Welcome to Urbana
Outstanding Schools in an Outstanding
Community
Elizabeth Shafer, Laura McKee, Tanya
Pardungkiattisak, Kathleen Fey, Stacy
Ruzich, Sarah Walker
Who Lives In Urbana?
How many people live here?
Population: 36,395
Does everybody speak English?
About 1 out of every 4 or 5
people (22% of people) speak
languages besides English at
home.
What is the average family’s
economic status?
The median household income is
$27,819.
Is the community racially
diverse?
67% White
3.5% Hispanic
14.3% Black
14.2% Asian
How big is the average family?
The average household has
2.14 people.
Do people move often?
29.3% of people lived in the same
house in both 1995 and 2000
Where do children go to school?
Who will go to my child’s school?
How many students attend each school?
Yankee Ridge: 316
Leal: 405
How many students are learning English?
Yankee Ridge: 5.4% of students Leal: 29.3% of students
How many students meet expectations on state tests?
Yankee Ridge: 58% of students in reading, 78% in math
Leal: 70.3% of students in reading, 87.5% in math
Is the student body racially diverse?
Leal Elementary School
Yankee Ridge Elementary School
White
Hispanic
Blac k
Asian
Multirac ial
Native Americ an
White
Hispanic
Blac k
Asian
Multirac ial
Monetary & Material
• Transportation
– Public: MTD is handicap
accessible
– *See map for bus routes
• Grocery Stores
- Some near every
subdivision
- *See Visitor’s Guide for
stores and locations
•Financial
–Free and reduced
lunch
–Free summer meals
–Scholarships
–Government
Financial Aid
•Social
–Concerts, programs
–parks
•Psychological
–Social workers at
school
Mass Transit District (MTD) Service Map
Meadowbrook Park Gardens
• Located on Windsor Road and Race Street
• Freyfogle Overlook- wooden structure offers
a great way to see the wide expanse of
prairie plants in Meadowbrook. Handicap
accessible.
• Timpone Family Ornamental Tree GroveConsists of groves of shrubs and smaller
trees. Shows off many examples of colorful
additions for gardens. Each tree is labled,
making it easy to come away with ideas and
information on all types of trees.
• Sensory garden- it was designed with the senses in mind.
You’ll notice texture, shape, sound, smell, and surprise are
all elements that work together to make a beautiful space.
• Wandell Sculpture Garden- Wandell Sculpture Garden
have dotted the paths that wind through Meadowbrook
Park’s re-created tall grass prairie.
• Hickman Wildflower Walk- planted along the paths, it was
created to feature some of Illinois’ most colorful native
wildflowers. The flowers come alive every spring with
colorful natives such as Black-Eyed Susan, Purple
Coneflower and other seasonal wildflowers.
Coneflower
trees
• Herb Garden- Walk through a variety of
herbs to find out what grows well in our area
of Illinois.
• Walker Grove- This prairie savanna is a
restoration in progress in the 15
southernmost acres of the park.
• Windmill Garden- Modeled after a kitchen
garden you might find at a farmstead, this
garden surrounds a restored windmill.
• Constantly developing and working
towards improvements.
• Walker Grove is looking to improve in the
coming years with a thriving prairie and
shrub land habitat that will establish
among the eventually immense and widespreading oaks that are characteristic of a
savanna grove.
• New pieces are regularly added to the
Wandell sculpture garden which was
established in 1998.
Uses
•So many opportunities to observe, examine, and learn about
different wildlife, trees, flowers, grasses, and animals.
•Streams and ponds located within the property provide
opportunities to study the water, surrounding dirt and mud
and living species in and around the water.
•A great place to observe the four seasons and how the
seasons greatly affect all aspects of living things.
•Lots of open space and pathways for visitors to exercise on.
AMBUCS Park
• 22 acres
• Features an accessible playground, many
large trees and a ballfield.
• Jean Driscoll Pavilion- an open air facility
that can accommodate about 120 people.
Canaday Park
• 5 acres
• Used for summer and fall softball
Carle Park
•
•
•
•
8.3 acres
Located on Indiana and Garfield
Established in 1909
Playground and practice soccer fields for the
Urbana Park District’s youth soccer program.
• More than 50 well-established trees in Carle
Park are part of the Hickman Tree Walk.
• Specimen guides and a map help to identify
different trees throughout area.
• New playground being built
Leal Park
• 10 acres
Dog Park
10 acres of space featuring a shaded area in the
park’s center and lots of open meadow for
running. Memberships available to $3 admission
fee.
Judge Webber
Park
•14.2 acres
•Open only to public for UPD- led
archery programs
• Loacted close to Dog Park.
Wheatfield Park
• 5 acres
• Neighborhood park, established in 1975
• One playground, two tennis courts,
soccer practice fields.
Patterson Parklet
•.25 acres
•Located on Main Street
•Small sitting area
Blair Park
• Located on the corner of Vine and Florida
• Full of activities, this park features the
district’s only lighted tennis courts. Also
used for soccer and t-ball and is home to
Kiwanis baseball in the summer.
• Walking distant from Leal. Approximately
.85 miles apart.
Leal Garden
University of Illinois Pollinatarium
• Location: 606 W. Windsor Road, Urbana.
• Learning center about flowering plants and their
pollinators. Features a live observation hive, a prairie
patch and woodland edge to observe insects and plants.
• Great place for fieldtrips or family visits.
• http://www.life.illinois.edu/pollinatarium
•
Anita Purves Nature Center
• Environmental education facility open
free to the public.
• Next door is Busey Woods, a 59-acre
forest preserve with a boardwalk loop,
seasonal ponds and more.
• Nature Center is on the MTD Gold bus
line on weekdays and the Silver bus line
one Saturdays.
• Students can go on fieldtrips here or have a
traveling naturalist come to you.
• Offers a variety of environmental education
programs and services to area educators.
• Programs complement local school district
curricula and are Illinois Learning Standardsbased.
Literacy Assets
• Urbana Free Library
– Monthly newsletter
– Monthly calendar of
children’s programs
– Daily activities
– Summer programs
– Reading incentives
– Spanish language
resources
Literary Assets
•
•
•
•
Parkland College for Kids
Lincoln Square Literacy Programs
English for You ESL Programs
U of I Reading Lab
All costly, but scholarships are available.
Where?
Issues
• How do parents find out about these
outside programs?
– Need for an advocate
– Teacher help to provide scholarships to those
who need them
• Larger organizations as a way to get the
word out
– Library
– Schools
Organizations and
Institutions
- Parents Teacher Association (PTA)
- University of Illinois
- Title I advisory committee
-Parent advisory board organization for
bilingual program(s)
-Church services
-Refugee and Immigrant Services
-Carle and Provena Hospital Centers
Welcome to
the Urbana
community!
We hope you feel more
comfortable with the many
resources that are here for you
and your family’s benefit!