Columbine High School
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| Address | 6201 S. Pierce Street | |
| City | Columbine CDP, Jefferson County, Colorado 80123 | |
| Established | 1973 | |
| Type | Public Secondary | |
| Superintendent | Dr. Cindy Stevenson | |
| Principal | Dr. Frank D. DeAngelis | |
| Grades | 9 to 12 | |
| District | Jefferson County Public Schools | |
| Mascot | Rebels (American Revolution) | |
| Colors | Navy Blue and Silver | |
| School website | Columbine Home Page | |
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Columbine High School is a secondary school in Columbine, an unincorporated suburb of Denver, located in southeastern Jefferson County, Colorado. The school is best known for the massacre that occured on April 20, 1999.
The school is located at 6201 South Pierce Street. It is one mile west of the Littleton city limits and half a mile south of Denver. "Littleton" is indicated in the school's postal address because it is located within the ZIP code 80123. However, it is part of the Jefferson County Public Schools district, not the Littleton Public Schools system. The current principal is Frank DeAngelis.
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[edit] History
[edit] Beginning
Columbine High School opened in the fall of 1973; there was no senior class in its first year. The school's first graduating class was the class of 1975. Columbine was named after the unincorporated community in which it is located, which in turn is named after the state flower of Colorado: the columbine. Its first principal was Gerald Difford.
The official school colors are blue and silver. However, there has been some controversy surrounding what the true school colors actually are. In the 1980s, in addition to blue and silver, the sports uniforms also included the color red. In the early 1990s, responding perhaps to the fact that red is one of the colors of nearby rival Chatfield High School, then Principal Ron Mitchell banned the use of red on Columbine's sports uniforms. More recently, cheers have included references to the school colors being blue, white and silver. Privately, some alumni have expressed concern about this misrepresentation of the school colors in this cheer, as, they maintain, the official colors are blue and silver, as referenced in the school song.
[edit] School shooting
The school was the site of the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999, when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 students and one teacher, and wounded 24 others before committing suicide. The massacre made headlines around the world, making Columbine a household name, and causing a moral panic in American and Canadian high schools. [1]
After the shooting, classes at Columbine were held at nearby Chatfield High School for the remaining three weeks of that school year.
[edit] Remodeling
The school had undergone a massive remodeling just four years before the shooting, adding a new library and cafeteria. After the massacre, Columbine demolished its library, located above the cafeteria, since it was the site where most of the deaths took place; it 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.
[edit] 2007 Bomb scare
On March 1, 2007, the school was evacuated to Leawood Elementary School after several bomb threats were made against the school. Over 1,850 people were evacuated from the area. The threats came almost two months before the 8th anniversary of the massacre.
[edit] Cultural references
- Michael Moore's 2002 film Bowling for Columbine, a documentary focusing on a supposed correlation between media propaganda, guns, and gun violence, takes its title from the school's name. The documentary does not exclusively focus on the Columbine school shooting, but includes it as purported evidence of the easy availability of weapons in the United States.
- Flyleaf's song "Cassie" refers to two girls who were killed in the massacre, Cassie Bernall and Rachel Scott, both reported as having said 'yes' when asked if they believed in God, even if it would result in them being killed.
- Three Columbine-related articles have been featured in Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul III. One was written by a victim of the massacre, and the other two were written by survivors coping with the event and aftermath.
- Composer Frank Ticheli wrote the concert band piece An American Elegy in honor of those who lost their lives the day of the Columbine school shooting and those who survived the tragedy.
- In the song "The Good Die Young" by Tupac Shakur, Napoleon, of the Outlawz says, "This song is dedicated, to all them young kids that died innocent. Died young, at Columbine High ... rest in peace."
- The song "The Kinslayer" by Nightwish, a popular symphonic metal band from Finland, wrote and dedicated the song to the victims of Columbine on their 3rd album, [Wishmaster].
- The song "Hate it or Love it G-Unit Remix" rapper The Game makes a brief reference to the shooting saying "So niggas better get up outta mine Before I creep and turn ya projects into Columbine"
[edit] Cheerleading squad
The school was also home to the highest ranked cheerleading squad to ever come out of Colorado, placing 4th at the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championships in 2003.
[edit] Football Team
The school most recently won the 2006 Colorado 5a State Football Championship at Invesco at Mile High against Mullen High School.
[edit] Notable alumni
Notable alumni of Columbine High School include:
- Allan Kayser, actor, played "Bubba" in the sitcom Mama's Family [2]
- Melanie Palenik, 1988 Olympic gold medalist in women's freestyle aerials (demonstration sport)
- Skip Ewing, country songwriter/artist
- Wes Hart, MLS player for the San Jose Earthquakes
- Laval Short, former Denver Broncos and Colorado Buffaloes linebacker
- The three members of Big Head Todd and the Monsters
[edit] External links
- Columbine High School official website
- Map and directions to Columbine High School
- Satellite image of Columbine High School
- The Columbine Navigator - Links and analysis of most major media coverage
