Champaign Central High School is a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

located in

Champaign Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. It has 1,385 students in

grades Grade most commonly refers to: * Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance * Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage * Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope Grade or grading may also r ...

9- 12. The principal is Joe Williams. It is part of the

Champaign Unit 4 School District Champaign Community Unit School District No. 4 is a unit school district with over 10,000 students and 19 campuses covering Champaign and the villages of Bondville and Savoy in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. It was formed in 1948 fr ...

school system. Its sports teams are the Central Maroons.

History

Champaign High School, now Champaign Central High School, began serving the public in 1870. The present school site, 610 W. University Avenue, was donated by J.P. White to the public schools of Champaign in 1868 and has housed Central High School since 1956. During the 1963-64 school year, due to over-crowding approximately 300 students were assigned on a half-day basis to Jefferson Middle School. These students attended three academic classes at Jefferson plus three classes at the senior high school. During the 1965-66 school year, approximately 550 sophomores attended classes in the first phase of the Senior High School Annex. They attended classes on the same schedule as those at Champaign High School. The 1966-67 school year found an equal distribution of sophomore and junior students at both Champaign Senior High School and the Annex. So in 1968-69, the Champaign Board of Education officially established two district high schools, Central and Centennial. On April 1, 1997, the taxpayers of Champaign approved a bond issue that included an addition and extensive remodeling to Central High School. The main features of the new addition and remodeling were a large modern media center, a child development/day care center, foods laboratory, an expanded student services area, and three large state of the art biological science laboratories. An open house and dedication of the new facilities was held on September 13, 1998. Central's mascot is a maroon bear, Max Maroon, and the school colors are maroon and white. In 2011, the Champaign school board began looking into replacing Champaign Central High School, citing concerns over the school's current facilities. Central has shared Centennial High School's football, softball, and soccer fields since the 1960s.

Athletics

Notable alumni

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

, musical artist (attended, did not graduate) *

Bill Geist William Geist is an American retired author, columnist, and television journalist. Early life Geist was born on May 10, 1945 in Champaign, Illinois. He served in the United States Army as a combat photographer with the 1st Infantry Division ...

, TV journalist, ''

CBS Sunday Morning ''CBS News Sunday Morning'' (normally shortened to ''Sunday Morning'' on the program itself since 2009) is an American news magazine television program that has aired on CBS since January 28, 1979. Created by Robert Northshield and original host ...

'' *

Bob Richards Robert Eugene Richards (born February 20, 1926) is an American retired athlete, minister, and politician. He made three U.S. Olympic Teams in two events: the 1948, 1952, and 1956 Summer Olympics as a pole vaulter and as a decathlete in 1956. ...

, two-time Olympic gold medalist in pole vault *

J Leman Jeremy "J" Leman (born March 1, 1985) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at the University of Illinois, and was recognized as a consensus All-American. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted f ...

, football player * Somi (Laura Kakoma), singer * Yvonne Suhor, actress *

Tyler McGill Tyler Tennant McGill (born August 18, 1987) is an American former competition swimmer who is a butterfly specialist and has been a member of two world champion relay teams from the United States. He was a member of the 2012 United States Olympi ...

, Olympic gold medalist swimmer * Rod Fletcher, All-American college basketball player * Todd Peat, football player * Jordan Caroline, Basketball Player

References

External links

Champaign Central High School
Official Site {{authority control Public high schools in Illinois Buildings and structures in Champaign, Illinois Schools in Champaign County, Illinois Educational institutions established in 1866 1866 establishments in Illinois