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

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 featured in the 1930 Encyclopædia Britannica for "superior 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. Brought back from summer camp by student Joel Silver, it was refined and popularized in games between members of the student council, led by Silver, and the staff of the school newspaper, the Columbian, led by Buzzy Hellring. Columbia played the first interscholastic game of Ultimate against Millburn High School on November 7, 1970, and Columbia alumni spread the game by starting teams at colleges around the U.S. The alumni game has been played annually since that time, on the evening of the Thanksgiving holiday, with the current high school team playing against the collected alumni.

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.Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF), accessed May 11, 2006

Academics

A partial list of course offerings the school provides, which includes a substantial selection of Advanced Placement Program 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 Ed

  • 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

  • Mathematics
    • Algebra 1-2
    • Geometry
    • Pre-Calculus/Trigonometry
    • Calculus
    • AP Calculus AB and BC
    • Calculus III
    • AP Statistics
    • Math of Personal FInance

  • TV Studio
  • Business Technology

Campus

The structure of Columbia High School features imposing gothic architecture. The original design firm was Guilbert and Betelle of Newark, New Jersey. James Oscar Betelle was responsible for many schools, public buildings, and several banks centered around Essex County.

CHS is a large structure which has undergone three major additions and 80+ years of operation. The original Guilbert and 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 Encyclopedia Britannica and "American School and University", was designed around two courtyards. One courtyard is landscaped with trees and a pond, and the other serves as more of a large ventilation shaft.

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 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.

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 is graced with an ornate plaster ceiling, but this ceiling is marred by a 30% finished "artistic" painting project that has been in place for over a decade.

The front hallway has beautiful oak leaf tile trim and mid-century acoustic tiles on the walls. A-wing is home to a unused greenhouse and a swimming pool. The swimming pool chandeliers are gone and the giant arched window is blocked by later additions, and the Guastavino tile. The main hallways are often painted with dubious student art dating from as far back as the 1970's. The auditorium includes a three-manual cinema organ, originally intended to accompany silent pictures, but is rarely, if ever, used. On either side of the stage are large plaster grills that hide the organ pipes. 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.

The television Studio is one of the highest ranked high school studios in the nation. CHS owns its own TV van. The schools CCN (Columbia Cable Network) has won many "Student Emmy's," through the national high school Emmy Association.

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.

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 over 635 victoriesHigh School Boys Coaching Records: Winningest All-Time Coaches By Victories (Updated 6/16/06).

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.

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. The club with the most members is the school's Martin Luther King Association (MLKA).

  • All School Musical
  • American Civil Liberties Union
  • Amnesty International
  • Art Club
  • Astronomy Club
  • Biology Team
  • Brass Ensemble
  • Chess Team
  • Color Guard
  • Columbia Singers
  • Columbian (Award Winning Student Newspaper)
  • Economics and Investment Club
  • Friday Night Live (A sketch comedy group)
  • Future Business Leaders of America
  • Guildscript (Literary and Art Magazine)
  • Jazz Ensemble
  • Junior State of America
  • Library Aides
  • Marching Band
  • Martin Luther King Association
  • Math Team
  • Mock Trial
  • Musical Diversity Club
  • N.O.W. National Organization of Women (first HS chapter)
  • Public Address Crew
  • Parnassian (Drama Society)
  • Quiz Bowl
  • Spectrum (Gay Straight Alliance)
  • Stage Crew
  • Ultimate Team (first high school team in the United States)
  • Velocity Magazine (Nationally recognized)
  • Yearbook (The Mirror)

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. Historically, there have been questions regarding the Racial Academic Achievement Gap in the school district. During the 2004-2005 school year by the student run Martin Luther King Association organization demanding an increase in access to higher level academics for minorities in the district. Most recently, on March 29, 2006 there was a student walkout 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 and is believed to have heavily influenced the Board of Education election a few weeks later. Two incumbent members were voted out, including the head of the Board, in a landslide election.

Notable alumni

The school has a hall of fame listing many notable alumni. They include: Other notable alumni not currently in the hall of fame include:

Historical Notes

  • The girl's volleyball team was undefeated in regular season play for at least five years in the early 1980s, 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.

References

External links

Educational institutions established in the 19th century | Essex County, New Jersey | High schools in New Jersey | Maplewood, New Jersey

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Columbia High School (Maplewood, New Jersey)".

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