Twelve Champaign Unit 4 Students Named Commended Students  2026 National Merit Scholarship Program; Riti Bhosale   Nia Bolton   Ali Dastgheib   Tam Do   Katharina Fleck   Rebekah Kim   Jacob Smith   Safa Thameem  Violet Abzug   Brady Hong   Adelaide Kota   Emily Miller
Champaign Unit 4 School District is proud to announce that both Central High School and Centennial High School have been recognized on the 2025–2026 U.S. News & World Report list of “Best High Schools.” Central earned a spot at #89 out of 715 Illinois public high schools, while Centennial was ranked #137 statewide. Within the Champaign metro area, Central is ranked third, and Centennial is ranked fifth out of 16 schools.  Among Big 12 Conference schools, only one high school ranked higher. These rankings are based on a variety of factors, including student performance on state assessments, college readiness, and graduation rates. You can explore the full list and learn more about the methodology on the U.S. News & World Report website. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/illinois/rankings