Centennial High School

What Centennial High School does

Centennial High School is a public secondary school serving grades 9–12 in Champaign, Illinois, operating as one of two flagship high schools within the Champaign Unit 4 School District. Founded in 1967 and located at 913 Crescent Drive, the school delivers comprehensive high school education to district-assigned students, with no tuition charged to in-district families. The academic portfolio spans 20 Advanced Placement courses, dual credit coursework through Parkland College's Early College and Career Academy, a five-course Computer Science pathway including AP Computer Science, and structured programs such as AVID for college readiness. The school also offers fine arts, music, world languages, and athletics, and hosts the District's high school athletic complex and Tommy Stewart Field.

The institution operates on standard educational technology infrastructure: Synergy StudentVUE/ParentVUE for student information and parent portal access, Google Workspace for Education, and the Apptegy content management platform for its public website, with mobile applications for iOS and Android. There is no proprietary technology, no published API, and no AI/ML capability disclosed. Student-facing services are delivered through dedicated staff including a College & Career Counselor and an AP Coordinator.

The revenue model is government-funded: a public high school funded through local property taxes, state education funding, and federal grants, supplemented by modest per-student registration fees (with waivers available for qualifying families). The customer base is geographically concentrated within the Champaign Unit 4 district, with students assigned through the district's proximity-based process. The school has no private ownership, no venture backing, and no disclosed M&A activity. Recognition includes the U.S. News & World Report 2025-2026 ranking of #137 out of 715 Illinois public high schools, AP Honor Roll Silver designation from the College Board, and student outcomes including 5 perfect ACT scores and an AVID cohort with 100% college acceptance and $2M+ in scholarships for the Class of 2025.

Name

Centennial High School

Legal name

Champaign Unit 4 School District

Website

https://centennial.champaignschools.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Centennial High School is a public high school in Champaign, Illinois, serving grades 9–12 within the Champaign Unit 4 School District, offering 20 AP courses, dual credit with Parkland College, and the AVID college readiness program, funded by government sources and registration fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Secondary Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public High Schools (EDAJAAAD)

Keywords

• Public secondary education
• College preparatory programs
• Advanced placement courses
• Dual credit courses
• Student support services

Headquarters

HQ city

Champaign

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Public School Funding: As a public high school within Champaign Unit 4 School District, funding comes from local property taxes, state education funding, and federal grants. No tuition is charged to district residents.
2. Student Registration Fees: Students pay registration fees for the school year. Fee waivers are available for qualifying families.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Centennial High School is a public secondary school providing comprehensive Grades 9-12 education to students in the Champaign Unit 4 School District. Its core offerings include a college-preparatory academic curriculum featuring 20 Advanced Placement courses, dual credit courses through Parkland College's Early College and Career Academy, a five-course Computer Science pathway, an AVID college readiness program, Fine Arts and Music programs, World Languages, and the College & Career Center counseling service. The school is delivered free of tuition to in-district residents.

Product overview

Centennial High School is a public high school offering a comprehensive educational program as one of two flagship high schools in the Champaign Unit 4 School District. The school operates as a single educational institution rather than a platform with modular products. Its academic portfolio includes 20 Advanced Placement (AP) courses and dual credit course options for college-bound students, alongside a five-course Computer Science sequence, Fine Arts, Music, and World Languages programs. The AVID college readiness program provides structured support for first-generation college students. The College & Career Center offers counseling services to help students plan post-graduation paths. The school uses Synergy (StudentVUE/ParentVUE) as its student information system. The institution's digital presence is powered by Apptegy's website platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Advanced Placement (AP) Courses Twenty AP courses offered to high school students enabling them to earn college credit by scoring 3 or higher on AP exams. 79% of AP exams at Unit 4 earned a 3 or above in 2024-2025.
• Dual Credit Courses (Parkland College ECCA) Dual credit course options in partnership with Parkland College allowing students to receive credit for college-level general education courses while still in high school.
• AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) Nationwide college readiness program preparing students for college by providing academic instruction, mentorship, and support. Centennial's 2025 AVID cohort achieved 100% college acceptance rate.
• Computer Science Program Five-course Computer Science sequence including AP Computer Science, providing foundational skills for 21st century careers.
• College & Career Center College and career counseling service staffed by a dedicated counselor, helping students formulate post-graduation plans including college applications and career exploration.
• Fine Arts Programs Elective programming in Fine Arts designed to help students develop multiple literacies as part of the school's academic offering.
• World Languages Program World language instruction as part of elective programming to develop multiple literacies.
• StudentVUE/ParentVUE Portal Synergy-based student information system enabling parents and students to access grades, attendance, and other academic information.

Quantifiable outcome

• 79% of AP exams earned a score of 3 or above in 2024-2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Parkland CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDual credit course partnership allowing students to receive college-level general education credits while still in high school. Students can earn college credits through Parkland College's Early College and Career Academy (ECCA).
• Illinois Music Educators Association (ILMEA) District 3minorOthersAnnual festival bringing together top music students from across central Illinois to perform and learn from professional conductors and educators at Olivet Nazarene University.
• Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)minorOthersNational organization providing business education, competition, and networking opportunities. Unit 4 students participate in national conferences and competitions.
• AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination)coreOthersNationwide college readiness program closing the opportunity gap by preparing students for college. Students are identified as college-bound, often first in their families to attend college.
• State Farm CenterminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVenue for graduation ceremonies. Located at 1800 S. 1st St., Champaign, IL 61820.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Central High School (Champaign): Central HS is the sister school within Champaign Unit 4 School District, sharing the same funding, governance, and attendance boundaries. It is the most directly comparable peer — competing for the same district families — and its combined AP and athletic outcomes (e.g., Unit 4-level AP results) are reported jointly with Centennial.
• Urbana High School: Urbana HS is the flagship public high school for neighboring Urbana in the Champaign-Urbana metro. It serves a similar demographic mix and competes for college-bound families in the same labor-shed as Centennial, with comparable AP, athletic, and college-readiness programming.

Regional players

• Normal Community West High School: Normal Community West serves Normal, IL — another college town anchored by Illinois State University — giving it a structurally similar community profile to Centennial. It is a useful regional comparator for AP breadth, dual credit, and college outcomes in Illinois.
• Rantoul Township High School: Rantoul Township HS is a nearby East-Central Illinois public high school within the broader Champaign County feeder ecosystem. It competes for some open-enrollment families and serves as a small-scale comparable on AP participation and dual-credit offerings.
• Bloomington High School: Bloomington HS is the flagship high school in District 87, anchoring the Bloomington-Normal labor-shed adjacent to Champaign. Its AP/dual credit scale, athletic programs, and college-outcomes reporting provide a comparable Illinois public-high-school benchmark.
• Danville High School: Danville HS is the primary public high school for Danville, IL — the next-largest district east of Champaign in East-Central Illinois. It is a regional benchmark for similar mid-sized Illinois districts and competes loosely with Centennial for state-level academic recognition.
• Carbondale Community High School: Carbondale Community HS is the flagship public high school in Carbondale, IL, near SIU. Comparable in enrollment scale, regional-anchor role, and college-readiness programming, it serves as a Southern-Illinois benchmark for Centennial's positioning.

Emerging players

• University Laboratory High School (Uni High): Uni High is the UIUC-affiliated selective secondary school located in Champaign. It siphons a portion of high-achieving students from the same feeder pool that Centennial depends on for AP and National Merit outcomes, making it a relevant niche competitor in the same metro.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Unit4Schools
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ChampaignCentennialHighSchool
• Facebookfacebook.com/unit4schools
• Instagraminstagram.com/iamacharger
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/champaign-unit-4-schools

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Centennial High School