Columbus City Schools

Columbus City Schools, formerly known as Columbus Public Schools, is the official school district for the city of Columbus, Ohio, and serves most of the city. The district has 46,686 students enrolled, making it the largest school district in the state of Ohio as of June 2021. At its peak during the 1971 school year the district served 110,725 students.
The first school built in the area which is now part of Columbus was a log cabin school-house built in Franklinton, in 1805. It was not until 1845 that the state of Ohio Legislature entrusted the management of Columbus schools to a Board of Education. Two years later the school board elected Dr. Asa Lord as the district's first superintendent. Dr. Gene T. Harris served as the 19th superintendent of Columbus City Schools and was succeeded by Dr. Dan Good. For most of its history, the district has been referred to as "Columbus Public Schools". In August 2007, the district decided to begin using its official name of "Columbus City Schools."

WWW ccsoh.us

1977 desegregation

Although technically the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case made segregation in schools illegal, some schools were still segregated by the neighborhoods they served. In March 1977 Federal District Court Judge Robert M. Duncan ruled in Penick v. Columbus Board of Education that the school boundary methods used by Columbus Public Schools promoted segregation by sending black students to predominantly black schools and white students to predominantly white schools. The result was desegregation busing to desegregate all schools in the Columbus Public School district.
Before the 1978-1979 school year the Columbus Public School district petitioned Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist for a stay on the forced busing, and the petition was granted. However, in April 1979 the Supreme Court made their decision and upheld the original Duncan decision.
Before this landmark decision was handed down, the district had a peak of 110,725 students enrolled in 1971 and operated 20 high schools. Many parents moved their children out of the Columbus district to the suburbs to avoid the desegregation. As a result, district enrollment significantly declined, forcing two high schools, Central High School and North High School to be closed, as well as several elementary and middle schools.

School enrollment

Enrollment figures in the school district have significantly increased in the past and recently decreased. Following is a list of school enrollments over the years.

Year	Enrollment
1920	32,442
1947	40,000
1962	93,000
1971	110,725
1976	95,571
1980	72,698
1995	62,812
1996	63,610
2007	55,235
2012	50,784
2019	48,982
2023	46,345

Board of education

There are seven members on the Board of Education. Current members are listed below:

Christina Vera, President
Dr. Tina D. Pierce, Vice-President
Jennifer A. Adair
Sarah Ingles
Michael Cole
Ramona R. Reyes
Brandon Simmons

Schools

There are approximately 118 active schools in the district. Schools include:

Elementary schools

Alpine Elementary School
Avalon Elementary School
Avondale Elementary School
Beatty Park Elementary School
Berwick Alternative Elementary School
Binns Elementary School
Broadleigh Elementary School
Burroughs Elementary School
Cassady Alternative Elementary School
Cedarwood Alternative Elementary School
Clinton Elementary School
Colerain Elementary School
Columbus Spanish Immersion Academy
Como Elementary School
Cranbrook Elementary School
Devonshire Alternative Elementary School
Duxberry Park Alternative Elementary School
Eakin Elementary School
East Columbus Elementary School
East Linden Elementary School
Eastgate Elementary School
Easthaven Elementary School
Ecole Kenwood French Immersion Elementary School
Fairmoor Elementary School
Fairwood Alternative Elementary School
Forest Park Elementary School
Gables Elementary School
Georgian Heights Alternative Elementary School
Hamilton Alternative Elementary School
Highland Elementary School
Hubbard Elementary School
Huy / AG Bell Elementary School
Indian Springs Elementary School
Innis Elementary School
Leawood Elementary School
Liberty Elementary School
Lincoln Park Elementary School
Lindbergh Elementary School
Linden STEM Academy
Livingston Avenue Elementary School
Maize Elementary School
Moler Elementary School
Northgate Intermediate School
North Linden Elementary School
Northtowne Elementary School
Oakland Park Alternative Elementary School
Oakmont Elementary School
Ohio Avenue Elementary School
Olde Orchard Alternative Elementary School
Parkmoor Urban Academy Elementary School
Parsons Elementary School
Salem Elementary School
Scottwood Elementary School
Shady Lane Elementary School
Siebert Elementary School
South Mifflin STEM Academy
Southwood Elementary School
Special Education Center
Stewart Alternative Elementary School
Sullivant Elementary School
Trevitt Elementary School
Valley Forge Elementary School
Valleyview Elementary School
Watkins Elementary School
Weinland Park Elementary School
West Broad Elementary School
West Mound Elementary School
Westgate Alternative Elementary School
Windsor Alternative Elementary School
Winterset Elementary School
Woodcrest Elementary School

Middle schools

Arts Impact Middle School
Buckeye Middle School
Champion Middle School
Columbus City Preparatory School for Boys
Columbus City Preparatory School for Girls
Columbus Gifted Academy
Dominion Middle School, formerly site of the Columbus International High School
Hilltonia Middle School
Johnson Park Middle School
Medina Middle School
Mifflin Alternative Middle School
Ridgeview Middle School
Sherwood Middle School
Starling Middle School K-8
Wedgewood Middle School
Westmoor Middle School
Woodward Park Middle School
World Languages Middle School
Yorktown Middle School

K-8 Alternative schools

Africentric K-8
Columbus Spanish Immersion Academy at Beaumont Elementary School
Ecole Kenwood French Immersion School at Kenwood Elementary School
Indianola Informal K-8
Starling PreK-8 School. Starling Middle School once occupied the original West High School building, at 120 S. Central Avenue.

High schools

Former schools

Barrett Middle School - Original South High School building
Barnett School - closed 1977
Beaumont Elementary School, now Columbus Spanish Immersion Academy
Beck Urban Academy Elementary School, now the South Columbus Preparatory Academy
Bellows Avenue School - closed 1982
Brentnell Alternative Elementary - now the Ohio Dominican University's Charles School
Broadview School
Brookhaven High School - closed May 2014
Calumet School - closed as a Columbus City School, however is now a private Christian school
Central High School - Current site of COSI. The original Central High School was built in 1862 and located at 303 East Broad Street. It was the first school in Columbus built specifically only as a high school. Its name was changed in 1911 to the High School of Commerce. It closed as a school in 1924, but was used for office space until 1928 when it was demolished.
Chicago Avenue School
Clarfield Elementary School
Clinton Middle School
Courtright Elementary School
Crestview Middle School - now Indianola Informal K-8 School
Douglas School
Eastwood Elementary School
Everett Middle School - Dennison and Fourth, starting in 1924. It was the original North High School before that. Thereafter, it was home to Arts Impact Middle School for 17 years before Columbus Gifted Academy took over.
Fair Avenue Elementary School
Felton School
Fifth Avenue Public School
First Avenue School
Franklin Alternative Middle School. 1390 Franklin Road. Formerly Franklin Junior High School, starting in 1923. It was the original East High School before that.
Franklinton Elementary School - Built in 1888 at 666 West Broad Street. It was built on the site of the old Franklin County Courthouse, which had been built in 1809. It was demolished in 1959 to make way for the freeway.
Gladstone School
Glenmont School
Hamilton School
Hudson Elementary School
Indianola Junior High School, later known as Indianola Alternative Elementary School, and the first junior high school in the US.
*First building, now Graham Expeditionary Middle School
*Second building, now part of Metro Schools
James Road Elementary School
Kent Elementary School
Kingswood School
Koebel Elementary School
Lane Avenue School
Leonard Avenue School
Linden Park Alternative Elementary - closed 2007
Linmoor Middle School - closed 2007
Main Street Elementary School
Marburn Elementary School
McGuffey Elementary School
Medary Avenue Elementary School - closed 2007
Michigan Avenue School
Milo Public School
Mohawk Junior Senior High School
Monroe Traditional Alternative Middle School
Neil Avenue School
Ninth Avenue School
North High School - now houses Dominion Middle School
Northridge School
Northwood Avenue School
Pilgrim Elementary School
Pinecrest Elementary School
Reeb Avenue Elementary School
Scioto Trail Elementary School
Sharon School
Stockbridge Elementary School
Third Street School
Twenty-Third Street School
Walford Elementary

2021-2022 Report Card

The Ohio Department of Education adopted a new 5-star rating system for the 21-22 Ohio School Report Card system. After a hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, school districts received scores for the first time since the 2018-2019 school year. Although Columbus City Schools' "Graduation" and "Early Literacy" were rated at 1/5 stars, the district's "Progress" and "Gap Closing" were rated at 3/5 stars. The district also scored 2/5 stars in "Achievement", with all selectable grade level data falling short of those similar districts and the state of Ohio. Looking at "Gap Closing" data, the most growth occurred in English Language Arts.