Christopher Columbus High School (Bronx)

Christopher Columbus High School is a public secondary school located in the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx, New York City. It is within walking distance from the Bronx Zoo and the New York Botanical Garden.

Christopher Columbus High School
Address
925 Astor Avenue

Bronx
,
New York 10469

United States
Information
TypePublic
OversightNYCDOE
PrincipalLisa Maffei-Fuentes
Grades9 - 12
Enrollment2000
Color(s)Silver and blue
Websitewww.columbushs.org

It currently enrolls over 2000 students in grades 9 through 12. The student body is diverse, with students whose families come from 66 countries.

Partnerships and special programs

Columbus High School has been a member of the Foundation for Excellent Schools since 1997.[1] It has a partnership with the University of Vermont, which offers special courses at Columbus. JetBlue Airlines provides free transportation to faculty and students traveling between Vermont and the Bronx.[2]

As of June 2004, Columbus High School was broken down into the Christopher Columbus Educational Campus and shared its premises with four, smaller, specialized schools:

  • Pelham Preparatory Academy
  • Global Enterprise Academy
  • Astor Collegiate High School
  • Collegiate Institute for Math and Science (Principal Estelle Hans)(CIMS)[3]

As of 2016, Columbus High School is composed of five, smaller, specialized schools:

  • Collegiate Institute For Math and Science (CIMS)
  • High School for Language and Innovation
  • Bronxdale High School
  • Astor Collegiate Academy
  • Pelham Preparatory Academy

The Bronx High School for the Visual Arts, originally the first small school to move into the campus, moved out at the end of the 2004 school year. It currently resides in the old Mercy College Bronx campus which it shares with one other small school.

Notable alumni

Teams

The Columbus Blue Steel won the Bronx Championships on November 3, 2006. In 2006, Blue Steel had two All-City Players, a Linebacker and a Defensive End.

The boys' lacrosse team in 2010 won the PSAL championship, the first PSAL title Columbus had won.

The girls softball team won the PSAL championship in 2019, the second title for Columbus and its only female championship.

In 1960 the men's basketball team made the PSAL Finals, matching up with Boy's High for the Final game.

The girls' volleyball team was dominant in their division in the late 80s, early 90s under the coaching of Annette Leder.

Other Columbus teams include:

  • Girls' Teams: Soccer, Soft Ball, Basketball, Tennis, Track, Cheerleading, Step, Bowling, Gymnastics, Golf, Flag Football, Volleyball
  • Boys' Teams: Soccer, Baseball, Basketball, Tennis, Track, Bowling, Golf, J.V. Football, Varsity Football, Lacrosse, Volleyball

The soccer team also has been successful in winning divisions in 2008 and 2009 and is in the process of producing young players such as Martin Dadaj, Armand Dadaj, Alhousein Bah, Mamoudou Diallo, Malal Diallo, Mamadou Barry, Endri Berisha, Frank Osei and Michael Asante.

Threatened closure

In December 2009, the New York City Department of Education announced plans to close Christopher Columbus High School, citing poor performance and low graduation rates.[4] The department's plan called for phasing out the school and not enrolling new students in the ninth grade starting in the fall of 2010. Students, parents, and community activists criticized the department and fought to keep the school open.[5] The Supreme Court in New York county later rejected the Department of Education's proposal on the grounds that there were procedural errors made.[6]

References
  1. "FES at Christopher Columbus". Archived from the original on 2007-01-16. Retrieved 2006-10-14.
  2. "University of Vermont Connection". Archived from the original on 2007-01-08. Retrieved 2006-10-14.
  3. "Collegiate Institute for Math and Science". Archived from the original on 2007-01-12. Retrieved 2006-10-31.
  4. Bronx Times-Reporter at YourNabe.com "School Closing Opposed" December 24, 2009
  5. Bronx Times-Reporter at YourNabe.com "Columbus High school community outraged" December 14, 2009
  6. Velte, Marcy L. (12 April 2010). "Court ruling leads to a re-shuffling in NYC schools". Legislative Gazette. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  • NYC Department Of Education School Search [1]
  1. "NYC Department of Education Maps". schools.nyc.gov. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
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