The Opelika City Schools offer outstanding educational opportunities for students in grades K-12. The strong relationships between the schools, the city leaders, and local businesses have established an extremely supportive community that prides itself in the success of our students. Our highly qualified teachers are trained in the latest instructional strategies in order to offer our students a rigorous and diverse curriculum that is aligned with the Alabama College and Career Ready Standards. Interactive learning begins in each classroom where students of all ages use the latest technology including ClearTouch interactive panels, Promethean whiteboard systems, tablets, laptops, slates, and ELMO document cameras. Separate computer labs are also provided at every school at every grade level.
Our system includes three primary schools (grades K-2), three intermediate schools (grades 3-5), one middle school (grades 6-8), one high school (grades 9-12) and an alternative school. Following two years of renovation and construction, Opelika High School faculty, students, and parents celebrated the grand opening of the new facility in 2014. The $46 million renovation and construction included the complete demolition of the original 1972 structure. The newly renovated and constructed school has 87 new classrooms including general education classrooms for core classes, science labs, computer labs, business technology labs, and specialty classrooms for Consumer Science, Health Science, Driver's Education, Art, Special Education, Engineering, Information Technology, Publishing, and Horticulture. Renovations also included the addition of an indoor practice facility, the complete renovation of Bulldog Stadium and upgrades to other areas including the Media Center, Foreign Language and Performing Arts areas. Construction of the new Opelika High School track should be completed in 2017.
The arts programs in the Opelika City Schools are highly acclaimed. Our schools proudly begin offering music, art and enrichment programs in our elementary grades and continue throughout high school. As a partner with the Kennedy Center, students of all ages benefit from attending performances by world class performers and musicians. Students in our elementary schools are engaged in art and music lessons once each week and middle school students rotate through band, chorus and art in sixth grade. Once students reach the high school, there are numerous options for them to participate in including marching band, symphonic band, concert band, percussion, choir, show choir, theatre, tech theatre, guitar and fine art. OHS band, showchoir, and theatre consistently receive excellent ratings and win a variety of awards at the district and state levels for fine arts and performing arts.
Advanced Placement (AP) classes are offered in every core academic area at OHS. In addition, many students are dual enrolled in Opelika High School and Southern Union State Community college, located across the street from the OHS campus. Our Career Technical programs prepare students to transition quickly into the work environment. Our teachers and staff are personally invested in every student's learning experience to provide the academics, personal growth and character building that are the foundations for success. When students graduate from the Opelika City Schools, they are equipped with a solid base of knowledge and experiences to be prepared for a very bright future.
Opelika City Schools is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.