The Columbus Public Schools (CPS) are administered by a seven-member board of education that supports a superintendent. The system's Alexander Graham Bell Elementary School for the hearing impaired is considered one of the nation's finest. Alternative/magnet schools; a high school for the performing arts; a virtual high school; and the International Baccalaureate diploma program, giving qualified graduates access to the world's leading universities, are also among the system's offerings.
According to the 2004 report by the superintendent of schools, in 2003–2004 the CPS graduation rate rose to 59.9 percent, a 0.6 percent increase over the previous year and a 3.9 percent increase over the year 2000. In 2002–2003 CPS met 5 of 18 state standards on proficiency tests and graduation and attendance rates; by 2003–2004 the rate remained at 5 of 18 standards, and the district maintained or improved performance in 16 of 18 standards. In 2004, CPS had more teachers achieve National Board Certified Status than any other school district in Ohio.
The following is a summary of data regarding the Columbus public schools as of the 2003–2004 school year.
Total enrollment: 62,201
Number of facilities
elementary schools: 90
middle schools: 26
senior high schools: 18, plus 4 career centers and 4 special schools
Student/teacher ratio: 18.6:1
Teacher salaries
minimum: $35,089
maximum: $76,302
Funding per pupil: $10,757
Columbus is also served by more than 13 charter schools and 12 private and parochial schools that offer a range of curricula, including special education programs.
The Ohio State University, a major institution of higher learning at both the state and national levels, with an enrollment of more 58,000 students as of April 2005, awards undergraduate through doctorate degrees. In addition to its Columbus campus, the university maintains four regional campuses and a two-year branch facility. The Ohio State system includes eight schools and 18 colleges that administer 12,000 courses, 174 undergraduate majors, and 204 graduate programs.
Capital University schedules courses leading to undergraduate and graduate degrees in such fields as arts and sciences, music, nursing, business administration, and law; the university also operates an adult education division. Other four-year institutions located in the Columbus area include the Columbus College of Art and Design and Franklin University. Columbus State Community College, enrolling more than 11,000 students, grants two-year associate degrees in business, health, public service, and engineering technologies.
Columbus is home to more than 60 libraries that are maintained by a range of institutions, corporations, government agencies, and organizations. The Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) operates 21 branches in Columbus and throughout Franklin County in addition to the Main Library. CML also jointly operates the Northwest Library with the Worthington Public Library. The collections of several Central Ohio library systems, including CML, are linked electronically in the Discovery Place Libraries consortium, offering customers access to a total of over 3 million items. CML's collection contains more than 2.4 million items, including books, periodicals, videotapes, DVDs, CD-ROMs, films, audiocassettes, compact discs, circulating visuals, maps, charts, microfilm/microfiche, sheet music, and photos. In addition, the Library maintains special collections on local and state history and federal and state documents. CML is also part of the Ohio Public Library Information Network (OHIOLINK), a statewide on-line resource. OHIOLINK was created to help guarantee that all Ohio citizens continue to have access to information regardless of location or format.
The Ohio State University Libraries hold about 5.7 million book volumes and operate numerous department libraries and five campus facilities. Included in the more than 25 special collections are the American Association of Editorial Cartoonist Archives, including a long term loan of more than 3,000 original "Calvin and Hobbes" cartoons by Bill Watterson; American playwrights' theater records; film scripts; Ohio News Photographers Association Archives; and various author collections featuring the works of such writers as Miguel de Cervantes, Emily Dickinson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edith Wharton, James Thurber, and Samuel Beckett. The library is a depository for federal, state, and European Economic Community documents.
As the state capital, Columbus is the site of libraries associated with state governmental divisions, including the Supreme Court of Ohio, the Ohio Department of Transportation, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the Ohio Legislative Service Commission, and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. The Columbus Dispatch, all local colleges and universities, most major hospitals, several churches and synagogues, and cultural organizations maintain libraries in the city. Private corporations and law firms provide library facilities for both employee and public use. Among the research institutions that house libraries are Battelle Columbus Laboratories, Chemical Abstracts Service, National Center for Research in Vocational Education, and the Institute of Polar Studies at Ohio State University, housing the Byrd Polar Collection.
Columbus is home to the headquarters of Battelle Memorial Institute, considered the world's largest independent research organization, which conducts research, analysis, testing, design, and consultation in fields that include energy, environmental quality, health sciences, engineering and manufacturing technology, and national security. The American Ceramic Society performs educational, technical, scientific, and information services for the international ceramic community. The Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) maintains an automated information and cataloging system for more than 6,000 libraries in the United States.
More than 60 research centers at The Ohio State University provide research, testing, analysis, design, and consultation services. Other research facilities located in Columbus are Chemical Abstracts Service of the American Chemical Society, The Applied Information Technologies Research Center, Edison Welding Institute, Honda of America Transportation Research Center, and several engineering, pharmaceutical, and chemical firms.
Public Library Information: Columbus Metropolitan Library, 96 South Grant Avenue, Columbus, OH 43215; telephone (614)645-2800; fax (614)645-2050