Centennial High School (Champaign, Illinois)

Centennial High School is a public high school serving grades 9-12 in Champaign, Illinois. It is part of Champaign Unit 4 School District. As of the 2020–21 school year, it had 1,400 students. The school is located next to Jefferson Middle School and Centennial Park.

Curriculum
The school offers a variety of courses, including AP courses in Macroeconomics, English, Calculus AB or BC, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, US History, American Government, and Statistics. In addition, many consumer science and industrial technology courses are offered. The school also offers a Young Adult Program for students 18–21 years of age, which is based at Parkland College. The student-teacher ratio is 16:1, average for the state.

Students
The school's student composition includes 26.7% low-income students. 0.7% of student are of limited English proficiency. There is a high school dropout rate of 1.8%. The ethnic background of students includes 38% African-American, 35% White, 11% Asian, 10% Hispanic, 5% Multiracial, and 0.3% Native American.

Athletics
Centennial competes in interscholastic sports in the Big Twelve Conference (Illinois)  of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA).

Fall sports

 * Cheerleading
 * Boys cross-country
 * Girls cross-country
 * Football
 * Boys golf
 * Girls golf
 * Marching band
 * Boys soccer
 * Girls swimming and diving
 * Girls tennis
 * Volleyball

Winter sports

 * Boys basketball
 * Girls basketball
 * Cheerleading
 * Boys swimming and diving
 * Wrestling
 * Archery

Spring sports

 * Baseball
 * Girls soccer
 * Softball
 * Boys tennis
 * Boys track and field
 * Girls track and field

The girls tennis team won consecutive Illinois state championships in 1995 and 1996.

The school's basketball team also won their first state championship game in 2009, beating Oswego 61-59. They had a repeat appearance to the state championships in 2010, taking 4th place overall.

Performance
In 2006, the school was named as one of the top 50 high schools in Illinois, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. In 2006, students' ACT scores exceeded both the state and national averages by about 2 points. In 2007, the school's scores on the Prairie State Achievement Examination (PSAE) Reading and Math tests exceeded the state averages, with around 60-65% of students meeting or exceeding state standards. Currently, the school is not making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).

Notable alumni

 * Bonnie Blair, five-time gold medalist and one-time bronze medalist in Olympic speed skating
 * Katherine Reutter, silver and bronze medalist in Olympic speed skating
 * Nichole Millage, two-time gold medalist & two-time silver medalist in Paralympic sitting volleyball
 * Trent Meacham, graduate of Centennial, played on Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
 * Rayvonte Rice, guard for 2013-2014 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team
 * Mikel Leshoure, played football for Illinois, selected by Detroit Lions in 2011 NFL Draft
 * Matt Herges, pitcher for several MLB teams
 * Scott Nagy, basketball head coach at South Dakota State
 * Chantal Bailey, 1994 Olympics speed skating
 * Reggie Hodges, punter for several NFL teams
 * Dan Hornbuckle, professional mixed martial arts fighter
 * James Kinney (class of 2009): professional basketball player
 * Gia Lewis-Smallwood, American discus player who competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics