Christopher Columbus High School is a private Catholic college-preparatory high school conducted by the Marist Brothers in the Westchester area of Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was established in 1958 and transferred to the Marist Brothers in 1959. The school has over 100 teachers, administrators, faculty, staff, with an enrollment of 1,700 students.
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History
The school was established in 1958 by the Diocese of Miami at the request of the Archbishop of Miami Coleman F. Carroll to continue the secondary education program at St. Theresa Catholic School in Coral Gables.
The school opened with two and a half buildings and an enrollment of approximately 150 students. The Marist Brothers assumed the direction of the school in 1959. Presently the Columbus campus extends over 24 acres. In addition to the four major academic buildings, there is the Abraham Science Building, the Lawrence-Bell Media Center, the Howard Korth Music and Athletic Center, and the Mas Technology Complex. Athletic facilities include varsity athletic fields, a baseball complex, outdoor basketball courts, tennis courts, a gymnasium, track, and weight room.
In May 2018, Columbus High School made national headlines after controversy centered around the display of a live caged tiger during the school's "jungle-themed" prom. Videos and images captured the tiger pacing in a metal enclosure. The school's principal David Pugh expressed regret for the school administration decision to allow the use of animal entertainment, stating that it did not reflect the school's Catholic values.
Columbus' rival school is the only other all-male, Roman Catholic school in Miami-Dade County, Belen Jesuit Preparatory School. The two schools' rivalry is often limited to athletics (though Columbus competes on the more competitive level across all sports), the rivalry often extends beyond sports and into local politics and culture.
Academics
In order to graduate, students require twenty-four credits and a grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.0. They must also complete one hundred hours of community service by the end of their senior year, 80 of which must be Direct, and 20 must be indirect. The academics at Columbus are based on a phasing system: “College Preparatory” classes are for the academically challenged who require more time to absorb a given subject, “Accelerated” classes are for the average student, An “Honours Class” is for the academically gifted, and Phase 5 refers to Advanced Placement (AP) classes, which have a college-level format and where academically motivated students have the opportunity to gain college credit should they earn the proper score on the AP exam. Depending on a given phase of a class, a student will earn a certain number of points, which are then weighted and averaged to generate a student's GPA, the average GPA being a 3.2. Columbus has more students taking AP classes than any other Catholic school in Miami-Dade County and their passing averages on AP exams are five times higher than the state and national averages.
Curriculum design
Dual-enrollment classes are offered through St Thomas University, Barry University and Florida International University.
Students and faculty
In 2023–24 Columbus had an enrollment of approximately 1,750 students. The students are 54.4% Hispanic, 49.6% White, 2.3% African-American, and 0.9% combination of Asian/Pacific Islander and Native American/Alaskan. The student-teacher ratio at Christopher Columbus High School is about 15:1. The professional staff includes 17 Marist Brothers, 100 laypersons; 2 librarians/media specialists and 9 counselors/advisors; 45% hold an advanced degree; 60% have over 20 years of teaching experience, and half have been with the school well over 15 years. Many Marist Brothers hold positions at Columbus including president, guidance counselors, career and college advisors, and teachers.
Clubs and social life
Columbus is one of the most awarded broadcast journalism programs in the country (CCNN Live). They are five time Student Television Network National Crazy 8 champions. (2015, 2016, 2019, 2023, 2025) They have also been recognized by the National Scholastic Press Association, Florida Scholastic Press Association, and National Federation of High School (NFHS). They have won 85 Suncoast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Student Production Awards (Emmys) and 15 National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences National Awards.
Athletics
A member of the Florida High School Activities Association and the Greater Miami Athletic Conference, Columbus is the only private school in the state of Florida to compete at the 8A level.
At Columbus, students also compete in non GMAC clubs such as: Roller Hockey, Fishing, Scuba Diving, and Personal Fitness.
Varsity level sports offered are: baseball, basketball, football, volleyball, hockey, soccer, bowling, cross country, golf, lacrosse, swimming, diving, tennis, track and field, water polo, weightlifting, and wrestling.
Junior varsity level sports include: baseball, basketball, football, volleyball, hockey, soccer, wrestling and lacrosse.
Freshman level sports offered are: baseball, basketball, football and volleyball.
In 2009, Christopher Columbus High School won the Dodge Sunshine Cup All-Sports Award for boys' athletics programs in Class 6A.
State Championships
Baseball: 2003, 2015
Football: 2019, 2022, 2023
Boys cross country: 1997, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2020
Boys tennis: 1987
Boys track and field: 2018, 2019, 2024
Boys soccer: 2014, 2026
Boys basketball: 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
Boys Volleyball: 2026
National Championships
Boys Basketball: 2025
Additionally, Columbus won the Miami Herald's All-Dade Boys' Major Sports Award in 2008 and 2009.
Current head football coach Dave Dunn has led the team to two straight championships and former head football coach Chris Merritt was part of Team USA's coaching staff for the International Federation of American Football Junior World Championship in 2009. One player from Columbus competed on the team, which won the tournament.
Christopher Columbus' baseball program was ranked the number one baseball team in America during the 2009-2010 year. Currently, Columbus competes at the 8A division.
Notable alumni
Law/public service
Richard Blanco - '85, U.S. inaugural poet
Raoul G. Cantero, III - '78, Justice of Florida Supreme Court
Carlos A. Gimenez - '72, U.S. Representative for Florida's 26th congressional district, Miami-Dade County Mayor, District 7 Commissioner, city manager and Fire Chief of Miami
Javier Fernandez - '94, State Representative for District 114 in the Florida House of Representatives, lawyer and public servant
Pedro José Greer - Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient
Victor E. Renuart, Jr. - '67, Air Force general, commander of United States Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command
John D. Couriel - '96, Justice of Florida Supreme Court
Journalism/entertainment
Patrick Farrell - '77, photojournalist and Pulitzer Prize winner
Enrique Murciano - '91, actor, CBS drama Without a Trace and films Traffic, Speed 2: Cruise Control, The Lost City, Black Hawk Down
John M. Higgins - '79, journalist, business editor of Broadcasting & Cable
Carlos Maza - '06, journalist, formerly of Vox Media
Brian Regan - '76, American stand-up comedian
James F. O'Brien - '88, Oscar for Scientific and Technical Achievement
Business people
Marcus Lemonis - '91, entrepreneur, television personality and CEO of Camping World
Jorge Mas - '81, Chairman of MasTec
Carlos A. Rodriguez - '82, CEO of Automatic Data Processing & Board member of Automatic Data Processing and Hubell Inc.
Athletes
Eddy Alvarez - '08, 2014 Sochi Olympics Team USA member, short track speed skating; first Cuban-American male speedskater to go to Winter Olympics for USA
Augie Diaz - '72, world-class sailor
Alex Rodriguez, Former MLB infielder (Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees) Did not graduate. Transferred to Westminster Christian School (Florida).
Orestes Destrade - '80, player for Florida Marlins, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates and ESPN analyst on Baseball Tonight
Pedro Grifol - coach for Kansas City Royals
Jon Jay - '03, player for St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Anaheim Angels
Ed Lynch - '73, pitcher for New York Mets and general manager for Chicago Cubs
Paul Mainieri -'75, collegiate baseball and Baseball America's National Coach of the Year, led LSU to 2009 National Championship
Izzy Molina - '90, player for Oakland Athletics and Baltimore Orioles
Rob Murphy - '78, pitcher for Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and Florida Marlins; pitched collegiately for the University of Florida
Andrew Suarez - '11, pitcher for the San Francisco Giants and for the Miami Hurricanes, selected in 2011 MLB draft
Bryan Garcia - '13 - pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, and for the Miami Hurricanes, selected in the 2016 MLB draft