Champaign Central High School
Encyclopedia
Champaign Central High School is a high school
located in Champaign
, Illinois
. It has 1,385 students in grades 9
-12
. The principal is Joe Williams. It is part of the Champaign Unit 4 School District school system. Its sports teams are the Central Maroons.
Central Maroons have the distinction of being the first school in the nation to win 500 football
games and 1000 basketball
games.
Central's 2008 Boy's Basketball Team also received Third Place in the IHSA Class 3A State Tournament
The team won first at the Illinois State Competition in Division A, at UIUC, in the 2009-2010 season. The Coach is Faith Sharp, a freshman Biology teacher.
Other Clubs include Math Team, WYSE Academic Challenge, and Scholastic Bowl.
The Champaign Central Music
program has been very strong and nationally acclaimed since the arrival of John Currey in 1997. The top Jazz Ensemble has been the cornerstone of this music program, garnering awards and distinctions at almost every festival or competition attended. Furthermore, the jazz ensemble has had multiple students go on to play in jazz ensembles at universities such as Northwestern University
, University of Texas, DePaul University
, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
, Indiana University
, Illinois State University
, Eastern Illinois University
, and Illinois Wesleyan University
.
Jazz Ensemble Accomplishments:
Illinois
House Resolution No. 1264, in commemoration of the Central Jazz Ensemble
2005, 2008 One of 15 Finalists at the Essentially Ellington Jazz Band Competition in New York, NY. Also the only band from Illinois to have ever made repeat performances at the EE festival within a 4 year span and along with St. Charles East of St. Charles, IL is the only ensemble from Illinois to have made it twice since the festivals creation.
2003, 2007 Performer at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, IL
2007 Performer at the The Next Generation Jazz Festival in Monterey, CA. Part of the Monterey Jazz Festival
Wind Symphony Accomplishments:
1999-2010 12 year consecutive performer at the Illinois Superstate Concert Band Festival.
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
located in Champaign
Champaign, Illinois
Champaign is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, in the United States. The city is located south of Chicago, west of Indianapolis, Indiana, and 178 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Though surrounded by farm communities, Champaign is notable for sharing the campus of the University of...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. It has 1,385 students in grades 9
Ninth grade
Ninth grade is the ninth post-kindergarten year of school education in some school systems. The students are 13 to 15 years of age, depending on when their birthday occurs. Depending on the school district, ninth grade is usually the first year of high school....
-12
Twelfth grade
Twelfth grade or Senior year, or Grade Twelve, are the North American names for the final year of secondary school. In most countries students then graduate at age 17 or 18. In some countries, there is a thirteenth grade, while other countries do not have a 12th grade/year at all...
. The principal is Joe Williams. It is part of the Champaign Unit 4 School District 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.Athletics
Athletic Achievements:Central Maroons have the distinction of being the first school in the nation to win 500 football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
games and 1000 basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
games.
Central's 2008 Boy's Basketball Team also received Third Place in the IHSA Class 3A State Tournament
Academic Clubs
Science Olympiad:The team won first at the Illinois State Competition in Division A, at UIUC, in the 2009-2010 season. The Coach is Faith Sharp, a freshman Biology teacher.
Other Clubs include Math Team, WYSE Academic Challenge, and Scholastic Bowl.
Music Program
The Champaign Central Music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
program has been very strong and nationally acclaimed since the arrival of John Currey in 1997. The top Jazz Ensemble has been the cornerstone of this music program, garnering awards and distinctions at almost every festival or competition attended. Furthermore, the jazz ensemble has had multiple students go on to play in jazz ensembles at universities such as Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, University of Texas, DePaul University
DePaul University
DePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...
, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
, Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
, Illinois State University
Illinois State University
Illinois State University , founded in 1857, is the oldest public university in Illinois; it is located in the town of Normal. ISU is considered a "national university" that grants a variety of doctoral degrees and strongly emphasizes research; it is also recognized as one of the top ten largest...
, Eastern Illinois University
Eastern Illinois University
Eastern Illinois University is a state university located in Charleston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a comprehensive university with a...
, and Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois Wesleyan University is an independent undergraduate university located in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1850, the central portion of the present campus was acquired in 1854 with the first building erected in 1856...
.
Jazz Ensemble Accomplishments:
Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
House Resolution No. 1264, in commemoration of the Central Jazz Ensemble
2005, 2008 One of 15 Finalists at the Essentially Ellington Jazz Band Competition in New York, NY. Also the only band from Illinois to have ever made repeat performances at the EE festival within a 4 year span and along with St. Charles East of St. Charles, IL is the only ensemble from Illinois to have made it twice since the festivals creation.
2003, 2007 Performer at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, IL
2007 Performer at the The Next Generation Jazz Festival in Monterey, CA. Part of the Monterey Jazz Festival
Monterey Jazz Festival
The Monterey Jazz Festival is one of the longest consecutively running jazz festivals. It debuted on October 3, 1958 and was founded by San Francisco jazz radio broadcaster Jimmy Lyons.-History:...
Wind Symphony Accomplishments:
1999-2010 12 year consecutive performer at the Illinois Superstate Concert Band Festival.
Notable alumni
- Alison KraussAlison KraussAlison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
, Musical Artist - Bill Geist, TV Journalist
- Bob RichardsBob RichardsThe Reverend Robert Eugene Richards, known as Bob Richards , known as the "Vaulting Vicar" or the "Pole Vaulting Parson" in his competitive days, was a versatile athlete who made three Olympic teams in two events...
, Olympic Gold Medalist - J LemanJ LemanJeremy Jacob "J" Leman is an American football linebacker for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2008...
, Football Player - SomiSomi- Biography :Somi was born in Champaign, Illinois while her father was completing post-doctoral studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. When Somi was three years old, her family then moved to Ndola, Zambia while her father worked for the World Health Organization...
(Laura Kakoma), Singer - Yvonne SuhorYvonne SuhorYvonne Suhor is an American actress, partly of Croatian descent. She has four brothers and six sisters. She graduated from Illinois State University in 1985, and later received her MFA from the University of Southern California. Suhor currently runs her own in Orlando, Florida, teaching Core Film...
, Actress - Tyler McGillTyler McGillTyler Tennant McGill is an American swimmer. McGill attends Auburn University and trains under head coach Brett Hawke.-Career:...
, Swimmer - Rod FletcherRod Fletcher (basketball)Rodney Adams "Rod" Fletcher is an American former basketball player for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who was named a consensus First Team NCAA All-American as a senior in 1951–52...
, All-American college basketball player
External links
- Champaign Central High School Official Site
- Champaign Central Music Program Official Site