Members of the Columbia High School Class of ’54 were on hand today to present two very meaningful gifts to Columbia High School and the Columbia High School Scholarship Fund.
The Class of 1954 Reunion Committee presented a $20,000 check to CHSSF to endow a scholarship. “This is a really big deal,” said CHSSF President Joan Lee. Lee reported that Class of ’54 graduate Alan Salisbury had initiated the scholarship by pledging $10,000 if his classmates would match the gift. They did. Lee also noted that Salisbury had personally endowed a scholarship previously.
In addition, Pat Grant Porter, ’54, presented an original watercolor of Columbia High School to the school as a gift. Porter is a well-known author and illustrator.
At a reception in the renovated CHS auditorium, members of the Class of ’54 enjoyed a light snack and refreshments as the CHS string quartet played. Principal Elizabeth Aaron addressed the alumni and answered their many questions about how CHS has changed over the past 60 years.
“It’s twice the size!” said one graduate. Aaron noted that the additional wings had been added in the 1960s and 1970s. She said that the student body now numbers about 1,965 students and that the 334,000 sf of CHS constitutes about one-third of the South Orange-Maplewood School District’s footprint.
Although “industrial arts” as it was known in 1954 is a thing of the past, Aaron noted new offerings like CAD, 3D architecture, robotics, graphic design, and desktop publishing. She said that hundreds of students had taken “an online course or two.”
However, Aaron noted that one thing had stayed the same about CHS: excellence.
Aaron said that “award-winning” is a phrase that she “gets to say all the time.” She mentioned the award-winning school newspaper, the 21 advanced placement courses (“about as many as a high school can offer”), the recent musical production Ragtime, the 500 students who participate in sports, the fact that 83% or students who took AP exams scored a “3” or higher. She said that 92-96% of students graduated and that 88-92% of graduates were college bound (“stunningly high”).
Aaron also profusely thanked the Class of ’54 for their interest and support. “We are just proud to have alumni who feel so strongly about our school and our community.” Aaron said that the scholarship endowment was critical, enabling students to “make a decision they would not have been able to make without that extra little help.”
Aaron was the object of praise as well. “Elizabeth Aaron is the most supportive administrator we’ve had here in a very long time,” said Lee.
Click on any image to view a slideshow of photos from today’s reception. Representing the Class of ’54 Reunion Committee: Alan and Florence Salisbury, Herb Rosenberg, Eric Brattstrom and Dotty Roscoe Kyle, Margie Halprin Davis, Gail Henston Jaffe, Lennie Harlan, Eleanor vomEigen Winslow, Barry Mandelbaum, Lisa Fink Kasak, Pat Grant Porter, and Stew and Shirley Stainecker.
