Sarah Birkmaier

Union Academy

Union Academy is a public K-12 charter school founded in 2000. UA was awarded the distinction of National School of Character and NC State School of Character in 2016 and again in 2021 and will hold this honor for five years. In 2018, UA earned a NC Performance Grade of A and was also recognized as a Top 10 Workplace in the Charlotte region in 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2020. UA earned the Healthiest Workplace from the Charlotte Business Journal in 2020. To define what makes Union Academy an important place to so many is not an easy task. It may have been the special spirit of starting a new venture that so many experienced in the spring and summer of 2000. Or it may be the challenge of being a part of helping to make everything happen on a daily basis. Or it may be the spirit of collaboration and trust that has become ever so apparent as the school has developed. One thing is for certain, UA is a special place because it is populated by special people. One of our UA Board members put it this way, "The spirit of Union Academy is embodied in people who are willing to do whatever needs to be done." That spirit of collaboration and selflessness together with an extraordinary emphasis on academic challenge, community service, and the development of strong character certainly defines UA.