Utica Community Schools launches ‘UCS means SUCCESS’ campaign

Utica Community Schools today announced the launch of the “UCS means SUCCESS” program to highlight the community’s strong tradition of educational excellence.

The district will be collecting success stories from students, alumni, business owners, senior citizens and members of the greater community and sharing them through videos, social media, local newspapers, the UCS website and school newsletters.

 “I see firsthand the amazing things happening in our schools every day,” said Dr. Christine Johns, superintendent of Utica Community Schools. “We can all take pride in UCS for its tradition of academic excellence and its integral role in our community. Today we’re launching the ‘UCS means SUCCESS’ program to celebrate our strong tradition of pride and excellence and share our stories with the community.”

UCS students consistently score higher on tests than the state average and its 90% graduation rate is nearly 14 points higher than the state average. The districts four high schools – Eisenhower, Henry Ford II, Stevenson and Utica – are ranked among America’s best high schools by Newsweek magazine. Realtors frequently use the fact that homes are located in the UCS district as a strong selling point.

Other national recognition includes the Utica Academy for International Studies being named Michigan’s most academically challenging high school by the Washington Post, and UCS was recently named one of the best communities for music education.

 “Our schools protect home and property values and attract new businesses and families to our community,” said Dr. Johns. “Realtors repeatedly speak of the strengths of Utica Community Schools as a reason families move to this area. Our success is a result of a tremendous team effort on the part of students, teachers, parents, support staff, local businesses and the greater community.

I look forward to celebrating the continued success of our schools through this exciting effort.” Members of the community can submit stories online by visiting www.UCSmeansSUCCESS.org or by calling Tim McAvoy, director of school-community relations, at 586-797-1107.