Photo by Urbana School District 116
By Amy L. Hatch
U.S. News and World Report ranks Urbana High School among the nation’s best and awarded the school its Bronze Medal in Jan. 6 issue.
This is the third year that the magazine, well-known for its college rankings (University of Illinois is ranked 36th in the national universities category), has reviewed high schools. Of the 21,786 high schools examined by the magazine and its partner, School Evaluation Services, 1,750 consistently and considerably outperformed their state standards, according to the story. Illinois ranks high on that list, with 37 schools recognized for their excellence.
Among those 37 schools is, of course, Urbana High School, which also earned the magazine’s “Bronze Medal.” Principal Laura Taylor tells chambanamoms.com that the recognition took the school by surprise.
“Honestly, we had no idea about it,” Taylor says. “A student told a teacher, and a teacher sent out an email. No one even knew about it until two days ago.”
Despite being caught unaware, Taylor adds that as far as surprises go, this is a good one. She also says that the methodology that the magazine uses makes the recognition just that much sweeter.
Urbana High School was compared to schools with similar demographics, she points out, which means that for the population it serves, it is doing remarkably well. UHS — which has a poverty rate of 51 percent — was not pitted against wealthy suburban Chicago schools, for example.
“It means just that much more,” Taylor says, “because we are obviously doing a good job with the kids that we serve.”
One of the things that UHS does well is offer a wide variety of Advanced Placement courses, which U.S. News and World Report erroneously states are not offered at the school. Taylor says the school offers 12 such classes.
Taylor says that while the recognition is great, the school is not resting on its laurels. There are challenges ahead, she points out.
“We have such a diverse population,” she says. “It is challenging to meet the needs of all students. Not all of our students have the same readiness to learn because of their circumstances.”
The school’s poverty rate is likely to increase over the coming year, she adds, due to the still-recovering economy.
“We just need to continue to find ways of supporting our kids,” Taylor says.
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Surprising indeed in light of the fact that just barely half of UHS students meet or exceed the state standards as represented by annual test scores. And the school also fails to make “adequate yearly progress” in improving student performance. Scores are posted as “report cards” on the Illinois State Board of Education website. Even if a person is skeptical about the value of standardized tests and the value of the NCLB policies, this is not good performance for a high school in any town, much less one that also houses a flagship public university. We should all be asking: with so many smart people around here, why are our public schools not performing better? And therefore better for everyone in this diverse community.
i dont like school lol