Christopher Columbus High School is a public secondary school located in the Pelham Parkway, northeast section of the Bronx, New York. It is within walking distance from the Bronx Zoo and the New York Botanical Garden.
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
Astor Collegiate Academy - Astor Collegiate Academy • DBN 11X299 Contact Information: Address: 925 Astor Avenue Bronx, NY 10469 Campus: Christopher Columbus Educational Campus Phone: 718â€944â€3419 Fax: 718â€944â€3638...
Columbus High School has been a member of the Foundation for Excellent Schools since 1997. 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.
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)
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
- Anne Bancroft (as Anna Maria Louise Italiano), Oscar-winning actress
- Rudy De Luca
- Christine Jorgensen (as George William Jorgensen, Jr.), one of the first people to have sex reassignment surgery
- Peter Levenda, author
- Paul Levinson, author and media commentator on The O'Reilly Factor and other news venues
- John McGiver, (former teacher at the school) actor on stage, film and television 1950s-70s.
- Tony Powers (aka Howard Puris) songwriter, actor, producer, award-winning video artist
- Sal Mineo, actor, played role in Exodus
- Darlene Rodriguez (as Darlene Pomales), co-anchor, Today in New York, WNBC-TV
- Jeffrey Klein, member of the New York State Senate, Former Deputy Majority Leader, Assemblyman for the 80th District, and Democratic District Leader
- Nancy Savoca, Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Award-winning film-maker
- James Vacca, member of the New York City Council
- Guy Velella, former New York State Senator and Bronx Republican Chairman
- George Marino, Grammy award-winning mastering engineer
- Johnny Monell, professional baseball player
- David Berkowitz, The Son of Sam serial killer
Teams
The main sport in the school is football. 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 Blue Steel have gone to the PSAL playoffs four times in the last six years. The Columbus Explorers Varsity Tennis Team has acclaimed more importance in the last few years reaching the playoff 3 out of 4 years while The Girls' A-Division Varsity team reached the finals in the School year of 05'-06'. Also the track team won second place in 2007 in cross country, and that same year they won the Bronx indoor championship beating Clinton. The boys' lacrosse team in 2010 won the PSAL championship, the first PSAL title Columbus had won.
In men's Bowling, Columbus won the division championship 3 years in a row 95-97 led by team captain Derrick "Casanova" Williams.
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. 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. The Supreme Court in New York county later rejected the Department of Education's proposal on the grounds that there were procedural errors made.
References
7. NYC Department Of Education School Search
