Schools in Champaign-Urbana area (Chicago, Peoria: rentals, house, buy)

[OldBenFranklin]

I am planning a move to the Champaign-Urbana area and have viewed some of the prior threads on the topic. Some suggest that the schools in C-U are not that great, and that one can do better in the surrounding towns. But those districts, perhaps because of their size, do not have a wide selection of AP courses and other indicators of merit, and are also basically all white [my family is Asian-American]. Kids are middle-school aged, so I am not so much interested in specific elementary schools.

The University high school is mentioned favorably, but my children haven't been admitted to it yet. Private school options also seem very limited, so there is not much of a safety valve. I would greatly appreciate hearing members' opinions on which schools could reliably provide a safe, college-prep type environment.

[linicx]

The only university high school I am familiar with is U-High at Normal. The waiting list is 2 years. I am not sure this is abnormal for University high schools. Students are chosen first from Normal residents, thence from Bloomington residents, and lastly from the rest of the state. I suspect UNI at Champaign has a similar system.

Generally speaking all Illinois schools teach the same program. K-8 classes are the building blocks for high school. All high schools (9-12) have the same problem: teenagers. I expect a school with a higher teacher-to-student ratio, and lower student population has less issues than a school with 1300 students.

If I had to pick a school today I would chose homeschool (1), private (2), public (3). As far as I can tell there is only one public high school in Champaign. In Urbana there are two public high schools: University of Illinois High School, and Urbana High School.

Here a partial list of schools only in Champaign/grades taught:

Uni: University of Illinois Laboratory High School (9-12)
The High School of St. Thomas More: Home (9-12)

Judea Christian (K-12)
Pavilion Foundation (3-12)

Other Schools (K-8):
Montessori Habitat
Countryside
St. John Lutheran
St. Mathew
Holy Cross
Next Generation

[AbbyJaneway]

Based on test scores, Asian students do well at Champaign Centennial HS. Centennial offers 15 AP classes and has a College & Career Center to help students with planning for college.

[OldBenFranklin]

Thank you for your informative comments. I have been looking into school statistics further. The state achievement levels in all Urbana and Champaign schools seem very low to me, at around 50% proficiency.

Also, I find that the number of rapes in U-C is very high (51 in Champaign, 20 in Urbana in 2012). For towns of this size, these are very high numbers. I think it is going to have to a smaller surrounding town for me and family.

[linicx]

One rape is too many. On the other hand, UIUC is a very large university that is the size of a small city. 7 incidents per 10,000 is not ideal, but it is not the worst record either.

Illinois public schools do a good job of preparing children in grades K-8 for high school (grades 9-12). Close to 99% of all IL high schools are on the state's watch list for failure to meet state and federal standards for Math and Science. The biggest problem with every high school is the same: It is filled with teenagers.

There are 7 high schools in Champaign and Urbana; two are public. If were going to move to U-C with children I would move to Urbana for a couple of reasons.
1. It is the seat of Champaign County government
2. Post graduate housing is in Urbana
3. Foreign research PhDs with families are house in Urbana.
4. It is not a college town per se. It is smaller than Champaign and somewhat quieter.

If you want smaller communities you might look at the Village of Mahomet. It's about 15 minutes from Champaign. The village population is approx 5,000; Teaching grades K-12. High school student population about 1000.

You might also like the Village of St. Joseph. It has a slightly smaller population than Mahomet. The high school has half the students. It ranks 61st out 640 high school.

U-C is in the middle of thousands of acres of corn and beans. St. Joe and Mahomet are farm towns with a racial make up of of 97-99% White, and 1-3% Others. Having lived in large and small communities, I can say with some experience that older children who are raised in a large metro area have a difficult time adjusting to small farm towns. The biggest problem will be finding a unit to rent. The best time to find rentals or buy is beween June 1 and August 1 when schools is out and families are moving.

IL is an AG state that is the #1 and #2 producer of soy and corn in the nation. Central Illinois IS: from border to border, and tip to tail, one big farm with small isolated communities located 10-20 miles apart. If you want big town entertainment you will go to St. Louis or Chicago. The next largest towns (100000+) are Springfield and Peoria.



Here is some general information about Central Illinois.
You will not find Trader Joe's or Whole Foods; it's in St. Louis and Chicago. There is a new Costco in East Peoria. The nearest Meijer's is in Normal. U-C does have natural food stores.

If you have school age children their shots, physical and eye exams must be up to date. You'll need their birth certificates, medical and school records, contact name and number and address of residency. Whether you live in a woman's shelter or a mansion the school MUST accept your children, treat them equally, and educated them. It IS the Law.

The ESL K-8 is in Urbana. The nearest Autistic school that I am aware of is in Peoria

You will find 5 zoological parks: Decatur, Springfield, Bloomington and Peoria(2). The largest are in St. Louis and Chicago. Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago is free. The nearest Childrens' museums are in Normal and Peoria. There are two theatre groups for younger children in Peoria. Urbana has a nice park system and an indoor aquatic center. If you want to spend all day in parks (city and state) Illinois has 'em from the oldest and largest in Peoria to the smallest village park. Two things that sets Peoria apart is its location on the Illinois River - the largest and longest river in the state. It is home to the Children's Hospital of Illinois. The only hospital in the state that treats more critically ill children is in Chicago. When I looked at the physicians in Champaign on behalf of a family in South America, who was coming as visiting professors for several months what I found was interesting. Every doctor had standing at Children's Hospital in Peoria. It may be the only hospital in Central Illinois that is in the Mayo Network.

[Rosario82]

Not sure if OP is South Asian or East Asian, but there is a large S. Asian presence in the Ironwood area of SW Champaign. I believe some of that area is a part of Mahomet school district.

Savoy, at 5% Korean, has one of the highest percentages in the country.

C-U metro as a whole has the highest percentage of Asian-Americans of any metro area between the two coasts.

[pianist1972]

University HS is in Urbana, and it is one of the best in the state.

[Rosario82]

Uni is one of the best high schools in the country. Twice in recent years it's graduating class has achieved the highest composite score in the nation on the ACT test. 3 Nobel Prize winning alum and one Pulitzer winner.