School News

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

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.

Inside the Hickman High School Library, English 9 Honors students recently brought their independent reading to life through a creative food truck project that blended literary analysis with design and presentation.

Hickman High School was filled with excitement and energy as the school hosted more than 900 Missouri Association of Student Councils (MASC) student leaders from across the Northeast District for this year’s regional gathering

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC®) has announced the names of more than 16,000 Semifinalists in the 71st annual National Merit Scholarship Program, including eight students from Columbia Public Schools.

Nine Columbia Public Schools high school art teachers are being honored for their creativity and passion with a featured exhibit at The Montminy Gallery at the Boone County History & Culture Center.

Students from the Columbia Area Career Center (CACC) represented their schools and community with pride at the 2025 HOSA–Future Health Professionals International Leadership Conference, held this summer.

Battle, Hickman, and Rock Bridge high schools each had an incredible showing at the MSHSAA Track & Field State Championship. Each school secured individual state champions.

The American Library Association (ALA) has selected forty-six (46) people to participate in its 2025 class of Emerging Leaders (EL), including Hickman High School's media specialist, Julie Ryan.

Five CPS students have earned recognition by the Missouri Scholars 100 program, a statewide program that honors 100 of Missouri's top academic students in the graduating class of 2025. 

More than 5,200 of Missouri’s brightest future business leaders gathered in Springfield, Mo., for the 2025 Missouri Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) State Leadership Conference (SLC). Hosted at the University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center, this annual event brought together student leaders, advisers, industry professionals, and volunteers for three days of dynamic learning, competition, and connection.

Amy Jolly, school psychologist at Douglass High School and Hickman High School, recently received the honor of being named the Missouri Association of School Psychologists (MASP) school psychological examiner of the year.

Columbia Area Career Center (CACC) students demonstrated excellence in career and technical education by earning 23 medals at the 2025 SkillsUSA Missouri State Leadership and Skills Conference held earlier this month.

Several CPS students recently received award in the 2025 Creating Original Music Project at the University of Missouri.