Countryside School is an independent K-8 school that offers a broad, hands-on curriculum. They “promote high academic achievement and emphasize balanced growth - intellectually, physically, emotionally, and socially – for every student.”

Mission Statement. To combine joy in learning with excellence in education.

Foundation. According to the Countryside School website, Countryside School was founded in 1992 by a group of local families who felt that Champaign-Urbana needed an independent, not-for-profit, nonsectarian elementary and middle school with an enriched, projects-based curriculum strong in math and science. After renting classrooms during its early years, Countryside purchased 14 acres of land in west Champaign, constructed its main building in 1996, and expanded its classroom wing in 2005. Its facilities currently serve 148 students. They have many computers in the school.

2013-2014 Tuition. Financial aid is available for families in need of aid.
Kindergarten - Grade 5: $11,668 + supply fees of $475  Middle School: $12,052 + supply fees of $595

Technology. When the school was founded, they were utilizing four computers including three in classrooms and one administrative for word processing and book keeping. In 1994 the school expanded to include middle school students and curriculum, and in turn purchased more computers for these classrooms. When they first got an internet connection it was very slow dialup, 56 Kbps, and it was sometimes frustrating for the students and teachers. For example, they did a program with the University of Illinois called Chickscope, where the classrooms could view online the inside of a developing chicken egg, but the images took so long to load that it was often a frustrating experience for the students. At this time the dial-up modem was moved from classroom to classroom to share the connection.

Clubs and Activities. Countryside offers a variety of afterschool activities including:

• Chess club
• Band
• Chorus - junior varsity
• Chorus - varsity
• Chamber music ensemble groups
• Piano club
• Violin club
• Science and Engineering Lectures and Field Trips
• Math Olympiad
• Reader's Theater
• Arts and crafts club (Kindergarten and 1st grade students)
• Arts and crafts club (2nd and 3rd grade students)
• Art and design club (4th through 8th grade students)
• Magazine club

Community Service. Countryside school encourages its students to be involved in volunteer opportunities, and have in the past partnered with:

• St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital
• Center for Women in Transition
• Malaria No More
• Champaign Head Start
• Swann Center
• Tsunami Relief
• The Times Center
• Crisis Nursery
• Champaign County Humane Society
• our troops overseas
• Arthritis Foundation
• Christopher Reeve Foundation
• Eastern Illinois Foodbank

This CU wiki entry began as a UIUC research project.  For more on that see Study of UC2B Anchor Institutions' Technology Use