Union Academy (UA) is a public, tuition-free, K-12 North Carolina charter school located in Monroe, N.C. The school was founded in 2000 by a group of parents who had a dream to build a school which educated the whole child. Their desire was to provide challenging curriculum, strong character development and community involvement: Challenge, Character, and Community. As UA enters its 20th year of operation, that mission is still at the center of everything the driving force.

In the summer of 2018, UA completed a two-year, $20M construction project which included K-4 classrooms, additional high school classrooms including state of the art science labs, a playground, gymnasium and fine arts facility. This project allowed grades K-12 to be on one campus for the first time since the school was founded.

In 2016, UA was awarded the distinction of National School of Character and NC State School of Character and will hold this honor for five years. Recognized as a Top 10 Workplace in the Charlotte region in 2016, 2018 and 2019. UA attracts highly qualified employees from across the state and nationally. To define what makes UA 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.