Union Students
Student Engagement
Co-Curricular Activities 2022-2023
Union AFJROTC Cadet Chloe Shannon finished first in the nation in the Air Force Junior Re- serve Officer Training Corp national championships for marksmanship. She also earned her Junior Distinguished Marksman Badge, which is the highest individual award for continued excellence in marksmanship competition over an extended period.
Union High School Sophomore Kriti Gopi won first place and $1,000 in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Society’s oratorical contest presented by ONEGas, where Tulsa-area students had to recite Dr. King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech from memory.
Union had two students who were winners in the 2023 MLK Youth Art Contest: 1st Place winner Aadhya Duggirala, a fourth grader at Moore Elementary; and fourth place winner Adelaide McPherson, a fourth grade student at Darnaby Elementary School.
Darnaby Rangers donated about 2,000 packages of Ramen noodles the elementary had collected on behalf of the High School student-led organization, Feeding U, and its Rudolph Ramen Round-Up. The food was donated to Union’s food pantry.
Roy Clark Student Council and Student Leadership programs led the entire school in a give-back initiative to benefit The Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. The Roy Clark community gathered 692 pounds of canned and dry goods to be a blessing to their neighbors in Tulsa.
Moore second grader Jayden Bitsko was the winner of the school’s Broken Arrow Fire Department safety contest and enjoyed a ride to school with Broken Arrow firefighters with all of their horns and lights blaring. This year’s theme was “Fire Won’t Wait. Plan your Escape.”
Representatives from more than 30 colleges, medical students, residents, and medical providers provided mentoring experiences to some 90 Union students, including High School and seventh grade students during the event hosted by Youth Medical Mentorship, Tulsa Technology Center, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, and Union Public Schools.
High School students Jasmin Brito and Kimberly Escolero were among several area students who were the recipients of Living the Dream Awards, a project developed by Tulsa Technology for best academic performance during the year. The event was sponsored by the Hispanic American Foundation.
McAuliffe Elementary hosted a Summer Slam Literacy Night. More than 1,000 people attended. Summer Slam is an annual spring event to promote McAuliffe’s summer reading program. Our partner Gaining Ground provided 10 free books to every student at McAuliffe Elementary. Tulsa Food Bank provided a meal for every person at the event. Additional partnerships included Philbrook Museum, The Gathering Place, Cane’s Chicken, Tulsa Health Department, Tulsa County Library and Discovery Lab Museum. Cuarta Generacion provided the live music.
Seventh graders in the Youth Medical Mentorship program enjoyed watching the landing of a Life Flight helicopter in Central Park at Union. After landing, a team of nurses, paramedics, and the pilot met with students to talk about the important work they do to serve our community. The activity was coordinated by science teacher Fahad Mohammad and school board member Dr. Chris McNeil, who helped initiate the student organization and spur student interest in the medical career field.
Senior Ivan Herrera received the Bank of America Student Leader award. As part of the prestigious Bank of America Student Leader® program, Ivan will work to help end hunger in Tulsa with Iron Gate this summer and participate in the national summit in Washington, D.C., with student leaders from across the country. Herrera was chosen for his excellent schoolwork and dedication to community-related issues.
SuperMercado Morelos awarded two students at the Union 6th and 7th Grade Centers with the Resilient Heart award, which includes not only this amazing recognition but also an iPad: 7th grader Sasha Holcomb and 6th grader Gabriela Cardozo.
Seniors Kayden Kehe and Dorothy Huynh were named Mr. and Miss Union for Union High School. Being named Mr. and Miss Union is considered the highest honor a student can receive at Union High School.
Seniors gathered in red caps and gowns and returned to their old haunting grounds as part of Union’s annual Senior Walk. Senior Walk is a celebration that allows seniors to board buses and return to previous schools they had attended at Union. There, they may reunite with past teachers and encourage students to continue learning so they can graduate one day.
Union Business Professionals of America (BPA) had seven students compete at the 2023 Oklahoma BPA State Leadership Conference, two of whom won first place honors: senior Maliiq Powell for "Interview Skills" and senior Karleny Alfonzo for "Individual Presentation."
Darnaby Elementary students had the opportunity on August 23, 2022, to have a space-to-earth call from NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins aboard the International Space Station. The downlink supported Darnaby’s ongoing STEM activities including its science club, a NASA-themed summer camp and a NASA-centric science fair.
Eight students from Ellen Ochoa Elementary dedicated their time to building businesses of their own. The group of young entrepreneurs showed off their new businesses at the school’s Back to School Bash. The program, called “Early Entrepreneurship” was created by Loveworks Leadership, a non-profit organization aiming to inspire innovation among younger generations by teaching them business principles they can use in many aspects of their lives.
Rosa Parks Elementary, a Global Gardens site since 2008, won the “Best Overall School Garden” award sponsored by the Oklahoma Farm Bureaus Women’s Committee and accepted a check for $1,000.
Athletics & Fine Arts 2022-2023
Athletics Highlights
The Union girls wrestling team finished the 2023 school as the 2023 State Champions for the second year in a row. The team also ranked #15 in the nation by USA Wrestling.
The Boys track team won the state championship in 2023 (and the team won it again this year in 2024!) Repeat champs!
Associate Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Kirk Fridrich won his 200th game as head coach.
Fine Arts Engagement
- Every K-5 student participated in music and art: 6,204 students
- 6-12 Visual Art: 1,848 students
- 6-12 Band: 1,044 students
- 6-12 Drama: 643 students
- 6-12 Orchestra: 501 students
- 7-12 Speech/Debate: 106 students
- 6-12 Vocal Music: 552 students
Total for 2022-2023: Approximately 10,973 students
Student Statistics
Student statistics information is posted on the main Overview page. You may also view additional statistics on the Reports page.
Gold Key Club
Union Public Schools invites senior citizens to become Gold Key Club members and attend any of our school-sponsored activities as our guest.
The Gold Key Pass gives Union supporters who are at least 62 years of age and living on a retirement income free admittance to home athletic events as well as the many outstanding performances and programs hosted by the Union Fine Arts Department.
For more information about obtaining a Gold Key Pass, call the Education Service Center at 918-357-4321 or email us.
Union School Flyers
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