Columbia High School (Mississippi)

Columbia High School
Location
1009 Broad St Columbia , (Marion County) , Mississippi 39429 United States
Coordinates	31°15′05″N89°49′11″W / 31.2513°N 89.8197°W / 31.2513; -89.8197
Information
School type	Secondary school
Established	1937
School district	Columbia School District
Superintendent	Jason Harris [1]
Principal	L.V. McNeal [2]
Teaching staff	31.32 (on an FTE basis) [3]
Grades	9th to 12th [3]
Enrollment	471 [3]  (2023–2024)
Student to teacher ratio	15.04 [3]
Colors	Blue and gold
Mascot	Wildcat
Website	chs.columbiaschools.org

Columbia High School

Columbia High School is a 4A High School located in Columbia, Mississippi, United States. The principal is L.V. McNeal. ^[2] It is in Columbia School District. It is a Mississippi Landmark.

The architecture of the building is an example of European-inspired modernism, and was featured in the French architectural journal l'architecture d'aujourd'hui. ^[4] It was built in 1937 as a Works Progress Administration project. ^[5]

In the 2021-2022 school year, the student body was 49.89 percent White and 45.37 percent African American. ^[3]

Notable alumni

• K. J. Cloyd, professional football linebacker ^[6]
• Ernest Duff (1931-2016), businessman, lawyer and Mormon bishop ^[7]
• Gus Hunt, American cybersecurity expert, and former intelligence officer. He is the managing director and cyber strategy lead for Accenture Federal Services. He formerly served as the Chief Technology Officer for the Chief Information Officer at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
• Jaheim Oatis (2022), offensive tackle for the Alabama Crimson Tide ^[8]
• Walter Payton, hall of fame former Chicago Bears running back who died in 1999, and the namesake for the Walter Payton Award

Extracurricular activities

Marching Band

The CHS Marching Band has won 11 MHSAA state championship titles in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2023, 2024, & 2025 ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Athletics

Football

The CHS Football Team has won 3 MHSAA state championship titles in 1982, 2021, and 2025. ^{[12] [13]}

Baseball

The CHS Baseball team has won 1 MHSAA championship in 2011. ^[12]

References

1. "Superintendent's Office". Columbia School District.
2. "McNeal Aims to Make CHS an 'A' School". Columbian Progress Newspaper. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
3. "Columbia High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
4. "Michael Fazio: Columbia Mississippi High School". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
5. Hines, Thomas S., William Faulkner and the Tangible Past: The Architecture of Yoknapatawpha, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996, ch. 8, p. 106 accessed Oct. 20, 2012
6. Doherty, Tim; Curet, Taylor (July 27, 2018). "Players of the Pine Belt - Columbia's K.J. Cloyd". WDAM. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
7. "Southern Tire Mart founder Ernest Duff dies". Tire Business. June 1, 2016. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
8. "Jaheim Oatis - Football". University of Alabama Athletics.
9. "Inside the Marching Wildcats' four-peat". The Columbian-Progress. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
10. "2022 MHSAA Marching Band Championship Results". Mississippi High School Activities Association. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
11. Campbell, Joshua (November 1, 2023). "Marching Wildcats Go Back-To-Back: Columbia Band Wins 9th State Title". The Columbian Progress. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
12. "Athletics". Columbia School District.
13. Staff, WDAM (December 6, 2025). "Touchdown run in final seconds difference in Columbia's 6-0 win over Kosciusko in Class 4A state title game". https://www.wdam.com . Retrieved December 6, 2025.{{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)

External links

• Official website