Union County Middle School welcomes new principal | Schools

Union County Middle School has a new leader.  New UCMS Principal, Michael Tinsley, comes to Union County with 14 total years of experience in education, with the last six years in administrative positions in Christian County. Having served as a middle school assistant principal for five years and head principal for one year, Tinsley brings valuable experience to Union County Middle School as they move forward in their quest to become a top ten middle school.

Tinsley is extremely excited to join the Union County Public Schools family. "Union County has a reputation in the education world for having a student-first mindset and whatever-it-takes attitude," said Tinsley. "I am driven by these same values and honored to be chosen as the middle school's leader. I am also encouraged by the community's great support of progress in our schools and desire for our schools to reach top ten status."

The UCMS principal position was left vacant when Holly Keeney transferred to the Central Office to serve as the district's Supervisor of Instruction. "Due to Mrs. Keeney's strong leadership and the hard work of the entire UCMS staff, Tinsley is walking into a situation where this school is poised to soar to the top ten," said Acting Superintendent Denny Vincent. "Tinsley will find that he has an eager, qualified staff and great management structure in place. We are pleased to have Tinsley on board to continue leading our middle school forward in a positive direction."

Union County Middle School has had record gains in student achievement over the past two years. After bearing the unfavorable distinction of being a low-performing Tier 5 middle school, UCMS had a record-breaking year last year when the school met all No Child Left Behind (NCLB) goals for the first time in the school's history. In addition to meeting all NCLB goals in 2010, UCMS improved overall student Proficient & Distinguished performance in five out of six subject areas and showed significant increases in several subgroups of students including: African American--Math (+23%), Reading (+14%); Special Education--Math (+19%), Reading (+10%); and Gifted--Math (+15%), Reading (+12%).

Tinsley reported that he was impressed with the staff of UCMS and looks forward to working with them to continue the progress being made in student achievement. "It is a wonderful to know I am going to walk in the first day with an experienced leadership team already established. It is obvious that Evan Jackson is a top-notch Assistant Principal and that he has provided steady guidance as the Interim Principal for the last two months."

Tinsley is a graduate of Western Kentucky University with a Masters degree in Educational Administration and is currently pursuing his PhD through the University of Louisville.