Columbia High School (Florida)

Last updated

Columbia High School
Columbia High School, Lake City.jpg
Location
Columbia High School (Florida)
469 SE Fighting Tiger Drive

,
32025

United States
Coordinates 30°08′53″N82°38′12″W / 30.14806°N 82.63667°W / 30.14806; -82.63667
Information
Type Public
Founded1888 [1]
School district Columbia County School District
PrincipalTrey Hosford
Teaching staff76.41 (on an FTE basis) [2]
Enrollment1,727 [2]  (2023–2024)
Student to teacher ratio22.60 [2]
Color(s)Purple   and Gold  
Fight song Onward Victorious
Nickname Tigers
Rival Suwannee High School, Gainesville High School
YearbookThe Columbian
Feeder schoolsLake City Middle School
Website chs.columbiak12.com

Columbia High School (CHS) is a four-year public high school located in Lake City, Florida. The school's mascot is the Fighting Tigers and the colors are purple and gold. [3]

Contents

History

The school was founded in 1888 as Columbia County High School. The 1921 building is on the National Register of Historic Places. [4] In 1935 the school was accused of cheating in football by playing a 21-year-old student who lived outside the county. A judge ordered them to be suspended from the Athletic Association and cancelled the rest of their games. [5]

Enrollment increased following World War II and in 1957 a new building opened on Pennsylvania Avenue named, Columbia High School. [6] Between 1950 and 1970, the population in the city and county had increased by 50%, outgrowing the relatively new school. Portable classrooms are added and a new campus was constructed south of the city, opening in 1975. [7]

Over the last fifty years, the campus has experienced extensive changes and remodeling. The original building remains, but other structures have been added and replaced: the auditorium, gymnasium, cafeteria and eight portable classrooms. Athletic facilities include a football stadium, a fieldhouse, soccer and baseball fields and tennis courts. [7]

Integration

Prior to 1969, Columbia was for White students only. In 1969, when the schools were forced to integrate by federal courts, students from the all-Black Fort White High School were sent to Columbia High School,[ citation needed ] but the district did not fully integrate Columbia at that time and defied a federal court order to do so in January, 1970. [8] The court allowed them to delay until February. [9] Students from Fort White continued to attend Columbia for over 30 years, when a new Fort White High School was built.[ citation needed ] In 1979, a Black student was accused of improper behavior towards a White female. The Black student was suspended, which led to a boycott of the school by Black students, and McKinley Jeffers, a Black assistant principal was fired. [10]

Censorship

In 1986, despite opposition from the ACLU, the school district banned Chaucer's The Miller's Tale and Aristophanes Lysistrata from the school because of sexual content. [11] [12] This decision was ultimately upheld by the courts in 1989 in the case Virgil v. School Board of Columbia County. [13] [14] A 1993 attempt to ban Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck was defeated due to the intervention of a local librarian. [15]

Activities

Extra curricular activities at the school include the FIRST Tech Challenge team The Flying Tigers, the Academy of Graphic Design, Academic Team, Athletics, Band, Color Guard, and two chapters of Future Farmers of America. The football program lists regional championships in 1969, 1998 & 2003; made it to the Quarter-Finals in 1975, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1995, 1999, 2001 & 2002, and one State Championship victory in 1967. [16]

The Columbia High School Marching Band has been ranked superior in the Florida Bandmasters Association's Marching Performance Assessment for 16 years. [17] The CHS Drumline has a long lasting record of superiors at the State level, they've received 5 straight, as of 2023.

Columbia high football has been an important part of the community since it began, it won a state title back in 1967, and were runners-up in 1964 and 1997. It was at one time, the winningest program in the state of Florida. [18] [19]

Columbia high athletics have been competitive over the years winning a total of 8 state titles, and producing many notable alumni in its past.[ vague ]

Sports

State championships

Notable alumni

References

  1. "Columbia High School".
  2. 1 2 3 "COLUMBIA HIGH SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
  3. Archived April 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Florida MPS Columbia County High School. File Unit: National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records: Florida, 1/1/1964 - 12/31/2013.
  5. "Columbia High School suspended by FHSAA for playing a 21 year old student from outside the county". Tallahassee Democrat. November 17, 1935. p. 8.
  6. Taylor, George. "Columbia County High School, Lake City, FL". digitalcommons.unf. University of North Florida. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  7. 1 2 "Columbia High School Background". columbiak12.com. Columbia High School. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  8. "Columbia High School Lake City, Florida integration". Fort Lauderdale News. January 21, 1970. p. 16.
  9. "Columbia High School Lake City, Florida". The Bradenton Herald. January 21, 1970. p. 2.
  10. "Students end boycott in Columbia County". Tallahassee Democrat. March 21, 1979. p. 19.
  11. "Columbia County High School ban's Aristophanes and Chaucer". Tampa Bay Times. May 29, 1986. p. 32.
  12. "Columbia High School bans Chaucer. Lake City, Florida". The Honolulu Advertiser. September 29, 1989. p. 20.
  13. "Burned Books".
  14. "The Right to Read: Exploring Book Challenges and Bans" (PDF). Carolina K-12. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  15. "Censorship foe wins recognition".
  16. "Football 2006-07 Championship Records" (PDF). FHSAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 21, 2008. Retrieved November 16, 2006.
  17. "History - the Pride of Columbia County". Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  18. 1 2 "1960's State Championship Game Results | Florida HS Football".
  19. "1990's State Championship Game Results | Florida HS Football".
  20. "Boys Basketball 2006-07 Championship Records" (PDF). FHSAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2006. Retrieved January 3, 2007.
  21. 1 2 Archived May 3, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  22. "Boys Track and Field 2005-06 Championship Records" (PDF). FHSAAZaccessdate=January 20, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 25, 2007.
  23. "Scott Adams Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  24. "Brian Allen Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  25. "Usatoday.Com". Usatoday.Com. May 18, 2005. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  26. "Shayne Edge". Foxsports.com. February 12, 2016.
  27. "Shayne Edge Past Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards - databaseFootball.com". Archived from the original on August 27, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  28. Ankony, Jack (June 27, 2022). "Florida DB Amare Ferrell Commits to Indiana". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  29. "Randy Jackson Statistics". JustSportsStats.com.
  30. "1998 All-USA Team". Usatoday.com. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  31. "NFLPA". Nflplayers.com. Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  32. "The voice is familiar.... (Pat Summerall, Super Bowl broadcaster)", Sports Illustrated , January 26, 1987. "His principal home is in the same north Florida town, Lake City, where he grew up as one of the best schoolboy athletes the state has ever known.... They lived a block from the Columbia High School football field, where he would later star. Summerall went on to a 10-year career in the NFL as a two-way end and kicker."
  33. Archived November 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine