University Laboratory High School (Urbana, Illinois)

The University of Illinois Laboratory High School, also known as Uni High or just Uni, was established in 1921 and is a laboratory school located on the engineering section of the University of Illinois campus in Urbana, Illinois. Its enrollment is approximately 300 students, spanning five years (the traditional grades 9–12, preceded by an 8th grade year known as the "subfreshman" year). The school is notable for the achievements of its alumni, including three Nobel laureates and a Pulitzer Prize winner. In 2006 and 2008 it was recognized as a "public elite" school by "Newsweek" because of its students' high scores on the SAT. Before the recent change in the SAT's format, the average SAT score was 2045, and now varies from 1400 to 1600. As of 2019, the average SAT was a 1470. The average ACT score is a 32.
Funding and relationship to the University of Illinois.
Although Uni is located within the Urbana School District, it is not operated by the school district, nor does it receive any property tax revenue from this or any other district. Public funding comes only through the statewide per-pupil distribution financed in the Illinois state budget. Additional funding comes from donations by alumni and parents of current students. Enrollment is competitive, rather than being dependent upon residency in a particular district.
For many years, the school was funded by the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign as an institution to experiment with educational curricula and to teach university students majoring in education, but the University of Illinois withdrew most of its support in the early 1980s. The school currently gets its money from state aid, allocation from the University of Illinois Provost's office, fundraising, and fees from students. The "laboratory" aspect persists in certain classes. An experimental math course was taught in the early 2000s and teachers continue to experiment in small, creative ways with their courses to adapt to each grade of around sixty students. The relationship to the University also provides a number of other benefits to the school's students. The proximity to the University campus provides a stimulating political climate, and access to the University's library system is equivalent to that of any undergraduate. The high school library is a branch of the University library system and for this reason has been called "the largest high school library in the world." Additionally, Kenney Gym, the University's former men's gymnasium, is used by Uni for both physical education and as practice and game space for the volleyball and basketball teams. While access to certain facilities that are supported by student fees – such as the ARC recreation center – is not granted to Uni students, who are not assessed these fees, the school's relationship with the University of Illinois allows students over the age of 15 with sufficiently high grades to enroll in courses at the University. Credit earned in this manner may then be applied to future study at the university level.
Financial deficit.
In September 2014, faculty, parents, and students were made aware of a $1 million-plus deficit the school had discovered. An accounting error had caused Uni to take money out of a closed bank account, resulting in the huge deficit.
Admissions and academics.
Students apply to enter Uni as part of the incoming "subfreshmen" class which, although composed of seventh and eighth grade aged students, completes a year at eighth grade level before continuing on to the ninth grade. Roughly 65 students are admitted each year, keeping the school's total enrollment near 320 students. Admission decisions are based on previous academic history, extracurriculars, teacher recommendations, a personal statement, and a student's scores on the Secondary School Admission Test. Students may apply during their sixth or seventh grade years. Whether immediately after graduation, or a year later, the vast majority of students go on to enter a four-year college or university, although some choose to defer a year to study abroad, volunteer, or work.
Extracurriculars.
Uni has had numerous successes in interscholastic competitions, including competitive chess (administered by the Illinois High School Association) and academic competitions. Students also participate in many clubs through the school, both for fun and to give back to their community.
Chess.
The school's chess team has won the IHSA's team chess tournament seven times (1978, 1979, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1994, and 2009) and has been runner-up three times (1976, 1980, 1989). They came in second in the US National Championship in 1978 on a tiebreak. Members of that team included Thomas Krause, Robert Sah, Mark Zvilius, Jonathan Atkin, and Steven Schran. The team was coached by David Sprenkle, a Uni alum and ranked chess master. Currently, the school has no competitive chess program.
Academic teams.
Uni High has several academic teams that compete each year and typically place highly in their respective competitions. These include Science Olympiad, Scholastic Bowl, WYSE Academic Challenge, Japan Bowl, and various math competitions.
The Uni High Scholastic Bowl team has qualified for the IHSA State Competition in four consecutive years, placing 4th in 2014 and 1st in 2015 in Class A before being bumped to Class AA and finishing 2nd in 2017. Throughout the season, which roughly runs from September to March, the team participates in a variety of tournaments and competitions. The program was started as a club in 2013 by Bruce Li and members of the Class of 2015, who then secured sponsorship from the school's administration to begin competing as a team in the 2013-2014 season. Uni has since grown into one of the strongest teams in the state, winning the NAQT State Championship in 2018 and the IHSA Class AA State Championship in 2019. In 2019, Uni placed second at the National Academic Quiz Tournaments High School Championship and third at the Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence National Scholastic Championship.
Since 1997, Uni has been an annual participant in the Academic Challenge , which consists of a series of tests in various academic fields, including biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering design, English, mathematics, and physics. The competition is open to high schools in Illinois and Missouri. For nine consecutive years from 1998 to 2006, as well as in 2008, 2009 and 2011, Uni was the state champion in the smallest division (enrollment under 300). In 2007, Uni competed in the next larger division and placed 2nd, despite the school's smaller enrollment in the 9th through 12th grades.
Service clubs.
Uni High's Habitat for Humanity club works with the Clarksdale, MS Habitat affiliate. They hold several fundraisers throughout the year in order to send money to Clarksdale, as well as having an annual trip to Clarksdale every February where students work on houses. The club was founded by history teacher Bill Sutton and run by him until his retirement in 2017. The club is now run by history teacher Ben Leff. Several Uni alums have moved to the Clarksdale area to work with Habitat for Humanity or to work in various schools and after-school programs. Uni High's connection to Clarksdale allowed Uni High alumna Anja Theissen and Bianca Zarahescu to found Spring Initiative, a program which mentors students and prepares them for greater academic success, personal growth, and an opportunity to overcome poverty.
Uni has a Food Pantry club that volunteers at and raises money for the Wesley Food Pantry. The school also has a club called United for Uganda, which raises money for a grassroots organization in Uganda called Come Let's Dance. During the 2013-2014 school year, the club started a program through Come Let's Dance to sponsor a child in Uganda's education each year.
School traditions.
X-Week.
X-Week is an annual fundraising tradition at the school. Members of Student Council choose one or two charities, which are usually local, to donate the money to. Each day, a different class hosts a fundraiser. The senior class hosts the annual Senior Auction during the Friday of X-Week every year. They auction off a wide variety of items, which usually include class notes and baked goods, as well as more eccentric options such as a movie night at a teacher's house or the opportunity to go on a safari with a few members of the senior class. The culminating event of X-Week is Big Show, a comedic, student-led production. In recent years, the multiple events of X-Week have been discarded in favor of a joint X-Dinner leading up to Big Show.
The Wylde Q. Chicken Award.
The Wylde Q. Chicken Award, sponsored by the graduating class of 1972, was first awarded in 1998 and is meant to recognize "spontaneous creativity," "unbidden originality," and "extraordinary acts in ordinary circumstances." It is awarded annually at the end of the school year; recipients are chosen by a panel of judges from the class of 1972 along with past winners of the award. Previous winners have included a series of promotional posters for the 50 states in the first floor restrooms, the staging of the American Revolution in comic strip form, and a Gilbert and Sullivan-style adaptation of Shakespeare's "Macbeth".
Senior Project.
The Senior Project is a program that began at Uni in the Spring of 2014. The project was developed by Assistant Director of Student Life Karl Radnitzer, who got the idea from a similar program at New Trier High School in Winnetka, IL. The project's goal is to allow second semester seniors to explore interests in a more career-oriented way than they would in a typical classroom setting. The project connects students with mentors in the Champaign-Urbana community who can help them explore their academic interests outside of the school building. Students come up with ideas for projects and submit them for approval to a Senior Project committee. If a project is approved, students then spend their second semester doing work for their project around three times a week. Students have worked in various labs at the University of Illinois, at the Crisis Nursery, at Carle Hospital, and at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
Agora Days.
Another example of creative freedom is Agora Days, a four-day school week in late February when students, parents, faculty, alumni and friends of the school can teach hour-long classes about a wide range of topics, which have included popular cake decorating and massage classes. Students are required to take a number of academic-oriented classes, but classes based on playing sports, watching films or TV series, and studying video games also exist. Students have the same eight-hour schedule on each of the four days. Agora Days has been a Uni tradition since 1977. 
Subfreshman Oral History Project.
Every year, the subfreshman social studies class spends part of the second semester working on an oral history project. Social Studies teacher Melissa Schoeplein's class works with WILL radio station to conduct interviews on a certain topic, which varies by year. Past topics have included inside views of the military, people with disabilities, counterculture, the right to marry, and affirmative action in education. Subfreshmen are split into groups to conduct interviews. Each group member is assigned a role (either interviewer, team captain, technician, or scribe) in the interview, and the groups spend several weeks researching relevant information on their subject's life before conducting the interview. A group of older students, called WILL Interns, work with the interview material produced by the subfreshmen and turn it into an hour-long documentary published on the WILL Illinois Youth Media page.
Athletics.
Despite the school's small enrollment, Uni offers five no-cut sports for boys (Cross Country, Soccer, Basketball, Track & Field and Tennis) and six no-cut sports for girls (Cross Country, Swimming, Volleyball, Basketball, Soccer, and Track & Field), which all usually compete in the IHSA 1A division. Members of the subfreshman class also have the opportunity to participate in Cross Country, Track & Field, and Basketball.
Building.
The building which houses University Laboratory High School was constructed from 1917 through 1918 and was designed by Holabird & Roche in the Late Gothic Revival style, with James M. White as the supervising architect. An earlier design for an "H"-shaped structure with two wings had been rejected in 1914, and it was not until May 1916 that the go-ahead was given to begin construction on the new design, which was estimated to cost $143,500.
When the building was completed, it was almost immediately converted into a general hospital for the Students’ Army Training Corp and School of Military Aeronautics for the duration of World War I. It was turned over to the high school in time for the beginning of the 1921-22 school year.
Notable alumni and faculty.
Three alumni are Nobel Prize laureates:
Other major award winners include:
Other notable alumni include (sorted by class year):
Notable faculty include:
References.
Notes