The lower school parents night will start at 7 p.m. tonight (Sept. 3). On Sept. 9, the middle school will hold its parents night at the same time. The upper school parents night will begin at 7 p.m. Sept. 16. All events will be held in the school's Schoedinger Theatre.

Columbus Academy, a coeducational college preparatory school, saw a 21-percent increase in applications over the previous year and a full-capacity enrollment of 1,075 students, from pre-kindergarten through grade 12, on opening day.

The academy features a virtual gender parity of 550 boys (51 percent) and 525 girls (49 percent). For the second time in the school's history, the academy expects to graduate a senior class with more girls (48) than boys (44).

New faculty and staff members are as follows:

• Second-grade assistant Anita Candler and pre-kindergarten teacher Jodi Bergere, both of New Albany, and Taylor Edwards of Columbus.

• Lower-school Spanish teacher Caitlin Cummings of Upper Arlington.

• Upper-school reading specialist Katy Frickel of Gahanna.

• Alumni-relations director Jill Grube of Galena.

• Upper-school biology teacher Dr. Ihab Ismail of Dublin.

• Middle-school administrative assistant Nicola Jackson of Pickerington.

• Upper-school physics teacher Marsha Martin of Columbus.

Over the summer, improvements were made to Columbus Academy's 231-acre campus. Significant effort was focused on the lower school (grades PreK-4), where several classrooms were renovated and refurbished.

Improvements also were made in the middle school (grades 5-8), the upper school (grades 9-12), the college counseling office, the dining hall, athletics facilities, the arts wing and the exterior grounds, including new recycling units.

-- Gaylon Vickers