Columbus City Schools

Columbus City Schools
Motto Step up, Make it happen
Established 1845
Type Public School District
President Gene T. Harris, Ph.D., Superintendent
Academic staff 4,166 Teachers
Admin. staff 7,181 fte (Oct. 2007)
Students 55,235 (2007-2008)
Location Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Campus City
Website http://www.columbus.k12.oh.us

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 (portions of the city are served by suburban school districts). The district has over 56,000 students enrolled, making it the largest school district in the state of Ohio as of August 2006. 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 1806. It wasn't 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 currently serves as the 19th superintendent of Columbus City Schools. 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."

Contents

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 forced 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 (In 1982) and North High School (In 1979) to be closed, including many 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.[1]

District Enrollment
Year Enrollment
1920 32,442
1947 40,000 (Estimate)
1962 93,000 (Estimate)
1971 110,725 (All-Time Peak)
1976 95,571
1980 72,698
1995 62,812
1996 63,610
2007 55,235

Board of education

There are 7 members on the Board of Education. Current members are listed below:

Schools

There are a total of 125 active schools in the district.

Elementary schools

Middle schools

K-8 Alternative Schools

High schools

Former Schools

2006-2007 Report Card

For the 06-07 school year, the district improved its rating to "Continuous Improvement" on the department of education's rating scale. The district met 42 of 42 adequate yearly progress goals, which allowed the rating to improve.

References

  1. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=Us2_obabVZ0C&pg=PA249&vq=school+enrollment&dq=white+flight+columbus+public+schools&source=gbs_search_s&cad=0#PPA19,M1
  2. ^ http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/01/03/highskuls.ART_ART_01-03-09_A1_E2CDL28.html