School News
![Join the Columbia Board of Education Listening Session and share your voice with district leaders.]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1756488059/cpsk12org/gt7p5pdvaavakjpomrwr/cps-Listening-Session.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1756488059/cpsk12org/gt7p5pdvaavakjpomrwr/cps-Listening-Session.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1756488059/cpsk12org/gt7p5pdvaavakjpomrwr/cps-Listening-Session.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1756488059/cpsk12org/gt7p5pdvaavakjpomrwr/cps-Listening-Session.jpg","width":1200}])
![“America’s Healthiest Schools 2026 Awardee badge alongside the Columbia Public Schools logo.”]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1789736484/cpsk12org/rom6udoxg2k3dpfgnvqm/America-Healthiest-Schools-Award-Web.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1789736484/cpsk12org/rom6udoxg2k3dpfgnvqm/America-Healthiest-Schools-Award-Web.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1789736484/cpsk12org/rom6udoxg2k3dpfgnvqm/America-Healthiest-Schools-Award-Web.png","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1789736484/cpsk12org/rom6udoxg2k3dpfgnvqm/America-Healthiest-Schools-Award-Web.png","width":1200}])
Columbia Public Schools celebrates 34 schools and programs recognized as 2026 America’s Healthiest Schools by Alliance for a Healthier Generation. All 34 received recognition for Supporting School Health Services, with Battle Elementary and Hickman High School earning additional honors for nutrition and food access and staff well-being.
![Aslin Administration Building]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1706110866/cpsk12org/kqxlbif5plnpqiccjicc/Aslin-Columbia-Public-Schools-Building_1.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1706110866/cpsk12org/kqxlbif5plnpqiccjicc/Aslin-Columbia-Public-Schools-Building_1.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1706110866/cpsk12org/kqxlbif5plnpqiccjicc/Aslin-Columbia-Public-Schools-Building_1.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1706110866/cpsk12org/kqxlbif5plnpqiccjicc/Aslin-Columbia-Public-Schools-Building_1.jpg","width":1200}])
Columbia Public Schools will host three Long-Range Facilities Planning Community Open House events this fall. Students, families, staff and community members are invited to learn about the district’s long-range facilities planning, share feedback and help shape the future of CPS schools.
![Congratulations to the CPS Staff of the Month for December 2025]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1769643605/cpsk12org/u80u0zfcghfcqtwqcmbi/December-2025-Staff-Recognition.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1769643605/cpsk12org/u80u0zfcghfcqtwqcmbi/December-2025-Staff-Recognition.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1769643605/cpsk12org/u80u0zfcghfcqtwqcmbi/December-2025-Staff-Recognition.png","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1769643605/cpsk12org/u80u0zfcghfcqtwqcmbi/December-2025-Staff-Recognition.png","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1769643605/cpsk12org/u80u0zfcghfcqtwqcmbi/December-2025-Staff-Recognition.png","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1769643605/cpsk12org/u80u0zfcghfcqtwqcmbi/December-2025-Staff-Recognition.png","width":1920}])
Congratulations to the following Columbia Public Schools staff members who were recognized for their work during December.
![School staff members wear large inflatable animal costumes, including a panda, dragon, pig and horse, as they line up and race outdoors on a street during a school celebration. Students and adults watch in the background.]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1766162647/cpsk12org/xi8jb1izaljcjmrntp9u/School-staff-members-wear-large-inflatable-animal-costumes.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1766162647/cpsk12org/xi8jb1izaljcjmrntp9u/School-staff-members-wear-large-inflatable-animal-costumes.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1766162647/cpsk12org/xi8jb1izaljcjmrntp9u/School-staff-members-wear-large-inflatable-animal-costumes.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1766162647/cpsk12org/xi8jb1izaljcjmrntp9u/School-staff-members-wear-large-inflatable-animal-costumes.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1766162647/cpsk12org/xi8jb1izaljcjmrntp9u/School-staff-members-wear-large-inflatable-animal-costumes.jpg","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1766162647/cpsk12org/xi8jb1izaljcjmrntp9u/School-staff-members-wear-large-inflatable-animal-costumes.jpg","width":1920}])
Students at Ridgeway Elementary School were greeted with a surprise celebration as the school marked the completion of its new bus loop and the reopening of its playground after several years of construction.
![Mizzou’s Truman the Tiger mascot high-fives a line of smiling elementary students during an outdoor event at Ridgeway Elementary School, with children reaching out along a sidewalk beside a fenced playground.]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1765222247/cpsk12org/gtwozbzi4iextg8eunz7/Ridgeway-Elementary-School-Truman-the-Tiger.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1765222247/cpsk12org/gtwozbzi4iextg8eunz7/Ridgeway-Elementary-School-Truman-the-Tiger.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1765222247/cpsk12org/gtwozbzi4iextg8eunz7/Ridgeway-Elementary-School-Truman-the-Tiger.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1765222247/cpsk12org/gtwozbzi4iextg8eunz7/Ridgeway-Elementary-School-Truman-the-Tiger.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1765222247/cpsk12org/gtwozbzi4iextg8eunz7/Ridgeway-Elementary-School-Truman-the-Tiger.jpg","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1765222247/cpsk12org/gtwozbzi4iextg8eunz7/Ridgeway-Elementary-School-Truman-the-Tiger.jpg","width":1920}])
Ridgeway Elementary had plenty to celebrate after winning the Mizzou Homecoming canned food drive competition for the third year in a row. Students marked the achievement with a special visit from Truman the Tiger, Mizzou athletes, and Homecoming leaders.
![Columbia-Public-Schools-News]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1745591469/cpsk12org/sbip96mwz56ia8xrqdd0/CPS-Students-Win-2025-Original-Music-Awards.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1745591469/cpsk12org/sbip96mwz56ia8xrqdd0/CPS-Students-Win-2025-Original-Music-Awards.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1745591469/cpsk12org/sbip96mwz56ia8xrqdd0/CPS-Students-Win-2025-Original-Music-Awards.png","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1745591469/cpsk12org/sbip96mwz56ia8xrqdd0/CPS-Students-Win-2025-Original-Music-Awards.png","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1745591469/cpsk12org/sbip96mwz56ia8xrqdd0/CPS-Students-Win-2025-Original-Music-Awards.png","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1745591469/cpsk12org/sbip96mwz56ia8xrqdd0/CPS-Students-Win-2025-Original-Music-Awards.png","width":1920}])
Several CPS students recently received award in the 2025 Creating Original Music Project at the University of Missouri.
![text "Ridgeway RAP" in blue lettering on yellow background. Ram head logo in middle of image]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1724772009/cpsk12org/qgtcxmtwwiikkcehhvuy/Ridgeway-RAP.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1724772009/cpsk12org/qgtcxmtwwiikkcehhvuy/Ridgeway-RAP.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1724772009/cpsk12org/qgtcxmtwwiikkcehhvuy/Ridgeway-RAP.png","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1724772009/cpsk12org/qgtcxmtwwiikkcehhvuy/Ridgeway-RAP.png","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1724772009/cpsk12org/qgtcxmtwwiikkcehhvuy/Ridgeway-RAP.png","width":1440}])