The Columbia Public School District is centered in Columbia, Missouri and serves much of Boone County. The district is Accredited with Distinction by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. It serves 18,552 students as of 2018 making it the 7th-largest district in the state. The district supports four high schools, six middle schools, and twenty-one elementary schools. In addition, the district contains a career center, center for gifted education, and center for special education. Prior to 2013, there were three middle schools for grades 6-7 and three junior high schools for grades 8-9. With the opening of Battle High School, 9th grade was able to move to high school and all six schools became middle schools for grades 6-8. - Source: Wikipedia