Urbana High School prides itself on building relationships with students, staff, families and the community. By offering a variety of innovative student, staff and community supports, this comprehensive high school has distinguished itself as a silver School of Opportunity.
To better serve its students and the community, the high school offers an on-site health clinic, the Urbana School Health Center (USHC). As part of a partnership with the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District and other local agencies, Health Center services are available to all Urbana School District students year-round. These services include routine examinations, chronic disease and acute care treatments, vision services, dental care (including preventive care), and counseling and wellness programs. In addition to the health clinic, the school employs a full-time social worker, psychologist, and nurse along with four guidance counselors to ensure that students’ needs are addressed.
Another distinguishing feature of Urbana High School centers on the varied and thoughtful professional development opportunities offered to staff. The district Office of Professional Development hosts book study groups, inquiry groups, online technology and professional development workshops through Google Classroom, as well as other unique growth opportunities such as Leading for Racial Equity. The district also offers a two-year induction program for novice teachers, a rarity in most school districts.
With district support, the school itself provides impressive, “embedded” professional development resources to its staff. All Urbana High School teachers benefit from an early release once a week so that department and teaching teams have opportunities to plan and collaborate. Three part-time instructional coaches further assist teachers with their teaching and learning goals, and a professional development team within the school works with department chairs and administration to develop responsive, relevant professional development programs at the school. It is these kinds of approaches that, consistent with best practices in Schools of Opportunity, honor teachers as professionals.