Why Choose Columbus Academy?

A message from our head of school, Melissa Soderberg

Every year, Columbus Academy eagerly welcomes children and their families to the new school year — students who are arriving for the very first time and those who are returning (including some who have been doing so across multiple generations of their family). All members of our learning community are humbled by a family’s commitment to us, and we, in turn, make a commitment to them to always strive to provide the best possible education.

We recognize that a family’s decision to enroll here is a thoughtful one. We are an expensive place that often might be many miles and minutes away from one’s local public school. Yet the benefits — extrinsic and intrinsic — that a child stands to receive here are many, and I’d like to share them with you. Scroll down and you will see highlights of the most salient differentiating points of what we offer.

On behalf of the Academy community — teachers, staff, coaches, parents, students and alumni — I thank you for your consideration of Columbus Academy.

Excellent resources

We spend almost twice the amount per student than nearby public schools. We have small classes, excellent teachers and lots of opportunities to participate and achieve in the arts and athletics, research and robotics. Our state-of-the-art facilities, including those afforded by our 231-acre wooded campus, create an incubator for dreaming and doing.

The highest standards

From academic accomplishment to expressions of kindness, a Columbus Academy education emphasizes excellence in character and perseverance, in a nurturing and challenging environment.

A belief that each child needs to write and speak well

Time and attention given by our teachers, often too costly in large class sizes of the public sector, leads to developing the essential skills of a child’s self-expression. Beginning with our youngest students, who share their ideas in community meetings and through all class levels, we care deeply about the well-organized mind of the confident, articulate student.

A culture of thinking and learning

Creating habits of the mind — curiosity, creativity, compelling expression — are at the core of what we do. With a curriculum free from state-mandated testing, we cultivate the atmosphere for these habits to be exercised every day.

A premium on relationships

From long-tenured faculty to seniors supporting their kindergarten “buddies,” Columbus Academy is designed entirely to sanctify a sense of belonging: teachers to students and students to the school.

A tight-knit community with real-world sensibilities

Is it possible for children on a secluded, breathtaking campus to be aware of and sensitive to the realities of their city and country? We know it is! And we are compelled to involve their active minds in anticipating and solving real-world issues and their able bodies in serving our local community.

We are lifelong learners.

Our professional development budget is in the top 10 percent nationally of schools like ours, and we were awarded as a “Top Workplace” by Columbus CEO magazine. 

We look more like the world than many suburban communities around us.

We are made up of 35 percent students of color, 54 different zip codes, families of all kinds from a wide range of economic and cultural backgrounds.

An emphasis on college

Our dedicated college counselors define success as the best match of student to college, a place where one will thrive and grow.

We are driven by our mission.

Unlike other school options, our school and independent schools like us are compelled to act on behalf of our missions. At Academy:

• We value a broad diversity of students.

• We seek to develop the complete person: mind, body and character.

• We reward effort and accomplishment.

• We foster compassion, respect and moral courage.

• We insist on integrity, fair play and community service.

• We strive to develop and sustain a community of thoughtful, responsible, capable, confident citizens eager to engage in a pluralistic and ever-changing world.

I look forward to personally welcoming you to Columbus Academy. I invite you to learn more about us here on our website, across our social media sites (see links in the bottom section of every page of this website) and by visiting us in person.

Warmly,

Melissa Soderberg 
Head of School

Why choose an independent school?

Information from the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) shows that independent schools nurture intellectual curiosity, stimulate personal growth, encourage critical thinking and promote a lifelong love of learning. More information about the benefits of an independent school education can be found in this section of the NAIS website, Parents’ Guide to Independent Schools.

Parents who chose Columbus Academy were attracted by the measurable outcomes of an Academy education. They choose to stay, however, because of the warmth of our community and the strength of our teachers, who strive to develop a full understanding of each student’s learning style and motivational triggers.

Read here some of the stories of our outcomes and our community — teachers, students and parents who together are the reason why Columbus Academy is recognized as one of the top independent day schools in the nation.

Non-Discrimination Policy

Columbus Academy encourages and welcomes applications from students without regard to race, gender, creed, sexual orientation, religion, physical handicap or national origin and does not discriminate in the administration of its educational policies, financial aid programs and school-administered extracurricular programs.