Feet trip scheduled for students in need to obtain shoes for Honors Nigh and Graduation.

Happy Feet Equals Learning Feet is a community-based program that was created in 2009 and is growing rapidly. One goal of this program is to remove a stumbling block to optimum school performance. Not having a basic personal item can distract a child from performing well in school. We attempt to improve a child's perspective about attending school by providing them with a quality pair of athletic shoes. The students are chosen with input from FRYSC Coordinators, Principals, Teachers and Guidance Counselors at their respective schools. A group of Community Volunteers gather donations to provide funding for this project.

After providing for over 450 kids in the first year and over 700 the second year, Happy Feet will benefit nearly 2000 kids in a 5-county area this school year. The Happy Feet program is active in Union, Webster, Crittenden, Henderson and Logan