Columbia Union School District is a single-site K-8 district currently serving around 500 students and their families, as well as the Columbia community and greater Tuolumne County. The district is located two (2) miles north of Sonora in the gold country of the Sierra Nevada Foothills. Columbia Elementary School began in the 1800s as a one-room schoolhouse located in historic Columbia State Park where it still stands and is maintained by the State Park for tours and presentations.
Columbia Elementary School relocated in 1936 when a new school building was constructed on Parrotts Ferry Road. Over the years the campus has expanded to meet the needs of the growing district. The school’s campus is large and generally spread out, but the district has a long history of ensuring facilities are modernized and suitable for the programming and interscholastic opportunities offered to students.
In 2007, the district completed construction of 19 state of the art classrooms and an Education, Sports and Performing Arts Complex. The district is currently in the process of classroom renovations, supplying office spaces to its partners who provide a variety of services to students and families, upgrading and expanding access to and the use of technology, supporting the physical needs of its fine arts programming, and updating and adding recreational opportunities.
The mission of Columbia Union School District is to provide a child-centered environment that cultivates character, fosters academic excellence, and embraces diversity. District families, communities, and staff join as partners to develop creative, exemplary learners with the skills and enthusiasm to contribute to a constantly changing global society.
The district continues to reflect on what an engaging and valuable learning experience means to the students. The district has advanced in supporting the four (4) core content areas, fine arts, intervention and support systems, global education, and middle school electives to name a few.
Columbia Elementary School is a great school where families, staff, and students focus on the success of the whole child by creating unique learning opportunities to ensure students leave our school ready for high school and beyond. The district enjoys the support of its families and community members and continues to work with them as partners to continue seeing there is continued success at Columbia.
You can view additional demographic and student achievement data on the California Dashboard here.
