District News
![Columbia-Public-Schools-News]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1722026395/cpsk12org/hqlnqd1xgnarvo3rbcxw/Columbia-Public-Schools-News.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1722026395/cpsk12org/hqlnqd1xgnarvo3rbcxw/Columbia-Public-Schools-News.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1722026395/cpsk12org/hqlnqd1xgnarvo3rbcxw/Columbia-Public-Schools-News.png","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1722026395/cpsk12org/hqlnqd1xgnarvo3rbcxw/Columbia-Public-Schools-News.png","width":1200}])
Columbia Public Schools has launched the community feedback phase of its new strategic plan development process, inviting families, staff, students and community members to help shape the district’s future.
Columbia Public Schools is proud to celebrate the achievements of several CPS students who were named winners in the 2026 Earth Day Art Contest, hosted by the City of Columbia in partnership with Boone County and the University of Missouri-Columbia
John Higgins has been selected to be the director of the Columbia Area Career Center (CACC) for the 2026-27 school year.
Mitchell Pittman has been selected to be the principal at Beulah Ralph Elementary School.
The Rock Bridge High School Ethics Bowl Team has earned the title of State Champions, demonstrating exceptional critical thinking, collaboration, and ethical reasoning skills.
Students from Jefferson Middle School (JMS) and West Middle School (WMS) have earned a spot on the national stage, qualifying for the 2026 NAQT Middle School National Championship Tournament (MSNCT).
![Three Columbia Area Career Center students smile and pose with their first-place project, Absorba Vent Cover, holding a rectangular vent cover prototype during a Make48 innovation challenge celebration graphic.]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1769626377/cpsk12org/mnjpxwwslnwmijnioh4m/CACC-Students-Earn-First-Place-in-Make48-Innovation-Challenge.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1769626377/cpsk12org/mnjpxwwslnwmijnioh4m/CACC-Students-Earn-First-Place-in-Make48-Innovation-Challenge.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1769626377/cpsk12org/mnjpxwwslnwmijnioh4m/CACC-Students-Earn-First-Place-in-Make48-Innovation-Challenge.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1769626377/cpsk12org/mnjpxwwslnwmijnioh4m/CACC-Students-Earn-First-Place-in-Make48-Innovation-Challenge.jpg","width":1080}])
Students from the Columbia Area Career Center (CACC) earned first place in a recent Make48 classroom challenge, showcasing creativity, collaboration and real-world problem-solving skills.
![A group of students and adults pose indoors holding certificates during a MOSOC program graduation ceremony.]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1769108243/cpsk12org/bwnojh3innis5akqme6p/mosoc-program-graduation-cps-students-partners.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1769108243/cpsk12org/bwnojh3innis5akqme6p/mosoc-program-graduation-cps-students-partners.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1769108243/cpsk12org/bwnojh3innis5akqme6p/mosoc-program-graduation-cps-students-partners.jpg","width":799}])
Columbia Public Schools recently celebrated the graduation of eight participants from the Missouri Security Operations Technology Certification (MOSOC) program, including three currently enrolled CPS students and five CPS graduates.
A Hickman High School senior has been selected to represent Missouri in one of the nation’s most prestigious student leadership programs.
Abdulrahman Adekunle, a senior at Hickman High School, has been named a 2026 delegate to the United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP). He will join another Missouri delegate during USSYP Washington Week, held March 7–14, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
Hickman High School's Ashley Fossum and John Warner Middle School's Cassidy Urie have earned National Board Certification, one of the most respected professional credentials available to PreK–12 educators, on December 6, 2025. Fossum and Urie are the only two educators from Columbia Public Schools to achieve this distinction in 2025.