The Class of 2017 at Columbia High School has made students and administrators in the Columbia School District proud.
During last Thursday’s Board of Trustees meeting, CHS Principal Sheila Burbridge talked about the class and its achievements. As she showed a PowerPoint to the Board, Burbridge explained the academic excellence of this year’s students.
“I wanted to give a summary of the good things we’ve been doing,” she said. “I want to thank Mr. (Jason) Harris (superintendent) for the opportunity to present this. When we put it all together, in the process, we realized how we were actually doing. I am proud to say that as of 5 p.m. today that the one student who had been enrolled in the extended school year is now an official graduate of Columbia High School.”
Burbridge said that at CHS, 108 of 109 seniors had graduated this year and 107 had participated in graduation. Of the 108 graduates, 104 received diplomas and received certificates.
“The unfortunate side of it is those who received certificates will not count in our graduation statistics,” Burbridge said. “They earned and we gave them what their IEP said they would earn. It’s a score based on the students that entered ninth grade with this group. It tracks what has happened to every single child.”
Burbridge spoke about the Top 10 students in the Class of 2017.
“We really put a lot of emphasis on the Top 10,” she said. “That has proven to be beneficial for recognizing those students. You have to recognize your top students and keep them engaged and challenged.”
This year’s Top 10 included Valedictorian Callie Robertson, Salutatorian Maggie Herring, Trinity Campbell, Daniel Young, Nathan Foxworth, John Ezell, Bailey Brumfield, Peyton Carver, Raymond Powell Jr. and Madison Nelson.
Burbridge said this year’s class had nine members of the 29-plus club for the ACT and 39 percent of the class scored a composite of 21 or higher. The CHS Class of 2017 also featured 11 distinguished scholars and had 27 members with a weighted numerical average over 100 percent. Twenty-seven students graduated with special honors and 30 with honors. Fourteen class members were National Honor Society members and 33 were recognized as Beta Club members.
This year’s senior class also included 16 students who were recognized as members of the National English Honor Society, 18 members of Mu Alpha Theta, 34 members of the National Technical Honor Society, 24 members of the Tri-M Music Society and 30 Wildcat Ambassadors.
Burbridge said that at graduation, four members of the Hall of Fame were named; Madison Nelson, Nathan Foxworth, R.J. Powell and Maggie Herring, The Gary F. Smyly Scholarship Award went to Nathan Foxworth and Maggie Herring also received the prestigious Toyota-Haley Barbour Scholarship for the Center for Manufacturing Excellence and the GCEIC Scholarship, honoring retiring Superintendent Dr. Marietta W. James-Mattox.
The Class of 2017 at CHS also included athletic scholarships and band scholarships. Bryce Livingston will play tennis at Hinds Community College, Frederick Peters heads to play football at Jones County Junior College, Antonio James will play football at Hinds Community College, Faith Johnson heads to use her softball skills at Jackson State, Gillian May will cheer at Pearl River Community College and Kistan Thackwray will head to PRCC on an athletic training scholarship. Five bands students signed at PRCC, Sarah Cook, C.J. Swayze, Malloree Beck, Anna Beard and Sidney Howett. AT JCJC, Jeremiah Haynes and Aiyanna Hinton have earned scholarships.
“This class has been offered more than $1.3 million in total scholarships,” Burbridge said. “We ranked No. 1 of 18 in the Coastal Region/Pearl River District and No. 32 of 237 in the state for FAFSA completion rate with 72.7 percent identified as IHL in partnership with the Mississippi Department of Education.
“We have 99 of 109 graduates going to college,” Burbridge said. “That is 91 percent. Our new counselor, Ms. Keri Armstrong, has been wonderful getting these kids to college and getting it done.”
Burbridge also shared more good news about the Class of 2017 at CHS.
“This is one of the things that I am probably most proud of,” she concluded. “Out of 16 teams in the MHSAA at CHS, 14 of the 16 teams are scholar athletes. That is a first. We’ve put a lot of emphasis on that and we’ve lost some ballgames because of putting emphasis on it. They need to know that academics will come first. We’re very proud.”
Pictured Above: Members of the Columbia High School Class of 2017 listen during graduation ceremonies earlier this year. | Photo by Mark Rogers
