The Paris community invests professional talent, tax dollars and volunteer time in its community education system to offer the broadest opportunities for youth and adults.

More than 2,300 students attend the public school districts serving the Paris area, and St Mary's parochial school enrolls approximately 200 more in kindergarten through middle school grades. Public school facilities include two modern elementary buildings offering daily kindergarten through fifth grade, recently upgraded in a $7 million capital building program; one combined grade-middle school; one separate middle school also recently expanded; and one high school with student enrollment averaging approximtely 800 young men and women.

The city also has two large day-care and pre-school centers, one operated by the non-profit Children's Home, and the other by the Lutheran Church. Both are in new facilities and meet all state licensures.

The basic education program in elementary grades is supplemented by music, art, sports and computer introduction. Middle schools provide expanded extra-curricular activities and classes, which are a transition between elementary school and high school.

{josquote}The Paris community invests professional talent, tax dollars and volunteer time in its community education system to offer the broadest opportunities for youth and adults.{/josquote}Paris High School is located conveniently near the center of the city on a multi-building campus. Students choose from more than 100 course offerings, both academic and career-oriented in "Block Eight" scheduling. Career education is emphasized in several course tracks including an Academy of Industrial Technology and a "Tech-Prep" track coordinated with a community college. The high school has a 3 percent dropout rate prior to graduation. The North Central Association accredits Paris High School.

Students enjoy extensive extra-curricular opportunities including a wide range of varsity sports for both boys and girls; a nationally-known award winning band program that involves up to one quarter of the student body with performances at national events and professional sports games; and a dramatics program which annually produces full-staged spring Broadway musicals and a Christmas season dinner theater. Students also operate a school district television station, which telecasts school and public events, including high school and middle school sports, over the local cable system.

In partnership with Lake Land College (30 miles west) high school students can earn college credit for advanced classes in speech and composition. The Tech Prep program coordinates high school vocational courses with continuing community college work in the same field.

The University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana; Eastern Illinois University at Charleston; Lake Land College at Mattoon; Indiana State University, Rose-Hulman Institute and St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, all in Terre Haute, are within commuting distance.