Welcome to UrbanaOutstanding 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

Is the community racially diverse?

67% White3.5% Hispanic14.3% Black14.2% AsianDoes everybody speak

English?About 1 out of every 4 or 5 people (22% of people) speak languages besides English at home.

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

What is the average family’s economic status?The median household income is $27,819.

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

Is the student body racially diverse?Leal Elementary School

WhiteHispanicBlackAsianMultiracialNative American

Yankee Ridge Elementary School

WhiteHispanicBlackAsianMultiracial

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

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 Grove- Consists 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 wide-spreading oaks that are characteristic of a savanna grove.

• New pieces are regularly added to the Wandell sculpture garden which was established in 1998.

•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.

Uses

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 Park10 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 Standards-based.

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

We hope you feel more comfortable with the many

resources that are here for you and your family’s benefit!

Welcome to the Urbana community!