Ten Minutes With Dr. Taylor

It has been three years since Laura Taylor became principal at Urbana High School . The school has certainly changed since then- overwhelmingly for the better. Truancy rates, referrals, the number of fights, and the dropout rate are all down. Learn more about Principal Taylor’s history in the school district and what she hopes is to come for UHS.

Taylor will proudly admit that she, in fact, is a tiger. She spent ten years in the Urbana School District and even had Mr. Chew as a sophomore English teacher. When comparing Urbana from then to now, Taylor says ” we all seemed to get along pretty well and that seems to continue with our student body”.

In more current terms, Principal Taylor is looking forward to seeing the projects initiated by the Social Justice Committee. “I am of the belief that to truly make UHS a school for all students transformation projects such as those being taken on by this committee are the way to go,” she said about the group.

Taylor also said that the most important prospect she sees is “that we move forward as a community of learners and continue to focus on student learning as our number one priority.” Principal Taylor later added that the administration and teachers are always focusing on increasing final exam/ course grades, graduation rates, and ACT scores. To do this the administration is “now more willing to do whatever it takes to make students successful.” This includes, but is not limited to, 9th-10th grade terms, study support, ALS, curricular improvements and disciplinary and attendance improvements.

Principal Taylor says her favorite “day-to-day” thing about being principal of a high school is being around the students. “I also very much enjoy knowing that some of the changes that have been made here have made it possible for more students to be successful. Our job is to serve the students and I think we are doing a better job at this each year,” she said.

“I feel blessed to work with such outstanding faculty and to have a building full of incredibly caring and wonderful students,” Taylor concluded.