University High School (Normal)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

University High School (U-High), located in
Normal Normal(s) or The Normal(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''Normal'' (2003 film), starring Jessica Lange and Tom Wilkinson * ''Normal'' (2007 film), starring Carrie-Anne Moss, Kevin Zegers, Callum Keith Rennie, and Andrew Airlie * ''Norma ...
,
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 ...
, United States, is one of two laboratory schools of the College of Education at
Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...
designed for research and teacher-training; the other is Thomas Metcalf School, an
elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
. Founded in 1857, it is the oldest laboratory school and among the oldest high schools in the United States. The principal is Andrea Markert, who was hired in April 2013 after having served as interim principal for the 2012–2013 school year and as assistant principal from 2010 to 2012. Athletic teams are known as the Pioneers and the school colors are kelly green and gold.


Student enrollment

The state of Illinois caps the Illinois State University laboratory school enrollment at 1,000. U-High enrolls approximately 600 students (excluding hearing and visually impaired students) while Metcalf enrolls about 400. Neither school accepts students with learning disabilities that have IEP minutes. The IHSA institutes an enrollment multiplier for schools such as U-High that are unboundaried, thus classifying it as a larger school in athletic competitions in certain sports such as football.


Demographics

According to the Illinois State Board of Education's Illinois Report Card, in 2021 74.4% of the student body was Caucasian, 4.9% was Black, 6.9% was Hispanic, 7.9% was Asian, 0.2% was Indigenous, 0.2% was Pacific Islander, and 5.6% was two or more races. 46.6% was male and 53.4% was female. 2.1% are low-income, and 0.5% were disabled.


Athletics and extracurriculars

The boys' golf team won the IHSA state championship 7 years in a row, ending in 2019 when they fell to the Irish of Peoria Notre Dame; the girls' golf team has won it 4 years in a row. U-High is also known for its basketball program which was home to coach Cal Hubbard. The swimming, boys' tennis, cross country, cheerleading, wrestling, football, and soccer teams along with many others are also highly competitive in the IHSA. The U-High girls' basketball team has had at least 20 wins in the past 4 seasons and since 1992 have 13 Regional Titles, 7 Sectional Titles with a 3rd and a 4th-place finish. The U-High girls' soccer team won 5 straight Regional Titles from 2007- 2011 and in 2010 won their first Sectional Championship in the past 7 years. In the 2010 season, the men's swim team took third place. In 2014 the men's swim won the IHSA state title. The men's cross country team has brought home trophies for three consecutive years (2009-2011) placing 2nd, 3rd, and 3rd respectively at the IHSA State Meet. Also in 2012 the woman's cross country team took 2nd at the IHSA state meet. The men's and women's cross country teams have both been Cornbelt Conference Champions from (2009- 2016). In 2012, the men's basketball team went to state and placed second, the boys' baseball team earned a class 2A state championship, and the girls' soccer team earned a 4th-place finish at state. In addition, in 2016, both boys soccer and golf teams won state championships. In 2017, the boys track team won the 2A state championship. The Speech Team from 2009-2012 has captured both the Regional and Sectional Championships and had 3rd and 4th-place finishers at Nationals in 2008 and 2011 respectively. Additionally, the Speech Team won the IHSA State Finals Championship in 2013. The math team received 7th place in 2007 and 9th place in 2008 for class 2A. In 2008 Chess scored 5-2 to win first in their class with a fourth round win against number 1 seed Niles North. In 2009 the chess team went 6-1 to earn 6th place in the Illinois High School Association chess tournament. U-High’s WYSE team has qualified for the state competition for 20+ years in a row. The
WYSE WYSE (970 AM) is a radio station located in Canton, North Carolina, that simulcasts WISE's sports format from Asheville, North Carolina. Owned by the Asheville Radio Group subsidiary of Saga Communications, the station is licensed by the Fed ...
team has won 4 state titles (1998, 2013, 2014, 2016).


Notable alumni

*
Keita Bates-Diop Keita Bates-Diop (born January 23, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Early life and high school car ...
, NBA Player *
Arnold Orville Beckman Arnold Orville Beckman (April 10, 1900 – May 18, 2004) was an American chemist, inventor, investor, and philanthropist. While a professor at California Institute of Technology, he founded Beckman Instruments based on his 1934 invention of th ...
, inventor of the pH meter *
Ellen Crawford Ellen Ann Crawford (born April 29, 1951) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Nurse Lydia Wright on '' ER'' from 1994 through 2003 and then again in 2009 for the series finale. Crawford has also performed on stage, in ''A Touch ...
, actress most commonly known for her part on the TV series '' ER'' *
Jim Crews James S. Crews (born February 14, 1954) is an American former men's college basketball coach for Saint Louis University. He was promoted to head coach after serving on an interim basis following the health concerns and eventual death of former Bil ...
, college basketball coach *
Chase Hilgenbrinck Father Chase Michael Hilgenbrinck (born April 2, 1982) is an American retired soccer player who played as a defender. He is notable for walking away from his professional career to become a Catholic priest. Early life His parents, Mike (a reg ...
, retired professional soccer player in the Chilean Primera División and
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
, Catholic priest in the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria The Diocese of Peoria ( la, Diœcesis Peoriensis, Peoria, Illinois) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the central Illinois region of the United States. The Diocese of Peoria is a suffragan diocese ...
*
Derek Johnson (baseball) Derek Johnson (born July 16, 1971) is an American professional baseball coach. He is the director of pitching for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has also served as the pitching coach for the Milwaukee Brewers of MLB an ...
, pitching coach Milwaukee Brewers *
Pokey LaFarge Pokey LaFarge (born Andrew Heissler, June 26, 1983) is an American musician, writer, and actor. Early life LaFarge was born Andrew Heissler in Bloomington, Illinois. The nickname "Pokey" was coined by his mother, who would scold him to hurry ...
, musician and songwriter *
Ogonna Nnamani Ogonna Nneka Nnamani (born July 29, 1983) is a physician, retired American indoor volleyball player and former member of the United States National and Olympic team. She was awarded the Honda-Broderick Cup in 2004 as the nation's top female at ...
, two-time US indoor volleyball Olympian and winner of the Silver Medal * Emily Riehl, mathematician * Steve Sample, Sr., jazz educator and composer *
Adlai Stevenson II Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (; February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) was an American politician and diplomat who was twice the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. He was the grandson of Adlai Stevenson I, the 23rd vice president of ...
, Democratic Party presidential candidate in 1952 and 1956, Governor of Illinois (1949-1953)


Notes


References


External links


Official web site for University High SchoolThe Clarionette Student Newspaper
{{coord, 40, 30, 55.8, N, 88, 59, 46.2, W, type:edu_region:US-IL, display=title Schools in Bloomington–Normal Public high schools in Illinois Illinois State University Educational institutions established in 1857 1857 establishments in Illinois