Columbia County Schools

The Columbia County School System has established a pattern for consistent excellence and achievement making it one of the premier school systems in Georgia. Columbia County students at the elementary and secondary school level consistently excel at a level greater than their peers at both the state and national level in the areas of academic achievement.

Expansion Magazine, a leading national publication for expansion and relocation, has honored Columbia County School System with a “Blue Ribbon” rating. This Blue Ribbon rating is determined by evaluating college-board scores, graduation rates, and the community’s financial commitment to education. Expansion Magazine has evaluated school districts around the country for the past 15 years.

School Organization

The Columbia County School System currently operates 17 elementary schools, pre-kindergarten through fifth grade; seven middle schools with grades six through eight, four high schools, grades nine through 12 and one alternative school, grades six through 12. Building new or renovating and upgrading existing facilities is a constant process which enables the Columbia County School System to maintain leading edge facilities and accommodate future growth while providing a world class education for all students.

Elementary Schools

The elementary program addresses the development of students in five areas - intellectual development, social and emotional development, development of social responsibility, physical development, and artistic development, in addition to the core subject of communication skills (language arts-reading, English, spelling, handwriting), mathematics, science, social studies, health, music and art. School times are 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.

Middle Schools

At the middle school level, each grade level is divided into teams or pods, of approximately 75 to 125 students working with a specific interdisciplinary team of teachers. The term “interdisciplinary” means that teachers work and plan together to present subjects in such a way that students begin to see and understand relationships among the disciplines of math, science, social studies, and communication skills. Teachers in each interdisciplinary team have the same planning period each day so they can meet frequently to discuss the progress of students and to plan the best education for those students.

In addition to the core subject areas, the middle school program addresses an exploratory program. This program provides brief (nine to 18 weeks) but meaningful exposure to subject areas that students will eventually have options to take in high school for much longer periods of time. Some of these options are: technology lab, business, family and consumer science, band, general music, chorus, and visual arts.

Two new middle schools are planned in the next five years to serve students in the Martinez/Evans area.

High Schools

The high school curriculum is composed of courses in communication skills (grammar, composition, and literature); fine arts (art, band, chorus, and drama); foreign language (French, German, Latin, and Spanish); Junior Reserved Officer’s Training Corps (JROTC); mathematics; physical education and health; science; social studies; and technology and career education.

Georgia offers two types of diplomas, Technology/Career Preparatory and College Preparatory. The requirements for the diplomas are similar with the Technology/Career Prep courses being taught as real-world, hands-on courses and the College Prep courses being taught in a more traditional manner.

Students, with parental approval, will select courses in which to enroll each year. The selections should be based on needs, abilities, graduation requirements and plans following high school. Graduation from Columbia County Schools will be based on meeting attendance guidelines; passing all required sections of the Georgia High School Graduation Exam; earning Carnegie units of credit as specified through state and local policy; completing a Senior Project; and at least completing one of the required programs of study.