A total of 20 schools make up Maury County Public Schools – 10 elementary, three middle, three unit schools (K-12), one alternative and three high schools.

The three main cities in the county are Columbia, Mount Pleasant and Spring Hill, and each has its own successful high school. Here's a look at recent achievements from all three schools.

Columbia Central High School

Columbia Central has 145 classes, 50 student clubs, a growing roster of Advanced Placement courses and award-winning academic teams. The school also offers instruction for more than a dozen career and technical areas.

Programs include a mass communication course that was started by broadcast journalism teacher Dan Bell. Students in Bell’s classes produce Pride TV, an award-winning television broadcast featuring stories about people and events at the school and in the community.

The school's athletic program is stellar. Columbia Central Lions are the current 5A Tennessee state football champs.

Mount Pleasant High School

Two innovative projects recently occurred at the school. First, freshman class members had individual portraits taken in a graduation cap and gown. This is part of their commitment to graduate as seniors in 2014, and the portraits are displayed in the school as a picture of future success for these students.

Second, graduates of MPHS have created and designed college pennants that hang in the foyer. The “Ask me about my college” pennants are a way to highlight the achievements of students once they graduate, and a variety of colleges are represented in the display.

Spring Hill High School

Spring Hill High has the only “Project Lead the Way” program in the Maury County Public Schools system, with the program recognized by the state of Tennessee. The program is led by manufacturing/Project Lead the Way teacher Ben White, and the mission is to prepare students to be leaders in STEM – science, technology, engineering and math.

SHHS also has a rigorous Advanced Placement biology class, and Spring Hill High has an overall 86.5 percent graduation rate.