At Jefferson City Public Schools, every day is filled with opportunities to be a difference maker in the lives of our nearly 9,000 students. And our students deserve the very best we can give! We are committed to them, and to our staff, as we strive to become the premier school district in the State of Missouri. We are thrilled to welcome our students and staff back as we embark on a new school year. Together, we can give every student hope for a better tomorrow.

Superintendent Larry Linthacum

We were excited to welcome over 1,200 of our staff members to our annual Opening Session event, held at Jefferson City High School on Monday, August 13th. Along with the announcement of this year's theme, JC Reads, attendees heard from Superintendent Larry Linthacum, Board President Steve Bruce, and motivational speaker Brian Mendler. The Jefferson City High School Drum Line & Step Team wowed the crowd with their performances and the full staff gathered together at the end for the annual JCPS family photo.

Visit our Facebook page to see photos and live video from the event.

We are incredibly blessed to have such amazing men & women on our facilities team. They spend the summer working to ensure our buildings are ready to welcome back students. This month we gathered to say THANK YOU for everything they do to maintain the integrity of our buildings! See photos of attendees along with those who were honored for 5, 10, 15 and 25 years of service in our Facebook photo album .

As is the case every year, it was so wonderful to welcome our nearly 9,000 students back to Jefferson City Public Schools last week!

Take a look at all of the first day smiles from students and staff in our #BacktoJCPS Video.

The Jefferson City Board of Education held its monthly meeting on Monday, August 13th. The agenda included: presentation of Difference Maker Awards; discussion of the tax rate and operating expense; a boundary line update from Dr. Linthacum (which will be an agenda item again at the September meeting); a presentation of a possible athletic scoreboard vendor selection; and a recommendation to increase substitute pay. Board of Education minutes can be viewed here.

Nichols Career Center sent nine students to the National SkillsUSA Competition this summer in Louisville, Kentucky, and we are proud to report that they came home with two national titles and four other Top 10 finishes. The students were recognized this month at a reception which was attended by Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe, Interim DESE Commissioner Roger Dorson, and other state and local school officials.

The students were later recognized as Difference Makers at the August Jefferson City Public Schools Board of Education meeting. Read more about the individual student winners here.

We are under construction at Jefferson City High School and would like to thank you for your patience this year as renovations continue! Plans have been carefully crafted and laid out to ensure we provide a positive, safe school environment for our students, teachers and staff.

Learn more about project plans for both Jefferson City High School and Capital City High School here .

The annual JCPS Foundation Gala will be held on September 25, 2018 at the Capitol Plaza Hotel Ballroom in Jefferson City. The gala is an annual event to celebrate public education and induct special friends of the Foundation and school district into the Foundation's Hall of Leaders program. For more information, to become an event sponsor, or to purchase tickets, visit the JCPS Foundation website.

Daniel Thurman, a sixth grader at Lewis & Clark Middle School, had quite an exciting experience this summer at the US Space & Rocket Center's Aviation Challenge Mach I. The week-long educational program features different levels for different age groups, and puts students such as Thurman in a military-like environment that uses hands-on activities to promote science, technology, engineering and math, as well as teamwork, leadership and problem-solving.

The Jefferson City News Tribune did a feature write-up about Daniel's experience, which you can read here .

There are many ways to stay in touch with Jefferson City Public Schools, including our district website, weekly newsletter, and social media accounts. Be sure to visit, like, follow, subscribe and more to stay in-the-know with all that's going on with JCPS. Learn more about the district's communications department here.