Public · Private · Early childhood
Raising them takes the whole town.
Two public districts, independent schools, home classrooms, Head Start and free pre-K — every door a child can walk through here, and every phone number a parent needs. No favorites played.
Public schools
Two public districts, one hometown.
Columbia is served by two separate public school districts, and which one a child attends depends on the address — not on whether the family lives inside the city limits in the way people often assume. If you are moving here and are not sure which district covers your address, call the district office and ask before you sign anything.
Columbia School District
The city district, serving Columbia from kindergarten through 12th grade.
- Website — columbiaschools.org
- Office — 613 Wildcat Way, Columbia, MS 39429
- Phone — (601) 736-2366
1,639 students attend four schools:
- Columbia High School — 484 students, grades 9–12
- Jefferson Middle School — 329 students, grades 6–8
- Columbia Elementary School — 378 students, grades 3–5
- Columbia Primary School — 448 students, grades PK–2
On the state's 2024–25 accountability results, released September 25, 2025, the district earned a B — 642 points — and ranked 61st of 148 Mississippi school districts. Its graduation rate is 92.7%.
In December 2025 the high school's football team finished 15–0 and won the MHSAA Class 4A state championship.
Marion County School District
The county district, operating the East Marion and West Marion schools plus the county career and technology center.
- Website — marionk12.org
- Office — 1010 Highway 13 North, Columbia, MS 39429
- Phone — (601) 736-7193
- Schools — East Marion Elementary · East Marion Middle · East Marion High · West Marion Primary · West Marion Middle · West Marion High · Marion County Carl Loftin Career & Technology Center
Private schools
Independent schools in Columbia.
Listed alphabetically. Admissions, tuition and availability are handled entirely by each school — call them directly.
Columbia Academy
Independent school serving PK through 12th grade, founded 1969.
- Website — cacougars.com
- Address — 1548 Highway 98 East, Columbia, MS 39429
- Phone — (601) 736-6418
Woodlawn Preparatory School
Independent school serving PK through 12th grade, with a Montessori program in the younger grades.
- Website — woodlawnprep.cc
- Address — 1450 Highway 98 East, Columbia, MS 39429
- Phone — (601) 736-4122
Specialized instruction
For the child who thinks differently.
About one person in five is dyslexic. Most families in a town this size have historically had to drive to Hattiesburg or Jackson for specialized instruction — or go without. They no longer have to.
The Bridge Middle School for Dyslexia
A full-day school built specifically for students with dyslexia, an initiative of Watermark Education, Inc., a non-profit. It is housed in the Education Wing of First United Methodist Church downtown.
- Full-day school — grades 3 through 8
- After-school dyslexia therapy — all ages, children through adults
- Homeschool connections — support for families teaching at home
- Website — watermarkeducation.com
- Address — 411 Church Street, Columbia, MS 39429
- Phone — (601) 441-7301
If your child struggles to read, write or spell and nobody has been able to tell you why, this is the number to call. Evaluation and therapy are available whether or not your child attends the school.
Teaching at home
The kitchen-table classroom.
Mississippi law allows families to educate their children at home, and several homeschool groups operate in and around Columbia — co-ops, tutorials, sports and enrichment days, and testing support.
Where to start:
- The Bridge / Watermark Education offers homeschool connections for families teaching at home — (601) 441-7301
- The Mississippi Department of Education publishes the state's compulsory-attendance and certificate-of-enrollment requirements
⏳ Local homeschool groups are being added to this page. If you run or belong to a homeschool co-op, tutorial or support group serving Columbia families, send us the details and we will list it — free, and on the same terms as every other school here.
Birth to five
A head start, in the truest sense.
Head Start is free for families who qualify, and it starts earlier than most people realize — before birth, in fact.
Pearl River Valley Opportunity, Inc. — Head Start & Early Head Start
PRVO has run early childhood programs out of Columbia since 1965 and operates Head Start and Early Head Start centers across Marion and ten neighboring counties. (Other Head Start centers listed further down may be run by different agencies — call the center itself to be sure.)
- Head Start — children aged 3 to 5
- Early Head Start — birth to 3, and expectant mothers
- Transportation is provided at no charge for preschool children
- Website — prvoinc.org
- Main office — 756 Highway 98 Bypass, Columbia, MS 39429
- Phone — (601) 736-9564
Daycares, church preschools and the free pre-K program are listed below.
Free pre-K, and almost nobody knows
There is a free pre-K program for four-year-olds.
If your child turns four on or before September 1, they may be able to attend a free, state-funded pre-K class — with a certified teacher holding a degree in early childhood, and no more than ten children per teacher.
It is the Marion County and Columbia Early Learning Collaborative, one of 47 collaboratives funded by the Mississippi Department of Education. It was awarded in 2019 and serves 160 children across five sites:
| Site | Phone |
|---|---|
| MAP Head Start, Columbia | 601-731-3779 |
| My Luv Daycare, Columbia | 601-731-2090 |
| Columbia Primary | 601-736-2216 |
| East Marion Elementary | 601-736-7290 |
| West Marion Primary, Foxworth | 601-736-3713 |
Slots are limited and enrollment stays open only until they fill. If you have a four-year-old, this is worth a phone call today rather than in August.
Coordinator — Haley Green · 601-690-0507 · hgreen@marionk12.org · details and the application on the Marion County School District early learning page.
Child care
Trusted hands while you work.
Licensed child care centers serving Columbia, alphabetically. Call for openings, hours and rates — none of that holds still long enough to publish.
- First Baptist Day Care · 900 High School Avenue · 601-736-4914 · ages 1–12
- Hub Head Start Center · 431 Old Highway 13 North · phone needed · preschool
- John E Hales Head Start & Community Center · 601-923-4100 · infant–4
- Kurious Little Hands · 134 Garner Circle Drive · 601-297-7326 · infant–5
- Little People's Creative Learning · 300 South Main Street · 601-633-5150 · infant–5
- Maxine Branton Infant Day Care · 411 Church Street · phone needed · infants
- My Luv Childcare Center · 904 Church Street · 601-731-2090 · ages 1–12
- My Luv Childcare Center II · 1470 Highway 13 South · 601-736-8326 · infant–5
- Tender Loving Care · 4 Lakeview Road · 601-731-1098 · infant–5
- Woodlawn Child Care · 1452 Highway 98 East · 601-736-6781 · ages 2–3
Church-run preschools
- First Baptist Church — weekday preschool and daycare, 900 High School Avenue · 601-736-4914 · fbccolumbia.org
- Columbia Presbyterian Preschool — 500 Church Street
⚠️ Please help us keep this right. This list came from state child care licensing records and public directories, so some numbers will have changed and we have probably missed somebody. If you run a center in Columbia and are not here — or are here wrongly — tell us and it is fixed the same week. There is no fee and no application.
Checking a license. Child care centers in Mississippi are licensed and inspected by the Mississippi State Department of Health, and you can ask any center to show you its current license and most recent inspection. That is a fair question and a good one to ask.
This list belongs to the town
If we missed yours, that's fixable.
This page is a directory, not a recommendation. The city lists every school and early-childhood program serving Columbia on the same terms, with the same fields, and does not rank them, compare them, or endorse any of them. Choosing a school is a family's decision and none of the city's business.
If your school, preschool, daycare, mother's-day-out or tutoring program serves Columbia families and is not listed, tell us and we will add it — the same way we do for houses of worship. There is no fee and no application.
Send us the details — name, address, phone, website, and the ages you serve. Or call 601.736.8201.
Something on this page wrong or out of date? Tell us that too. Schools change phone numbers and websites more often than anyone expects.
Also worth knowing
Learning doesn't stop at the last bell.
The Yards, the parks, the ball fields and the library are all part of growing up here. So is the museum.