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District leaders hope for year of normalcy as school returns in Union County

UNION COUNTY, N.C. — Union County Schools are welcoming back more than 40,000 students to the classroom on Monday.

The district prepared by adding one school resource officer for every two elementary schools and is working to get closer to a one-to-one ratio of sheriff’s deputies in each school.

Superintendent Andrew Houlihan said he believes this school year will be one of catch up.

He told Channel 9′s Genevieve Curtis it will take two to four years to get back to the proficiency levels from before the pandemic.

“The impact is real, I think we can see it on grade levels based on where they were in 2020,” Houlihan said. “We can see that, we can see that in our data and overall student performance.”

>>> In the video at the top of the page, Channel 9′s Genevieve Curtis reports on the plans to make this school year smooth and safe in Union County.

(WATCH BELOW: Union County Public Schools offers $4,000 incentive for hard-to-fill teaching positions)