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Freshman Academy Profile

Mission 

The mission of the Union Freshman Academy is to empower students to embrace the challenges that come with the foundational first year of high school by providing an experience that intentionally transitions students from middle school to high school.  

Vision

We envision each student in an inclusive environment that promotes student engagement while providing a safe atmosphere that enables students to strive for credit sufficiency in a setting that is functional as well as inspirational in the pursuit of 100% Graduation, College and/or Career Ready.

UFA Core Values

  • Empowerment
  • Engagement 
  • Inclusion
  • Inspire 
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The Union Way

The Union Way is exemplified at the Union High School Freshman Academy by a dynamic staff that consistently makes significant contributions to the lives of our students.  We work every day to ensure that our students will have a string academic foundation so they may take full advantage of all Union has to offer.  Our goal is that every ninth grader in our building will earn their degree from Union High School.  We have a public and private commitment to making 100 percent of our students college and career ready

We are taking powerful steps to eliminate anonymity and isolation and create a culture where collaboration is highly valued and student achievement is the primary focus for all stakeholders. Teachers meet together every Friday morning to continually refine instructional methods, review student work, and evaluate learning. This built in collaboration time allows teachers to be innovative and to constantly enhance our pyramid of intervention for students.

Accreditation

The Union High School Freshman Academy is accredited by the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

U-Time

Students at the Union High School Freshman Academy have an incredible learning opportunity every Wednesday called U-Time. This time is built into our schedule as a provision for students to receive instruction in areas such as Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) aspects, learning how to calculate GPA, goal setting, time management, and working towards developing an Individual Career Academic Plan (ICAP),  a process that helps students engage in academic and career development activities and a product that is created and maintained for students’ academic, career and personal advancement.

Research clearly shows that students involved in co-curricular activities have a much greater chance of attaining high test scores and graduating on time. So, in addition to a relevant, rigorous academic curriculum, Union’s ninth graders are exposed to fine arts and athletic programs that are consistently recognized as the best in the state. Students have the opportunity to participate in performing arts such as band, orchestra, and drama, as well as visual arts such as drawing and ceramics.  Union’s twenty-three athletic programs are in contention for state titles on a yearly basis and ninth graders are able to participate on competitive teams at the varsity, junior varsity, and ninth grade levels. There is also a comprehensive intramural sports program.

The Next Generation

It is vital that Union students begin their high school careers on a positive, successful note. We know that our freshmen have incredible potential and will go on to unparalleled academic, athletic, and artistic success.  It is our imperative to never be satisfied.  It is our job to produce scholars and citizens that will lead the next generation. It is our job to create champions with character. It is our job to show our students the Union Way.

 

A man plays guitar in the foreground while three students react with amusement in the background.

Freshmen show Union spirit!

Two young men sit at desks with laptops in front of a whiteboard displaying grammar rules.

The Freshman Academy prepares students for life after high school.

Diane Thomas
Union Freshman Academy Teacher of the Year

In the foreground, a young man is about to throw a pie at another man sitting on a chair, while a large crowd watches from bleachers in the background.

Spirit assemblies are a lot of fun at the Freshman Academy.

History and Features

The Union High School Freshman Academy building was built in 1989, and was designated the Union Junior High at the time of opening, then housing the district's eighth and ninth grades. With a change in Union's secondary school education delivery configuration in 1993, the building was renamed Union Intermediate High School, and served ninth and 10th grade students.  The Intermediate instructed 2,300 students daily at the time, and added eight new classrooms in 2007. Union reconfigured classes in 2011, and the building became a 9th Grade Center in the fall of 2012 after sophomores moved to the High School campus. It was renamed the Union High School Freshman Academy in 2019.

The Union High School Freshman Academy is a beautiful building and campus which is in constant demand as a site to host special activities for the Union community. Huge craft shows and large athletic tournaments are the norm throughout the year.

The school site features a modern baseball/softball complex, two gymnasiums, a drama theater, a renovated media center, special driver’s education classrooms and other amenities.

Principals

Principal

Briane Grass

Briane Grass

Briane Grass was named principal of the Union High School Freshman Academy in the spring of 2024. She had served as a class principal at the High School since 2021.

Grass previously served an assistant principal at the High School since 2013. She also served as counselor at Union Intermediate High School for five years.

Grass graduated from Cascia Hall Preparatory School and earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Oklahoma State University.

Grass has taught Advanced Placement Psychology, US History, Oklahoma History, and Geography in Owasso and Tulsa schools. She earned a master’s degree in counseling in 2007, and continued post graduate classes to earn her administrative certification.

Assistant Principal

Tamarah Danzy

Tamarah Danzy

Tamarah Danzy was named assistant principal at the Union High School Freshman Academy in the spring of 2024.

Danzy previously served as a science teacher at the Union 8th Grade Center, where she received a National Milken Educator award. She also coached cheerleading for 14 years at Union, where she coached the 2021 Game Day National Champion team. 

Danzy graduated from McAlester High School. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Oklahoma and earned her master’s degree in leadership and supervision from the University of Phoenix.

In her spare time, Danzy loves spending time with her family and three children, Braylen, Lailah and Trinity.
 

 

 

Assistant Principal

Greg Kelly

Greg Kelly

Greg Kelly was named assistant principal at the Freshman Academy in 2023.

He previously served as an assistant principal at the 9th Grade Center and earlier at the Union 6th/7th Grade Center since 2017.

Kelly has been with Union since 2007 as a teacher and is proud to say he is a graduate of Union himself. During his previous years with Union, he taught both on level- and pre- Advanced Placement classes in American history, American government, and Oklahoma history and coached volleyball. Additionally, he has taught in Texas and Tulsa Public Schools. Kelly received his bachelor’s degree from Abilene Christian University in west Texas and his master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Arkansas State University.

In his spare time, Kelly enjoys spending time with his wife, Lisa, and his children, Wade and Allyson, playing golf, watching movies and reading.

UFA At A Glance

A crowded school hallway is filled with students in the foreground and extends into the distance in the background.
A young man stands on desks in a classroom filled with students.
A teacher in a red shirt smiles at the camera while two students in the foreground work at their desks in a classroom with a world map on the wall.
A group of students and a teacher pose for a photo in a classroom, with a whiteboard and cabinets in the background.
A group of students in the foreground faces a man speaking to them, while in the background, a crowd watches a ceremony on a basketball court.
Students in a classroom pose with their hands in a gesture, while a teacher stands on a desk in the background.
A smiling boy in the foreground looks at a spaghetti and marshmallow structure on a table, with flags and fluorescent lights visible in the blurred background.
In the foreground, people are gathered around large cardboard boxes, while in the background, a hallway is filled with more people and a television screen mounted on the wall.
Four women stand in front of red lockers, two wearing shirts that say %22Your Schedule Is Fine%22 and one wearing a shirt that says %22Good Vibes Only.%22
A woman and two young men stand on a concrete walkway in front of a school building with a %22GYM ENTRANCE%22 sign.
A young person with glasses and braces smiles while leaning on a counter in the foreground, with a blurred office environment and a woman at a computer in the background.
Three women stand in front of red lockers, each wearing a shirt that says %22YOUR SCHEDULE IS FINE.%22
A man plays guitar in the foreground while three students react with excitement in a hallway with bulletin boards in the background.
Three people in banana costumes give thumbs up in the foreground, with bleachers and a railing visible in the background.
Four young men pose like zombies in a classroom with a %22Warning: Please Do Not Feed The Zombies%22 sign above them.
In the foreground, people are playing a game of dodgeball with colorful balls, while in the background, a large crowd watches from bleachers.
Three smiling young women hold pizza slices in a school hallway with trophies visible in the background.
A group of teenagers and an adult are gathered around tables in a classroom with posters on the wall.
A smiling teacher stands behind two young male students who are working at their desks in a classroom with red cabinets and shelves in the background.
A young man in a black t-shirt and shorts is about to throw a pie at another man sitting on a chair in the foreground, while a large crowd watches from bleachers in the background.
A young man in a red shirt leaps in the foreground, kicking a yellow ball while green and blue balls hover mid-air, as spectators watch from the background of a gymnasium.
Four soldiers in camouflage uniforms stand at attention with rifles and flags on a polished wooden floor, while a large crowd of students watches from bleachers in the background.
A woman in a yellow %22UCO CHEER%22 shirt spins a basketball on her finger in the foreground, with a crowd of spectators in bleachers filling the background of a gymnasium.
A modern building with a large gear sculpture and %22Innovation Lab%22 signage stands behind a grassy slope and concrete planters.
Four people in pajamas pose in front of bleachers in a gymnasium.
Four soldiers in uniform stand at attention in the foreground holding rifles, with the American and Oklahoma flags displayed, while a crowd watches from bleachers in the background.
Three smiling people, two women and a young man in a wheelchair, pose in front of stadium bleachers.