Champaign area high schools? (Chicago, Urbana: home, middle school, university)

[jennieblue22]

Just recently moved to the area and wanted to know how the high schools are? I live near Centennial High School, but am also curious about other schools in the area (public and private). Thanks.

[bulldawg1594]

centennial is better than central, but i don't know about the other area high schools.

[04JETTA]

the public ones are ok Private Schools are better

[Drover]

There's a reason why Mahomet and St. Joseph are booming. The quality of their respective high schools, especially as compared to Champaign and Urbana high schools, is a big part of it.

[lindy35]

I have lived in CU for the past 10 years. Like any high school, both Centennial and Central have good and bad aspects and most kids find a compatible peer group. Central is known more for it's drama and arts programs but I don't know that one is preferred more than another. I have a neighbor who graduated from Centennial with a full scholarship to Yale - she is just one story of kids who go on to do great things. I also know several highly successful kids who have graduated from Urbana High School.

Other than University Lab School (which has a highly competitive admission process), I know of only one private school that goes beyond middle school (St. Thomas Moore).

The majority of U of I faculty and staff send their kids through the CU schools and overall, they are pleased with the education their children receive.

I think you'll find that the community is very welcoming, easy to navigate, and the cost of living is fantastic!

[EyesInTheSky]

Originally Posted by lindy35

I have lived in CU for the past 10 years. Like any high school, both Centennial and Central have good and bad aspects and most kids find a compatible peer group. Central is known more for it's drama and arts programs but I don't know that one is preferred more than another. I have a neighbor who graduated from Centennial with a full scholarship to Yale - she is just one story of kids who go on to do great things. I also know several highly successful kids who have graduated from Urbana High School.

Other than University Lab School (which has a highly competitive admission process), I know of only one private school that goes beyond middle school (St. Thomas Moore).

The majority of U of I faculty and staff send their kids through the CU schools and overall, they are pleased with the education their children receive.

I think you'll find that the community is very welcoming, easy to navigate, and the cost of living is fantastic!

I would have to disagree with your claim that the majority of U of I faculty send their kids to the three main C-U public high schools. Although the three public high schools in C-U are not the worst high schools when compared to most of the Chicago public high schools and places like, they are nonetheless full of problems (many of them race related). However, if you don't have a choice and are forced to use one of the Champaign public high schools, I do agree with the other observation that Centennial is superior to Central.

I work on research staff in the College of Engineering and personally know many faculty. I honestly cannot think of a single faculty member that sends their kids to any of the three public high schools in C-U. Most faculty send their kids to Uni High (whose admissions are very competitive as you mention), or live in the suburbs (usually Mahomet or Monticello, both of which have terrific public school systems), or home school.

[tabone1]

Centennial, good for an athlete!!!

Uni, good for genius!!

St. Thomas More, good for a Catholic!

[gingerbookgoddess]

In Champaign, Centennial is currently better than Central, but Champaign plans to redistrict for the high schools for next year. I don't really know much about Central, but I've heard good thing about Centennial from students that go there and I've always liked Urbana High School. These are large schools with more than 1000 students. There is a small school-- university lab school with a very small enrollment and a competitive process to get in. The private Catholic School in town, St. Thomas Moore is more academically rigorous than the three big public schools, but I do not know how it compares socially. There are also schools in smaller surrounding areas that tend to perform well, such as Mahomet high school.

[MiletJohn]

I think private high school are better than the other one. I also conform my son education in private high scholl .

[mare07]

I know this is two months late, but I still want to put in my two cents for the Champaign high schools. I agree Centennial is a little better than Central, but both offer good educations. The bedroom communities are decent alternatives, but remember they also have smaller graduating classes which sometimes limit their honors curriculum (Champaign offers 14 AP classes, while the smaller schools such as Mahomet and SJO offer 8 and 1 respectively). In '05 when my sister graduated from Centennial 60/350 went on to the U of I. While this doesn't say everything about the academics, the public schools will prepare you for college. In all honesty, one of the hardest class I've ever taken was AP English at Centennial, and I am currently enrolled at a writing/critique-centric graduate program on the West Coast.