Columbine High School
Columbine High School (CHS) is a public high school in Columbine, Colorado, United States, in the Denver metropolitan area. It is part of the Jefferson County Public Schools district.[1][2]
| Columbine High School | |
|---|---|
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| Address | |
, Colorado 80123 United States | |
| Coordinates | 39°36′14″N 105°04′27″W |
| Information | |
| Other name | CHS |
| Type | Public high school |
| Established | 1973 |
| School district | Jefferson County R-1 |
| NCES School ID | 080480000707[3] |
| Principal | Scott Christy |
| Teaching staff | 87.17 (on an FTE basis)[3] |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 1,697 (2018–2019[3]) |
| Student to teacher ratio | 19.47[3] |
| Campus type | Suburban |
| Color(s) | Navy blue and silver |
| Mascot | Rebel |
| Nickname | Rebels |
| Website | columbinehs |
 The library built after the massacre. | |
| Part of a series of articles on the |
| Columbine High School massacre |
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Location: Perpetrators: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold |
In 1999, it became the scene of an infamous mass shooting, where 12 students and one teacher were murdered by senior students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold before the pair committed suicide.
History
Columbine High School opened in 1973 with a capacity for 1,652 students.[4] It 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. There was no senior class during the school's first year; its first graduating class was in 1975. The school colors were selected through a vote by students at Ken Caryl Junior High School and Bear Creek High School, who were the first to attend Columbine High School when it opened in 1973.
The school has undergone significant renovations since it first opened: in 1995, with the addition of a new cafeteria and library; in 1999–2000 (after the massacre), with interior renovations to the corridors, cafeteria, and former library; and in the early 2000s, with the addition of the new HOPE Columbine Memorial Library and a memorial on the site.[5][6][7]
Massacre
Columbine High School was the site of one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern United States history.[8] The shootings occurred on April 20, 1999, when senior students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold opened fire and killed 12 students and a teacher, and wounded 24 others, 21 of them by gunfire, before they both committed suicide in the library. The massacre made headlines both nationally and internationally, making Columbine a household name, and causing a moral panic in U.S. high schools.[9] It was the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history until it was surpassed by the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting on February 14, 2018, in which 17 people were killed.[10][11]
After the shooting, classes at Columbine were held at nearby Chatfield Senior High for the remaining three weeks of that school year.[12]
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.[13][14]
By 2019, the school remained a "macabre tourist attraction" for those fascinated by the massacre, with hundreds stopped annually caught trespassing on the grounds or trying to enter the buildings. In June 2019, the superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools proposed tearing down the school and rebuilding it more securely to lessen its "morbid fascination".[15]
Notable students
- Darrel Akerfelds – Major League Baseball pitcher playing with the Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies from 1986 through 1991[18][19]
- Sera Cahoone – singer-songwriter[20]
- Skip Ewing – country songwriter and artist
- Wes Hart – MLS player who last played for the San Jose Earthquakes in 2005
- Allan Kayser – actor who played "Bubba" in the sitcom Mama's Family[21]
- Sue Manteris – newscaster on Las Vegas TV media and channel 3; played CNN reporter Sue Tripathi in Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous
- Todd Park Mohr – guitarist and vocalist of Big Head Todd and the Monsters
- Patrick Neville – politician
- Jeanie Schroder – member of DeVotchKa
- Longmont Potion Castle – comedian and musician known for albums of recorded absurdist prank calls
- Woody Kincaid – American long-distance runner for Bowerman Track Club
Perpetrators
Victims
- Rachel Scott – the first of the 13 victims killed in the massacre; the youth program Rachel's Challenge was created in her memory
- Cassie Bernall – one of the 13 victims killed in the massacre
- Austin Eubanks – motivational speaker on drug addiction and recovery, and injured survivor of the Columbine High School massacre
See also
References
- "School's website". Archived from the original on June 8, 2017. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
- In the school's postal address, "Littleton" is indicated because its ZIP code, 80123, is primarily associated with that city. Littleton itself, seat of Arapahoe County, is in a different school district.
- "Search for Public Schools - CCOLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL (080480000707)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- Jefferson County Historical Commission webpage Archived August 18, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 16, 2016
- HOPE Columbine Memorial Library Archived April 5, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 16, 2016
- Cleaned-up Columbine reopens Monday, Fox News, January 26, 2001 Archived April 25, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 16, 2016
- Columbine: Memories at every turn, Denver Post. April 19, 2009 Archived April 25, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 16, 2016
- "Columbine High School shootings". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on November 8, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
- Lessons from Littleton (Part I) at the National Association of Independent Schools Archived February 9, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- Laughland, Oliver; Luscombe, Richard; Yuhas, Alan (February 15, 2018). "At least 17 people dead in Florida school shooting: 'It's a horrific, horrific day'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on February 15, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
- Earl, Jennifer (February 14, 2018). "Florida school shooting among 10 deadliest in modern US history". Fox News. Archived from the original on February 15, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
- Hill, David (November 1999). "Life After Death – Education Week Teacher". Education Week. Archived from the original on August 10, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
- Shepard, C. "Remodeling Columbine High School – the new library, cafeteria, inside and outside". acolumbinesite.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved October 25, 2007.
- – Remodeling Of School Info Page 2 Archived October 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- Turkewitz, Julie; Healy, Jack; Hassan, Adeel (June 7, 2019). "Columbine High School Could Be Torn Down to Deter Copycats". The New York Times. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
- "Columbine CDP" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
- "High Schools". Jeffco Public Schools. Retrieved March 28, 2020. – Detail map
- Baseball Almanac Archived October 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- "Manager and Coaches". San Diego Padres. Archived from the original on August 28, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
- Baca, Ricardo (March 12, 2008). "Now it's only about the music". The Denver Post. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
- "Allan Kayser". IMDb. Archived from the original on February 19, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
