Roy Clark Elementary School was named a National Community School, one of only three in the country to be honored by the National Coalition for Community Schools in Washington, D.C. in 2011. In May, 2012, then Prinicpal Theresa Kiger, now executive director of Elementary Education for Union Public Schools, was a featured speaker for the national program, highlighting the accomplishments of Clark - which has become a national role model. Since then, Kiger has served as a national speaker at other conferneces.

Community schools provide a web of support and resources to improve the academic, emotional, physical and social development of its students.

At Roy Clark, the results have been staggering. Absenteeism has dropped to near zero. Reading and math scores have risen dramatically. And the school has increased its parent-teacher conference participation to 100 percent.

"We have seen enormous gains in student achievement because we're looking at each individual child," Kiger said.

What is a Community School?

Union Public Schools participates in the The Center for Community Schools Strategies - Community  Service Council. The community school’s philosophy supports school personnel, parents, neighbors and community partners working together so our children can participate in a strong instructional program by living and learning in safe and supportive environments.

See Community Schools for district information.

Core components

• Early childhood (0-8)
• Core instructional programs
• Health / health education
• Mental health / social services
• Family / community engagement
• Youth development / out-of-school time
• Neighborhood development
• Life-long learning

Early Childhood Care and Development

• Parents as Teachers Program
• 3-year-old CAP Program at Rosa Parks Early Learning Center
• Pre-Kindergarten for 4-year-olds full day program
• Kindergarten Full-Day Program
• Home-based Head Start
• School Transition 

Health and Health Education

Clark was the first school in Union to pilot program offering health serviices and the success has lead to an expansion of the program throughout the district. 

With the 2019 closure of the OU Physicians clinics at Roy Clark and Rosa Parks elementary schools, affected families have another option that is available, however. Community Health Connection is a full-service family practice clinic offering a broad array of services, including dental, prenatal, women's health, pediatrics, family medicine and behavioral health services and a full-service pharmacy.

• School Nurse, RN daily 
• Tulsa Health Department- Comprehensive site for All About Kids
• Ocean Dental- screenings twice a year
• Breakfast in a Bag
• Prevent Blindness Screenings
• Physical Education assessments
• Asthma Screenings and classes
• Adult health classes: Yoga, Zumba

Mental Health/Social Services

• Full Time Counselor
• Safe Schools
• Family and Children’s Services- two therapists on site
• Boy Scouts “Learning for Life” Program
• Wrap Around Services
• School Psychologist
• Student Assistance Team-SAT
• Back Pack 4 Kids  
• Summer Feeding Program
• Operation School Bell
• Clothes Closet

Family/ Community Engagement

• Community Nights
• Community Cookouts
• Parade of Homes-August
• Night of Family Learning (NFL)
• Parent-Teacher Conferences
• Early Childhood Readiness Classes
• Bingo Nights

Youth Development/Out-of-School-Time

• Partnerships with the YMCA
• Before/After School Tutoring
• Summer School/Summer Camp
• Junior Achievement
• Guitar Club
• Piano Lab
• Sparkeltones
• Adopt A Dad-Southeast Rotarians
• Northeastern State University tutoring for literacy

Neighborhood Development

• Urban Design Studio
• Neighborhood Cookouts
• Walking School Bus-Safe Routes to Schools

Life-Long Learning

• Community Education Deptartment, Adult English Language Learners and GED classes
• Health Education Programs
• Night of Family Learning twice a year
• Family Life Classes with Family and Children Services
• Hispanic Parent Meetings Monthly
• Adult computer classes