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8th Grade Profile

"Our Mission is to Graduate 100 Percent of Our Students, College & Career Ready."

Together We Make a Difference

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Welcome to Union 8th Grade Center!

The Union 8th Grade Center is designed to help students make the transition between middle school and high school from both an academic and social perspective.  Union offers a unique design as only the eighth grade class resides in our facility.

Our state-of-the-art media center acts as the origin for literacy and learning as students embark upon their high school journey.

The Union 8th Grade Center faculty is committed to providing a safe and secure environment focused on learning which encourages academic excellence for all students. We recognize the importance of the eighth grade in developing responsible individuals and realize that the success of each student is dependent upon a cooperative effort of the student, parents, teachers and administrators.

Accreditation

The 8th Grade Center is accredited by the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Its accreditation process, involving parents, teachers and administrators at each site, is considered a model for other school districts. 

History

The 8th Grade Center was dedicated in 1980 and underwent a major renovation which was completed in 2006. The improvements include the new media center, security features, an expanded cafeteria, additional classrooms and offices and improved parking.

In 2015, an additional renovation was completed that included Fine Arts classrooms, a second gymnasium and an updated soccer facility.

A male teacher gives a thumbs up in the foreground while students sit at their desks in a classroom with cabinets and a portrait in the background.

Welcome to the Union 8th Grade Center!

Bates Worbes
Union 8th Grade Center Teacher of the Year

Hand holding cell phone with words 8th Grade Cell Phone Expectations

Cell Phone Expectations

Parents, who need to contact their student during the school day, may call the main office and a message will be delivered. The main office phone number is 918-357-4325.

How Cell Phones Affect Students

  • Brain Drain: Studies show that just having your phone out on your desk causes a decline of focus in class.
  • Better Grades: Test scores significantly improve when phones are off in the classroom.
  • More Attentive: Avoiding social media at school helps in paying attention to the people who are with teens.
  • Not Easy But Worth it: Concentration, grades and respect go up when phone are away.

Off And Away, All Day

Cell phones must be off and away, all day, from the first belle to the last bell of the school day. Students will be reminded daily to "power off" their phones and put them away.

Failure to meet these expectations may result in disciplinary action.

Studies show that the endless stream of notifications and constant phone phone use is detrimental to learning and student wellness. In an effort to provide a safe school environment for all cellphone usage is not allowed during the day. awayfortheday.org

Five young people stand in the foreground holding drumsticks aloft, with a wall of red cubbies filling the background.

Eighth graders prepare to launch paper rockets in a STEM class.

Three young women in black hoodies and bandanas pose with a hand gesture in the foreground, while a crowd watches from bleachers in the background of a gymnasium.

Spirit assemblies help keep things lively at the 8th Grade Center.

Principals

Principal

Crystal Pounds

Crystal Pounds

Crystal Pounds was named principal of the 8th Grade Center in June 2026.

She had served as principal of the 7th Grade Center since the summer of 2023, and previously served as assistant principal at the High School since the summer of 2021.

Pounds comes to Union from Danbury, Texas where she served as director of curriculum, instruction and assessment and as principal at Danbury Independent School District. She has also worked as an educator at two other Texas school district, working in the field of education since 2007.

Pounds, however, is familiar with area, having attended Bixby High School. She received her bachelor’s degree in education from Northeastern State University in 2007, and her master’s degree in education from the University of Texas at Arlington.

 

Cynthia O'Donnell

Cynthia O'Donnell

Cynthia O'Donnell was named assistant principal for the 8th Grade Center in June 2026.

She previously served as assistant principal intern at the Union 7th Grade Center since June 2025. 

A 1999 graduate of Union High School, O’Donnell had been serving as a biology and EDGE teacher at the Union Freshman Academy. She has been with Union since 2005.

O’Donnell holds a bachelor’s degree in science education and a master’s degree in Teaching, Learning, and Leadership, both from Oklahoma State University.

Assistant Principal

Michael Harmon

Michael Harmon

Michael Harmon was named assistant principal at the 8th Grade Center in 2023.

He previously served as an ER2 Math Teacher at the Freshman Academy. Harmon has been in the education field since 2016, worked in various locations, including Guthrie High School and Putnam City North High School.

Harmon, who graduated from Guthrie High School in 2008, earned his bachelor's degree in health and sports science education from Northwestern Oklahoma State University in 2013 and a master's degree in special education with an emphasis in administration from Southeastern Oklahoma State University in 2024.
 

 

8th Grade At A Glance

Three young men stand in the foreground holding white objects, with the bright sun shining directly overhead against a clear blue sky in the background.
Two teenage girls rest their heads on a table in the foreground, while a smiling man in uniform stands behind them in the background of a cafeteria.
A man in a grey t-shirt and jeans, wearing white gloves and holding a broom and mop, stands in the foreground of a room with tables and chairs in the background.
A woman in the foreground holds a %22Congratulations%22 sign between two smiling adults, with a backdrop of %22UNION2TCC%22 logos and balloons.
Two young men sit on a bench in front of a brick building with a round table nearby.
A young boy in a blue hoodie holds up a certificate in the foreground, while a blurred crowd of people fills the background.
Three people stand in front of a car and an open trunk, with trees and a building in the background.
A group of adults in red shirts pose on a wooden floor in front of a large audience of students in bleachers.
Several young men play soccer on a green field with buildings and a cloudy sky in the background.
A man and two women stand with a %22Congratulations%22 sign in front of a backdrop with %22UNION2TCC%22 logos, while a stack of colorful balloons and bookshelves are visible in the background.
Two young men play soccer on a green turf field with a soccer goal and trees in the background.
Six women in black %22Union%22 t-shirts stand behind a long table filled with orange folders, with a hallway visible in the background.
In the foreground, a man with a cast on his left arm and a woman with long dark hair stand, while in the background, another man stands near tables and chairs in a brightly lit room.
Four people pose for a photo in the foreground, with a library or school common area filled with students and bookshelves in the background.
A young girl in an orange shirt jumps in a burlap sack on a polished wooden floor, while a large crowd watches from bleachers in the background.
A young woman in a blue shirt and black pants holds an orange envelope in the foreground, while a man in a maroon t-shirt and gray shorts stands beside her, with a blurred background of people and a red floor.
Four people stand in front of red lockers under a banner that reads %22ATTENDANCE MATTERS! AND SO DO YOU!%22.
Three people stand in front of red lockers, with two young men on the left and a woman on the right.
A group of young people in casual attire stand on risers in a gymnasium, with one person in the foreground singing into a microphone.
A young woman in a purple hoodie sits at a desk with a laptop in the foreground, while a young man in a purple poncho stands behind her in a classroom with an American flag and bookshelves in the background.
A young person holds a laptop while standing next to an adult with a megaphone, both positioned in front of a row of red lockers.
Two students work on laptops at a desk with anatomical charts on the wall behind them.
In the foreground, performers in athletic wear toss colorful flags, while in the background, an audience watches from bleachers in a gymnasium.
A young person plays a clarinet in the foreground while other band members with large brass instruments are visible in the background of a gymnasium.
A teacher gives a thumbs up in the foreground of a classroom filled with smiling students, while the background shows desks, cabinets, and a portrait of George Washington.
A smiling young man in a tie-dye shirt sits at his desk in a classroom with bookshelves in the background.
A young boy in the foreground holds a trombone, while in the background, other musicians sit in a gymnasium.
Two teachers pose with students in a classroom, with desks and posters visible in the background.
A man in a red shirt plays a large brass tuba in the foreground, while a blurred orchestra performs on stage in the background.
A young boy with a large afro sits at a desk in a classroom with colorful charts on the wall.
Five young people stand in a line against a wall decorated with floral trim, with a woman on the far right.
Four people stand in front of a row of bright red lockers.
A young person with curly hair plays a clarinet in the foreground, while bleachers and other band members are visible in the background.
Two young women in hoodies flash %22L%22 signs with their fingers in front of a red grid background.
Three students walk past red lockers adorned with an %22Attendance Matters!%22 banner and a list of %22Attendance All-Stars.%22
Five teenagers are throwing paper in the air in front of red cubbies.