A page from the 1978-79 Edison Middle School yearbook. To pitch a ‘My Turn’ guest column, email [email protected] .
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Sign up for our daily newsletter here A recent donation to the Champaign County History Museum by a retired local educator reminds us of the past and the transformational changes made in Champaign’s Unit 4 school district. Just to the southeast of downtown Champaign and across the street from the Champaign Public Library stands Edison Middle School, proudly celebrating 110 years of education as the oldest Unit 4 building used as a permanent school. Constructed to replace the old Champaign High School in 1914, the new building provided education for grades 9 through 12 for over 50 years, until 1956.
That year, the Champaign Junior High School was in need of a new building as the district looked to grade levels at the school as the population in Champaign began to boom. CJHS was moved into the old Champaign High School at 306 W. Green St.
and was renamed Edison Junior High School. An Edison Middle School 'Variety Show' program from March 1982. Yearbooks from 1957 in the museum’s collection showcase the joy these new junior high students expressed in their new home.
For the first time, students interested in theater could act on stage and enjoyed their inaugural performance in the 1957 fall revue.
