University High School (Normal)

University High School
Motto An exemplary high school... A model teacher education center.
Established 1857
Type Laboratory school
Principal Andrea Markert
Faculty 92
Students 662 (2008-2009)
Grades 9 to 12
Location Normal, Illinois, USA
Colors      Kelly green
     Gold
Mascot Pioneer
Yearbook Clarion
Newspaper Clarionette
Website http://www.uhigh.ilstu.edu/

University High School (commonly referred to as "U-High"), located in Normal, Illinois, is one of two "laboratory schools" of the College of Education at Illinois State University designed for research and teacher-training; the other is Thomas Metcalf School, an elementary school. University High School offers a wide variety of extracurricular activities and has a strong history of sports and academics. Founded in 1857, it is the oldest laboratory school and among the oldest high schools in the United States.

Dr. Jeff Hill, the former principal of University High School, was promoted to Superintendent of Laboratory Schools in 2012. The principal is currently Andrea Markert, and the assistant principal is Steve Evans. The mascot is the Pioneer. 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 while Metcalf enrolls about 400. The IHSA institutes an enrollment multiplier for schools such as U-High that can choose their students, thus classifying it as a larger school in athletic competitions. This multiplier counts each student as 1.65 students, thus moving the athletic division to AA as opposed to A as previous years.[1]

Athletics and extracurriculars

U-High is known nationally as being one of the best golfing schools in the country. The boy's team has won the IHSA state championship 7 years running, and the girl's 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, boy's tennis, cross country, cheerleading, wrestling, football, and soccer teams as well as many more 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. Since there is only one class in high school swimming in Illinois this is an incredible accomplishment for a "downstate" team who faced schools with more than three times U-High's enrollment. 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. 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.

U-High’s speech and debate, math, Scholastic Bowl, WYSE and chess teams are highly competitive. 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. 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 an impressive win fourth round 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 team has won 3 state titles (1998,2013,2014).

Notable alumni

References

    External links