Columbia High School (CHS) is a four-year

public high school A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

located in

DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johann de Kalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama DeKalb County is a County (United States), county in the Northeast Alabama, northeastern part ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, United States. It is in the Candler-McAfee neighborhood on the eastside of Atlanta. - Compare with school addresses and boundary maps. It is operated by

DeKalb County Public Schools The DeKalb County School District (DCSD) is a school district headquartered at 1701 Mountain Industrial Boulevard in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, near Stone Mountain and in the Atlanta metropolitan area. DCSD operates ...

. It opened in 1966. In 1991, the Mathematics, Science and Technology Magnet Programs were established at Columbia, which gave students in the Metro Atlanta area an opportunity to have a more focus-based education in these areas. Columbia's mascot is the Eagle and its colors are orange and blue. The school motto is "One Team, One Dream!" The school was given the Georgia School of Excellence award in 1996. Extracurricular activities include athletics,

marching Marching refers to the organized, uniformed, steady walking forward in either rhythmic or route-step time; and, typically, it refers to overland movements on foot of military troops and units under field orders. Marching is often perform ...

and

concert band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind instrument, woodwind, brass ...

color guard In Military, military organizations, a colour guard (or color guard) is a detachment of soldiers assigned to the protection of Colours, standards and guidons, regimental colours and the national flag. This duty is highly prestigious, and the mil ...

Future Business Leaders of America The Future Business Leaders of America, or FBLA, is an American career and technical student organization (CTSO) headquartered in Reston, Virginia. Established in 1940, FBLA is a non-profit organization of high school ("FBLA High School"), mi ...

, Beta Club, and

JROTC The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) is a Federal government of the United States, federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and at US mil ...

. The boundary of Columbia High School neighbors those of Southwest Dekalb High School, Towers High School, and McNair High School.

Attendance zone

The school serves portions of the Candler-McAfee (Zone 6) CDP, Belvedere Park, and Panthersville CDPs.

Sports

Boys' basketball

Columbia High School is considered a national powerhouse in high school basketball. They have been ranked nationally by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

in numerous years. The boys' basketball team has gone to the state championship every year since 2005. They are the first team in the history of Dekalb County to win more than four state basketball championships. State Champions: 2005-2006 (AAAA), 2007-2008 (AAAA), 2009-2010 (AAA), 2010-2011 (AAA), 2011-2012 (AAA) Region Champions: 2005-2006 (Region 5-AAAA), 2006-2007 (Region 6-AAAA), 2007–2008 (Region 6-AAAA), 2008-2009 (5-AAA), 2009-2010 (5-AAA), 2010-2011 (5-AAA), 2011-2012 (5-AAA) In the 2009–2010 season, the girls' and boys' teams were AAA State champions in 2009–2010. They were the sixth team in the history of Georgia High School basketball to accomplish this feat. The girls' and boys' teams repeated this feat in the 2011–2012 season as they both won the Class AAA state titles. The boys' basketball team has been coached by Dr. Phil McCrary since 1987. As of February 2011, he has posted a 502–183 record. He won his 500th career game at the Primetime Shootout in West Virginia on January 21, 2011, against Jamesville-Dewitt High School. Coach McCrary has sent more than 100 student athletes to Division I basketball programs, including

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

guard and former UGA basketball star Travis Leslie. Coach McCrary has received numerous coaching accolades, including: *2010 - Georgia Naismith Coach of the Year Award *Georgia Sports Writers Association Class AAAA Coach of the Year Award - 1990, 2006, 2008, 2010 *''

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

'' Coach of the Year - 1990, 2006, 2008, 2010 *Georgia Athletic Coaches Association Coach of the Year - 2006, 2010 *2010 - selected as an Assistant Coach in the Jordan Brand Classic, Charlotte, North Carolina

Girls' basketball

The girls' basketball team won their first state championship in 2010. The 2010 season also marked the first time for a DeKalb County school to win both a boys' and a girls' title in the same season, as Columbia swept the Class AAA titles. The girls' basketball team won their second Class AAA state championship in 2012. For the second time, the girls' and boys' teams swept the Class AAA championships. The girls' basketball team won their third championship in 2013, in Class AAAA.

Girls' track

The girls' track team has won three state championships, in 1983, 1995 and 1996. One of the highlights of the girls' track program is Olympic gold medalist

Gwen Torrence Gwendolyn Lenna Torrence (born June 12, 1965) is a retired American sprinter and Olympic champion. She was born in Decatur, Georgia. She attended Columbia High School and the University of Georgia. She was offered a scholarship because of her ...

. She was the state champion in the 100 and 200 meters from 1980 to 1983, while running for Columbia.

Boys' track

The boys' track team has won two state championships, in 1980 and 1983.

Wrestling

Columbia High School has won five state championships in wrestling, in 1972, 1973, 1976, 1977, and 1988. Columbia had won 26 individual state titles as of March 2011. The wrestling team has finished in the top 10 in the state 19 times.

Boys' football

Columbia High School is yet to win a championship in boys' football. The team currently plays at Adams Memorial Stadium and Avondale Stadium.

Music

Allman Brothers

On May 23, 1970, the

Allman Brothers Band Allman may refer to: Music *The Allman Brothers Band, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame southern rock band, formed by Duane and Gregg Allman *The Allman Joys, an early band formed by Duane and Gregg Allman *The Gregg Allman Band People *Allman (surnam ...

performed in the gymnasium of Columbia High School for the Junior-Senior Prom.

Stan Kenton

On March 12, 1973,

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though ...

and the Stan Kenton Orchestra gave an afternoon workshop and an evening concert at DeKalb Community College South Campus (now called Georgia State University- Decatur Campus). The concert was sponsored by the Columbia High School Band Boosters as a fundraiser.

Braves baseball opener

On 4 April 1975, 200 members of the Columbia High School Band, Advanced Mixed Chorus, Drill Team, and Majorettes furnished the music for pre-game activities at the Atlanta Braves baseball opening game with the Houston Astros at Fulton Stadium.

Musical productions

The following musicals were produced and staged at Columbia: * ''Carousel'' (1970) * ''The Sound of Music'' (1973) * ''West Side Story'' (1975)

Destruction of music library

During renovation of the school during 2004–2005, thousands of copies of sheet music were destroyed, wiping out the school's extensive music library of choral and band scores.

Publications

* ''Aquila'' (yearbook), vol. 1, 1968- * ''Columbia High School PTA Newsletter'', vol. 1, no.1, 1968- * ''Columbia Courier'' (school newspaper), 1969-1971 * ''Eagle's Echo'' (school newspaper), 1974- * ''Columbia High School Literary Magazine'', 1968-1971 * ''Witches' Brew'' (literary magazine), 1972-1973 * ''Eagle Talk'', 1971-1972 * ''Grundee Gazette'', c.1970-1974

Notable alumni

Erica Ash Erica Chantal Ash (September 19, 1977 – July 28, 2024) was an American actress, comedian, singer, and model. She was a cast member on the sketch comedy programs ''MADtv'' and ''The Big Gay Sketch Show'', and she later starred in the Starz sit ...

- actress, singer, model *

B.o.B Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. (born November 15, 1988), known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Simmons signed with record producer Jim Jonsin's Rebel Rock Entertainm ...

- hip-hop artist *

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(born 1998) - basketball player in the

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* Jadan Baugh - college football player for the

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(born 1997) - basketball player in the

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murderer Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...

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- hip-hop artist * Dave Edwards - NFL player *

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- hip-hop artist * Rory Graves - NFL player * Glynn Harrison - NFL player * Hoodrich Pablo Juan - hip-hop artist * Chris Horton (born 1994) - basketball player for

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of the

* Travis Leslie - NBA guard, Free agent * Bill Mayer - illustrator * Kendall Newson - Miami Dolphins wide receiver, Agape Awards gospel music drummer * Randy Scott - NFL player * Eric Smith - NFL player, Free agent *

Rex Smith Rex Smith (born September 19, 1955) is an American actor and singer. Smith made his acting debut in the Broadway musical '' Grease'' in 1978. He is noted for his role as Jesse Mach in the 1985 television series ''Street Hawk'' and for being the ...

- singer and stage actor *

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

athlete, gold medalist in the

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and

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Chris Tucker Christopher Tucker (born August 31, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Tucker made his debut in 1992 as a stand-up performer on the HBO comedy series '' Def Comedy Jam'', where he frequently appeared on the show during the 1990 ...

- actor and comedian * Martha Zoller - columnist, media personality, author, and former Republican candidate

References

External links

Official site

Columbia High School Marching Eagles (Marching and Concert Band)

Columbia High School television station

Audio: Allman Brothers Band play Columbia High School May 23, 1970 Pt.1

Video: Stan Kenton Orchestra at Columbia High School, 1973

Audio: Columbia High School Advanced Boys' Chorus performs "What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor", May 24, 1973

Internet Archive: snapshot of website: Columbia High School Class of 1970, Aquila70.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Columbia High School (Atlanta, Georgia) 1966 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) DeKalb County School District high schools Educational institutions established in 1966 Magnet schools in Georgia (U.S. state)