Columbia High School (New Jersey)

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Columbia High School
"Excelsior"


School type Public
Established 1814, 1885
Principal Dr. Lovie Lilly (Acting)
Faculty Around 250
Students 2,013 students
Colors
Mascot		 Red, Black
Cougar
Location 17 Parker Avenue,
Maplewood, NJ, USA
Information (973) 762-5600 x1019
Website http://www.somsd.k12.nj.us/~chs/

Columbia High School is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school located at 17 Parker Avenue in Maplewood, New Jersey, that serves students in grades nine through twelve within the South Orange-Maplewood School District, which includes Maplewood and South Orange. Columbia is often referred to by residents of South Orange and Maplewood as CHS.

Contents

[edit] Brief history and overview

Located in the heart of suburban Essex County, Columbia High School is one of the oldest schools in New Jersey. It was founded as the "Columbian School" in 1814, becoming a high school in 1885. The current building was built in 1926 on the site of the Crowell cider mill. Major additions date from the 30's (industrial arts), 50's (athletics and class rooms) and 70's (library, science rooms, industrial arts).

Columbia High School was noted in the 1930 Encyclopædia Britannica as an example of progressive American school design. CHS was also featured in the first issue (1928) of "American School and University" who later revisited the school for their 50th anniversary issue. The sport of Ultimate was largely born at Columbia.

[edit] Awards and recognition

For the 1992-93 school year, Columbia High School received the Blue Ribbon Award from the United States Department of Education, the highest honor that an American school can achieve.[1]

Columbia High School was the 79th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 316 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2006 cover story on the state's Top Public High Schools.[2]

[edit] Academics

A partial list of course offerings the school provides, which includes a substantial selection of Advanced Placement Program (AP) courses, demonstrates the curriculum:

  • English/Language Arts
    • American Literature
    • AP English Language and Composition
    • AP English Literature and Composition
    • Contemporary Literature
    • Drama as Literature & Performance
    • British Literature
    • Essentials of Literature & Language
    • Journalistic Writing and Analysis
    • Literary Inquiry & Creative Writing
    • Literature & Philosophy
    • Literature of Social Criticism
    • Poetry Reading and Writing
    • Poetry, Fiction & Creative Writing
    • Reading & Writing Non-Fiction for Broadcast Journalism
    • Research-based Debate
    • Strategies for Effective Reading and Writing
    • World Literature
  • Arts
    • Animation I & II (including Claymation)
    • Art I-IV
    • AP Studio Art
    • AP Art History
    • Computer Graphics
    • Commercial Art
    • Crafts I & II
    • Drawing
    • Design
    • Exploring Modern Art
    • Fibers
    • Film Making I & II
    • Photography I & II
    • Production Journalism I & II
  • Physical Education
    • Traditional "Gym Class"
    • Cooperative Games
    • Swimming
    • Fitness, Weightlifting
    • Project Adventure (Ropes Course)
    • Dance
    • Special Dance
    • Scuba Diving
    • Table Tennis
    • Volleyball
    • Health
    • Martial Arts
    • Driver's Education
  • Music
    • Concert Band
    • Symphonic Band
    • Wind Ensemble
    • Orchestra
    • Freshman Choir
    • Concert Choir
    • Chamber Choir
    • Marching Band
    • Jazz Ensemble
    • Brass Ensemble
    • All-School Musical
    • Pit Orchestra
    • Fundamentals
    • MLK Choir
    • AP Music Theory
    • Electronic Music
  • Mathematics
    • Algebra 1-2
    • Geometry
    • Pre-Calculus/Trigonometry
    • Calculus
    • AP Calculus AB and BC
    • Calculus of Several Variables/Differential Equations
    • AP Statistics
    • Math of Personal FInance
  • TV Studio
  • Business Technology

[edit] Campus

Columbia High School was designed in the Collegiate Gothic style by James O. Betelle of the Newark, New Jersey architectural firm of Guilbert & Betelle. Collegiate Gothic, or Academic Gothic, construction was prevalent in the Northeast in the 1920s, and was Betelle's preferred school building style for both its scholastically historic roots and practical considerations.[3] Guilbert & Betelle was also responsible for many schools, public buildings and banks throughout the Northeast.

Columbia High School's entrance depicting the Eight Disciplines
Columbia High School's entrance depicting the Eight Disciplines

CHS is a large structure which has undergone three major additions and 80+ years of operation. The original Guilbert & Betelle building is now referred to as "A-Wing" and serves as the core of the school. This section, subject of acclaim in its day by the Encyclopædia Britannica (14th ed.), "American School and University" and "American School Board Journal" (Jan. 1928), was designed in classic Collegiate Gothic style. The exterior is mostly brick with limestone trim, although the basement levels are natural stone. The roof is blue slate with copper trim, flashing, and gutters. The deeply arched limestone entrance details "The Eight Disciplines" as well as a pair of stern looking old men staring down. In other parts of the building, there are limestone squirrels and other ornamentation. The original exterior lighting is all in copper.

The predominate feature of A-wing is the six-story clock tower. The tower's rooftop observatory is served by stairs or a small elevator. The observatory was equipped with a large refracting telescope made by John Brashear. Additionally, the clock tower also held a radio transmitter, making CHS the first high school in the country to have its own broadcast station. Transmissions ceased sometime in the 1950's, although the school has long operated its own television station. The clock works were originally mechanical, with large weights that were wound up once a week. The channels for the weights can still be seen on the front of the tower.

CHS as it originally appeared
CHS as it originally appeared

Although three quarters of the original exterior are hidden by additions, more of the original interior remains intact. This includes rooms with fireplaces, hallways with beautiful terra cotta wall tiles, and mosaic inlaid terrazzo floors in the front hall. The front foyer was recently renovated, removing non-period lighting and mid-century acoustic tile. The restoration included doors that more closely replicated the 1926 originals, and a new terrazzo floor replacing the hopelessly damaged slate floor, (which while not original, match the flooring in other parts of the building) and dramatic lighting of the zodiac-inspired plaster ceiling. Still, restoration work remains: The main hallways are often painted with dubious student art dating from as far back as the 1970's. In the swimming pool alone, the chandeliers are gone, a giant arched window is blocked by later additions, and the Guastavino tile ceiling has deteriorated. The auditorium includes a three-manual cinema organ, originally intended to accompany silent pictures, which is little used and not completely functional. On either side of the stage the large plaster grills that hide the organ pipes were water damaged. The original auditorium chandeliers have been removed.

CHS has had a major addition every 20 to 30 years. In the 1930s, an industrial arts wing brought students the skills needed during the Great Depression. In the 1950's, a large addition, now known as "C-Wing," added classrooms to cope with increasing student numbers as well as a massive gymnasium (bringing the total number of gyms to three). In the early 70's a projected enrollment boom and the need for new science, fine arts, and industrial arts space created the need for "B" and "D" wings. A new cafeteria, the largest public school library at the time, space for academic advising, a small movie theater and A/V room and a TV studio were built.

More recently, some of the industrial skills space was converted into a black box theater. The previously described foyer restoration was augmented with a spruce up of the C-wing entrance.

[edit] Sports

The Columbia High School Cougars play in the twenty-member Iron Hills Conference. Columbia participates in the Group IV division of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). Many of the teams are successful on the local, state, and national level.

The school's fencing team (started in 1982) is one of the largest in the nation, having over 100 freshmen join the team in the last year alone. The boys team is consistently ranked among the top in the state, while the girls team has won the state championship every year but 2002 for the last 7 years. The girls team record for the combined 1999-2005 seasons was 94-4. In 2006, the girls fencing team defeated Bernards High School 19-8 to win the NJSIAA 2006 Girls Team Fencing state tournament.[4]

The girl's track and field team won the New Jersey girl's indoor track relays in the winter of 2005.

The boy's soccer team is coached by legendary soccer coach Gene Chyzowych, one of the winningest active scholastic soccer coaches in the nation with 666 victories.[5]

The girl's basketball team occasionally contends for the New Jersey state championship.

The school's cross-country team has had success. In 2000, both champion male and female runners of New Jersey were Columbia High School students.

[edit] Extracurricular Activities and Clubs

The students of Columbia participate in a wide variety of activities, ranging from sports to academic clubs to political organizations on campus.

[edit] Controversy

In 2004, Columbia High School made national headlines when the administration amended a policy regarding religiously themed holiday songs putting more strict guidelines in place. Many people believed the new rules to be too strict. Radio personality Don Imus produced a song on his radio program entitled "Oh, Little Town of Maplewood," mocking the new rules of Columbia High School. The new guidelines were also mentioned on The O'Reilly Factor.

CHS has been no stranger to religious controversy. In the mid 1970's the school district was sued for teaching Transcendental Meditation for course credit. Later, The U.S. District Court ruled in Malnak v. Yogi (1979) that under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, TM was too religious to be taught in public schools (Malnak v. Yogi, D.C. Civil Action No. 76-0341.)

Columbia High School is an extremely diverse school ethnically, with just over half the students being of African-American heritage and just under half being Caucasian. There has been much discussion regarding the Racial Academic Achievement Gap in the school district. During the 2004-2005 school year, the student run Martin Luther King Association organization demanded more access to higher level academics for minorities in the district. Most recently, on March 29, 2006 there was a student walk-out and protest regarding issues such as the outsourcing of security positions, a proposed schedule change, and alleged racial remarks made by the principal. The protest was considered a success. The superintendent announced his resignation the next day. The protest is also believed to have heavily influenced the Board of Education election a few weeks later. Two incumbent members were voted out, including the chairman, in a landslide election.

In the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year, students entered the building to find a new acting principal, Lovie Lilly. She was originally a Vice Principal. This now leaves 1 principal and 2 vice principals, Michael Healy and Janice McGowen who now have to share and complete the duties of 3 vice principals.

[edit] Administration

  • Dr. Lovie Lilly - Acting Principal
  • Mr. Michael Healy - Assistant Principal
  • Ms. Janice McGowan - Assistant Principal
  • Mr. James Bailey - Dean of Students Grade 11
  • Brenda Brown - Dean of Students 10 and 12
  • Hope Taylor - Dean of Students Grade 9

[edit] Notable alumni

This list may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please help improve this list. It may be poorly defined, unverified or indiscriminate. (talk, help, how to edit)

The school has a hall of fame listing many notable alumni. They include[6]:

Other notable alumni not currently in the hall of fame include:

[edit] Historical notes

  • The girl's volleyball team was undefeated in regular season play for at least five years, from the late 1970s, believed to be a world record at the time.
  • The school was the first high school in the nation (and probably the world) to have its own radio station. The transmitting antenna was located atop the clock tower when the current school building opened in 1926. It ceased operation sometime in the 1950s.
  • The clockworks were originally mechanical, with large weights that were wound up once a week. The channels for the weights can still be seen on the front of the tower. It was motorized by the 1960s. For several months of the 2005-2006 school year the clock was out of order and was only fixed in the very last days of the second semester.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF), accessed May 11, 2006
  2. ^ Top Public High Schools in New Jersey: 51-100, New Jersey Monthly, September 2006
  3. ^ Architectural Styles as Applied to School Buildings
  4. ^ 2006 Team Fencing - Girls Team Fencing, accessed October 16, 2006
  5. ^ High School Boys Coaching Records: Winningest All-Time Coaches By Victories (Updated 9/8/06)
  6. ^ Columbia High School Hall of fame, accessed July 28, 2006
  7. ^ Reel Classics bio of Teresa Wright, accessed December 18, 2006
  8. ^ Roy Scheider: A Film Biography p. 119, accessed December 18, 2006

[edit] External links

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