Illinois State Normal University was established in 1857. In 1862 grade school and high school classes were held in the Model School located in Old Main on what would become ISNU’s campus in Normal. Tuition was $20 per year. As a large percentage of those applying to the Normal University had little more than an eighth-grade education, high school and liberal arts courses became essential to develop better teachers. By 1890 conditions were very crowded with high school teachers instructing University language courses, as well as most of the high school courses. The Board of Education abolished the Model School in 1895.
The school was re-established in 1909 and officially named University High School. The green and yellow school colors were chosen at an all-school election in 1909. The scope and aim of the high school changed greatly when it was re-established. In the beginning it had aimed to prepare pupils for college and the Normal Department with a correspondingly narrow scope. The re-established high school aimed at courses for many different occupations.
Classes were held on the ISNU / ISU campus until the opening of University High School in 1965.
The University High School Reunions Collection consists mostly of books containing class lists and lists of names and addresses of alumni attending class reunions. The collection is organized chronologically by year of the graduating class.