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McAuliffe Profile

Mission

At McAuliffe Elementary, our mission is to unite families, school staff, and
the community to assist students in their pursuit
of becoming life-long learners and leaders.

We will hold students accountable to high expectations while meeting individual academic needs. 
We will inspire students to discover and pursue their individual talents.
We will encourage students to set and achieve goals.
We will instill in students the value of giving back by providing opportunities to serve others.

Vision Statement

McAuliffe is a place where:
Leaders are
Empowered to
Achieve academic excellence
Dream without boundaries
Embrace their community
Reach their destiny

Motto

Be a Leader

History

Christa McAuliffe Elementary was built in 1988 and named in honor of the teacher – the first teacher in space - who died during the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster on Jan. 28, 1986.

Leader in Me School

McAuliffe Elementary has been named as a Leader in Me Lighthouse School by Franklin Covey Co. (NYSE: FC). This recognition comes because the school has achieved outstanding student outcomes, by implementing The Leader in Me process with fidelity. It is also because of the extraordinary impact the school is having on staff, students, parents, and the greater community.

Student Pledge

I am a leader, empowered to:
Achieve academic excellence, dream without boundaries, embrace my community, and reach my destiny!

A young boy in the foreground claps his hands while looking at a laptop, with another boy and a classroom background behind him.

Welcome to McAuliffe Elementary School!

JoAnn McCaslin-Monk
McAuliffe Elementary Teacher of the Year

Principals

Principal

Jennifer McKnight

A smiling woman with blonde hair and a black and white striped top is in the foreground, with a plain gray background behind her.

Jennifer McKnight was named principal of McAuliffe Elementary in 2017, after being named assistant principal for McAuliffe in the summer of 2016.

McKnight previously had served as principal of East Elementary at Jenks Public Schools since 2004. She has been in the education field since from 1995, serving as a teacher, enrichment director and curriculum resources instructor.

McKnight has a master’s degree in instruction leadership from Colorado State University and a bachelor’s degree in education from Oklahoma State University.

Assistant Principal

Kenneth Trinidad

Kenneth Trinidad

Kenneth Trinidad was named assistant principal for McAuliffe Elementary in June 2026.

He previously served as a fifth grade teacher at Ellen Ochoa Elementary, where he had been when he joined Union Public Schools in 2019. He came to Union after serving as a teacher for College Bound Academy.

Trinidad has a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Bacone College and a master’s degree in teaching from Northeastern State University.

McAuliffe At A Glance

Three people pose for a photo in front of a red wall with white signs.
A group of excited children with their hands raised are seated on the floor in front of a whiteboard in a classroom.
A young child with dreadlocks and glasses uses a tablet with colorful squares, while a woman with glasses and a lanyard looks on, with a laptop and chairs visible in the background.
A child with glowing necklaces and bracelets works on a %22Glow Day%22 worksheet at a desk, illuminated by a blacklight in a classroom.
Four smiling boys in glow-in-the-dark accessories and neon clothing pose in a dimly lit room decorated with colorful lights and banners.
Children in neon shirts gather around a table with craft supplies under blacklights, while the background is decorated with colorful streamers and American flags.
A woman in a red cardigan points to a paper while two children look on, with a festive balloon arch in the background.
Children in the foreground are playing with hula hoops in a gymnasium, while a large audience watches from the background.
A young girl in the foreground holds a tablet, recording a group of soldiers in uniform on a stage in the background.
A teacher with rainbow hair reads a book to a group of young students in colorful costumes, with a whiteboard and a large screen in the background.
Five children stand in front of a plain gray wall, each forming the letter %22L%22 with their hands.
A teacher interacts with two students at a table with a bin of crayons in the foreground, while other students work at desks in a classroom decorated with children's artwork in the background.
Two people in costumes, one dressed as Pete the Cat and the other as a dog, stand in a hallway decorated with children's artwork.
Students sit at desks in a classroom illuminated by green lights, while a teacher stands at the front of the room near a large screen displaying a landscape.
In the foreground, students in light blue shirts are writing at tables, while in the background, a teacher with blue hair and a mask observes them in a classroom filled with educational materials.
Two young boys smile at the camera in the foreground, with other children and school lunch trays visible in the blurred background.
A woman and two young girls smile at the camera in a brightly lit room with a metal cabinet and a bulletin board in the background.
A woman with her arm raised in a celebratory pose holds a toy horse on a stick in front of a black curtain and tiered seating.
A woman in a blue jersey and cowboy hat poses with two hats in the foreground, while a group of children sits on the floor in the background.
Children in blue shirts with their arms raised in a school gymnasium with a blurred background.
A young boy with dark hair focuses intently on writing with a pencil in a notebook, with a blurred classroom in the background.
Four women in witch costumes with brooms dance in a classroom with colorful decorations on the wall.
A man with a funny face looms over two students in a classroom with colorful decorations.
Two girls joyfully leap in the foreground of a grassy field with other children and a building in the background.
A group of children wearing colorful heart-shaped glasses pose in a classroom with a colorful rug and whiteboard in the background.
A woman with a sunflower on her shirt adjusts the hair of a girl giving a peace sign, with a blurred background of a soccer field and people.
A group of children in pink and red clothing stand in front of a teacher in a classroom with a whiteboard in the background.
Five women in casual attire, some wearing %22love%22 or %22xoxo%22 sweatshirts, are smiling in the foreground, while a blurred background shows a doorway and a window.
Three boys walk across a green field in the foreground, while a crowd watches from bleachers in the background.
Children in formal attire sit on chairs on a green field in front of a bleacher filled with spectators.
Children in pink shirts walk on a green field with buildings in the background.
A cheerleader is tossed high in the air by her teammates in the foreground, with rows of empty stadium seats filling the background.
Three women stand behind a young girl holding a certificate on a grassy field with a brick building and trees in the background.
A group of children and adults stand in front of a brick wall with a %22Welcome%22 sign, holding books.
Two children, a boy in a red shirt and a girl in a pink shirt, hold hands and run towards the camera on a grassy field, with other children and a school building in the background.
A young boy in a pink shirt runs across a green field in the foreground, with a cell tower and a cloudy sky in the background.