Dear UPCA Families,

My name is Shanna Rae and I am the Proud Principal of UPCA. I have lived in Charlotte since 2004. I am originally from Rochester, New York where I was born and raised. I have been married for over 26 years and I have four handsome sons ages 18-31. I enjoy spending time with my family when I am not at work. I love fishing, resting, watching the latest Netflix series, dancing, listening to music and I enjoy cooking. Enough about me, I am now going to talk about our wonderful school and the values that we hold as a community. 

This year, we will continue to have the support of our Instructional Coaches who will support the Instructional aspect of UPCA. Coach Rice, Coach Morrison, Coach Holman and Coach Witherspoon are all dedicated to our core instruction ready to serve. All of these Leadership team members will help lead us on our new journey of becoming a B school while working towards being an A school. This team will assist me as we make sound decisions which will impact the lives of all learners at University Park Creative Arts. Congratulations to UPCA, we will no longer appear on the Low Performing list based on 25-26 test scores. We are headed in the right direction and we will become a school of distinction and excellence.

University Park is home to a dedicated and caring staff that works hard to ensure that every child reaches their fullest potential.  Learners at University Park will  receive instruction from highly qualified and certified teachers, and instructional assistants with various levels of experience. Approximately 25 percent of the University Park staff have worked in education for more than 10 years. In addition to Regular Education Teachers, Multilingual Language Teachers (ML) and Exceptional Children's Teachers, our staff also includes a school psychologist, a guidance counselor, a social worker, a speech pathologist and a full-time nurse.  

We do have a zero tolerance cell phone policy. Your child is allowed to bring a cell phone, ear pods, and or apple watches however, all cell phones and all  communication devices must remain off and in the child’s book bag during instructional hours and non instructional hours. Any learner who displays their cell phone or communication device,  will need to have a parent or guardian report to the school to pick up the collected cell phone. If the cellphone issue continues, the child will receive a written referral and the referral will go into the child’s file. I would like to reiterate that no cell phone usage is to take place during school hours. This also includes visible ear-pods, apple watches and any other device used for communication. 

Keeping our families informed about events and happenings at University Park is important to us. In addition to our monthly family newsletter and Parent Square messages, you can find a calendar of upcoming events, school news and resource links on our school website:https://www.cmsk12.org/universityparkES

We are a School of the Arts and we take pride in our Performing Arts Department. We will have multiple performances throughout the year and practice sessions. Parents must adhere to all  after school pick up times and personal behavior expectations in order for the child to participate in any afterschool program. 

 

Parents will receive a parent/student handbook for all CMS and UPCA  policies. Also, families will receive bus tags from their child’s classroom teacher on August 20th, 2026 during our 12-00-1:00(K-2)  1:00-2:00(Encore)  2:00-3:00 (3-5) Open House Sessions. Parents will also find out who their child’s teacher will be for the 26-27 school year on this day as well. We will have a host of food trucks, music and a warm family environment. I am also excited about our new UPCA PTA. Please join the PTA this school year.

 

Once again, welcome to the new school year and as we will say every day at the end of our morning announcements. We believe in you, we won’t give up on you, because what we know is important, what we do is important and who we are is important. Every child will and can go to college, it starts today, it starts now. We expect great things from you each and every day…...Remember, We are rising stars soaring to success. 

 

Principal Rae