University Laboratory High School of Urbana, Illinois

Infobox Education in the United States
name= University Laboratory High School


imagesize=
motto=
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streetaddress= 1212 West Springfield Avenue
city= Urbana
state= Illinois
zipcode= 61801
url= http://www.uni.illinois.edu/
schoolnumber=
schoolboard= none
affiliation=
superintendent=
trustee=
principal= Steve Epperson
viceprincipal=
administrator=
fundingtype= Public
schooltype= High School, selective admission
grades= 7/8-12
language= English
area=
mascot=
teamname= Illineks
colors= Orange and blue
founded= 1921
enrollment= 300
enrollment_as_of=

University Laboratory High School, or Uni, was established in 1921 and is a laboratory school located on the engineering part of the campus of the University of Illinois. Its enrollment is approximately 300 students, spanning five years (the traditional grades 9-12, preceded by a composite 7th and 8th grade year known as the "subfreshman" year). The school is notable for the achievements of its alumni, including three Nobel laureates and a Pulitzer Prize winner; [ [http://www.news.uiuc.edu/news/03/0610uni.html Chicago educator named new director of University High School ] ] in 2006 and 2008 it was recognized as a "public elite" school by Newsweek because of its students' high scores on the SAT. [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12551652/site/newsweek/ Best High Schools: The Public Elites - Newsweek America's Best High Schools - MSNBC.com ] ] . Until the recent SAT testing changes the total SAT scores varied from year to year ranging from 1400 to 1450.

Funding and Relationship to the University of Illinois

Although Uni is located in territory belonging to the Urbana School District, it is not operated by the school district, nor does it receive any property tax revenue from this or any other district. Public funding comes only through the statewide per-pupil distribution financed in the Illinois state budget. Additional funding comes from donations by alumni and parents of current students. Enrollment is competitive, rather than being dependent upon residency in a particular district.

For many years, Uni was funded by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a place to experiment with educational curricula, but the University of Illinois withdrew most of its support in the early 1980s. The "laboratory" aspect persists in certain classes. An experimental math course was taught in the early 2000s and teachers continue to experiment in small, creative ways with their courses to adapt to each grade of sixty students. The relationship to the University also imparts a number of other benefits on Uni's students. The proximity to the University campus provides a stimulating political climate, and access to the University's library system is equivalent to that of any undergraduate. The high school library is a branch of the University library system and for this reason has been called "the largest high school library in the world." Additionally, Kenney Gym, the University's old men's gymnasium, is used by Uni for both physical education and as practice and game space for the volleyball and basketball teams. While access to certain facilities that are supported by student fees (such as the ARC recreation center) is not granted to Uni students, who are not assessed these fees, the school's relationship with the University of Illinois allows students over the age of 15 with sufficiently high grades to enroll in courses at the University. [ [http://www.uni.uiuc.edu/academic-programs/concurrentenrollment.php Classes Outside of Uni High ] ] Credit earned in this manner may then be applied to future study at the university level.

Admissions and Academics

Students apply to enter Uni as part of the incoming "subfreshman" class, which completes a year at the 7th and 8th grade level before continuing on to the 9th grade. Roughly 60 students are admitted each year, keeping the school's total enrollment near 300 students. Admission decisions are based on previous academic history, extracurriculars, a personal statement, and a student's scores on the Secondary School Admission Test. [ [http://www.uni.uiuc.edu/admissions/ Uni High Admissions ] ] Students may apply during their 6th or 7th grade years. Because the subfreshman year combines two years of middle school into one year, and because many students enter at the ages of 12 and 13, many Uni students graduate at 16 or 17. For this reason, some students then choose to wait a year before enrolling in college. Whether immediately after graduation, or a year later, the vast majority of students go on to enter a four-year college or university. [http://www.uni.uiuc.edu/admissions/07%20Admission%20Brochure.pdf]

Interscholastic Competition

Uni has had numerous successes in interscholastic competitions, including competitive chess (administered by the Illinois High School Association) and academic competitions.

Chess

The school's chess team has won the IHSA's team chess tournament six times (1978, 1979, 1986, 1991, 1992, and 1994) and has been runner-up three times (1976, 1980, 1989). [ [http://www.ihsa.org/activity/ch/records/team1-2.htm IHSA Chess Team Champions and Runners-Up ] ] During the school year, the team participates in the [http://www.uni.uiuc.edu/chess/ East Central Illinois Chess League] , a conference consisting of twelve schools from the central part of Illinois.

WYSE Academic Challenge

Since 2000, Uni has been an annual participant in the University of Illinois' [http://www.engr.uiuc.edu/WYSE/AC/index.html Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering Academic Challenge] , which consists of a series of tests in various academic fields, including biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering design, English, mathematics, and physics. The competition is open to high schools in Illinois and Missouri. For seven consecutive years from 2000 to 2006, Uni was the state champion in the smallest division (enrollment under 300); it has since begun to compete in the next larger division, despite the school's smaller enrollment in the 9th through 12th grades. [ [http://www.engr.uiuc.edu/WYSE/AC/results/index.html WYSE Academic Challenge ] ]

Athletics

Though Uni is not well-known for its sports teams, it does offer four sports for boys (Cross Country, Soccer, Basketball, and Track & Field) and six sports for girls (Cross Country, Swimming, Volleyball, Basketball, Soccer, and Track & Field). The cross country and track teams have sent competitors to the state finals on numerous occasions. In girls track & field, Uni has two third place finishes (1985, 1990) and one second place finish (1991). In cross country, Uni has, in addition to appearances by individuals in other years, had 16 girls teams and 8 boys teams qualify for the state finals, with two third place finishes by the girls (1988, 1991) and one third place finish by the boys (1995) [ [http://www.ihsa.org/school/records/sum2103.htm IHSA Season Summaries ] ] .

Notable Alumni and Faculty

Uni has many [http://www.uni.uiuc.edu/about-uni/description/alumni.php famous alumni] , including three Nobel Prize laureates:
* Philip W. Anderson (class of 1940), for physics in 1977
* Hamilton O. Smith (class of 1948), for medicine in 1978
* James Tobin (class of 1935), for economics in 1981

Other notable alumni include
* Iris Chang (class of 1985), best-selling author
* Theodore Gray (class of 1982), a co-founder of Wolfram Research and winner of the Ig Nobel Prize for chemistry in 2002
* Shamit Kachru (class of 1987), string theory specialist at Stanford University
* Francine Patterson (class of 1964), teacher of Koko (gorilla) the gorilla who can sign 1000 words and understand the sign of 2000 words
* Mary Murphy Schroeder (class of 1958), Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
* George Will, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist

Chris Butler, a member of the history faculty, developed a flowchart-based approach to learning history, which aims to emphasize the causal relationships between historical events as much as the significance of the events themselves. [ [http://www.news.uiuc.edu/ii/01/0405/0405butler.html Flowchart this: AHA names Butler nation’s top history teacher ] ] [ [http://www.flowofhistory.com/theory/learning_process The FOH Learning Process - The Flow of History ] ] In 2000, his work was recognized by the American Historical Society, which awarded him the AHA Beveridge Family Teaching Award. [ [http://www.historians.org/prizes/AWARDED/BeveridgeFamilyWinner.htm Beveridge Family Teaching Award ] ]

Max Beberman, a member of the math faculty from 1950-1971, contributed to the development of New Math.

Erika Harold, who won the 2003 Miss America pageant, briefly attended Uni, but was a graduate of Urbana High School in Urbana, Illinois.

Unregimented Aspects

The Wylde Q. Chicken Award

The Wylde Q. Chicken Award, sponsored by the graduating class of 1972, was first awarded in 1998 and is meant to recognize "spontaneous creativity," "unbidden originality," and "extraordinary acts in ordinary circumstances." It is awarded annually at the end of the school year; recipients are chosen by a panel of judges from the class of '72. [ [http://thinkofit.com/wylde/faq.htm The Wqc Sga Col Faq ] ] Previous winners have included a series of promotional posters for the 50 states in the first floor restrooms, [ [http://thinkofit.com/wylde/2006/garvey-snir.htm 2006 Wylde Q. Chicken Award Winners ] ] the staging of the American Revolution in comic strip form, [ [http://thinkofit.com/wylde/2005/index.htm 2005 Wylde Q. Chicken Award Winners ] ] and a Gilbert and Sullivan-style adaptation of Shakespeare's "Macbeth". [ [http://thinkofit.com/wylde/2004/macbeth.htm 2004 Wylde Q. Chicken Award Winners ] ]

Agora Days

Another example of creative freedom is Agora Days, a four-day school week in late February when students, parents, faculty, alumni and friends of the school can teach hour-long classes about a wide range of topics. Students are required to take a number of academic-oriented classes, but classes based on playing sports and watching films or TV series also exist. Students have the same eight-hour schedule on each of the four days.

References

=External links=
* [http://www.uni.uiuc.edu University High home page]
* [http://www.uni.uiuc.edu/gargoyle/ University High student newspaper, the Gargoyle, online version]
* [http://thinkofit.com/wylde/ The Wylde Q. Chicken Award: Honoring Uni students who exhibit spontaneous creativity]
* [http://www.flowofhistory.com/ The Flow of History]