Columbine High School

Columbine High School
Established 1973
Type Public High School
Affiliation Jefferson County Public Schools
Principal KC Somers[1]
Students 1700[2]
Grades 9–12
Location Columbine, Colorado, USA
Campus Suburban
Colors Silver and Blue          
Nickname Rebels
Mascot Rebels
Superintendent Cindy Stevenson
Website Columbine High School

The library built after the massacre

Columbine High School or CHS is a high school in Columbine, unincorporated Jefferson County, Colorado, United States.

History

Columbine High School opened in the fall of 1973. There was no senior class during its first year. The school's first graduating class was in 1975. Columbine was named after the surrounding community of Columbine, which in turn was named after the state flower of Colorado: the columbine. The school's first principal was Gerald Difford.

The official school colors are blue and silver. The colors were selected through a vote by students at Ken Caryl Junior High School and Bear Creek High School who would be the first students to attend Columbine High School when it opened in 1973.

Massacre

Columbine High School was the site of one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern United States history, and the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history.[3] The shootings occurred on April 20, 1999, when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed twelve students and a teacher, and wounded 23 others, before they both committed suicide. The massacre made headlines nationwide and around the world, making Columbine a household name, and causing a moral panic in American high schools.[4]

After the shooting, classes at Columbine were held at nearby Chatfield Senior High for the remaining three weeks of that school year.

The school went through a major renovation in 1995, just four years before the massacre, adding a new library and cafeteria. After the shootings, Columbine completely demolished its library, located above the cafeteria, since it was the site where the majority of the deaths occurred. The site was then turned into a memorial ceiling and atrium; a new, larger library was built on the hill where the shooting began and dedicated to the memory of the victims.[5][6]

Address

The school is located at 6201 South Pierce Street, one mile west of the Littleton city limits and one-half mile south of the Denver city/county line.[7] “Littleton” is indicated in the school’s postal address because its ZIP code, 80123, is primarily associated with that city. However, the school is in Jefferson County and part of the Jefferson County Public Schools district, and not the Littleton Public Schools system; Littleton is the seat of Arapahoe County.

Alumni

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Columbine High School.

Coordinates: 39°36′14″N 105°04′27″W / 39.60389°N 105.07417°W