On May 10, 1816, the trustees adopted a seal for the school in the form of "a spread eagle standing on a globe with the word Excelsior underneath in Roman Capitals."

[7] After the Civil War, improvements on the railroad contributed to a decided growth of population in the old Township of South Orange.

One resident complained that "in very cold weather, with stoves at red heat, it is impossible to raise the temperature in the room above 55 degrees, and in such a place are sown the seeds of suffering, disease and death."

Henry W. Foster, superintendent of the district from 1900 to 1927, described the conditions in 1913: "Long before prohibition was adopted, venturesome boys were surreptitiously now and then bringing liquor to dances to add to the excitement.

In the early part of the 20th century most of the remaining farms in Maplewood and South Orange were sold and subdivided, leading to the present suburban character of the two communities.

Four classrooms and a shop were added to the structure in 1939 and a large addition (now C Wing) was constructed in 1958 to accommodate a growing student body.

[9] By 1964, the dimensions of a new population explosion were perceived, and a special Board of Education committee was formed to investigate the needs of Columbia High School in the 1970s.

The same committee which concluded that physical additions were needed also recommended a new organizational plan to prevent students from feeling depersonalized in such a large system.

The goal was to provide the intimacy of a small school within a large plant, and each of the houses had, for example, its own student council, intramural athletic teams, and newspapers.

Columbia High School has won multiple Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards for their musical program.

Bethany Pettigrew and Tricia Benn won for Best Director in 2015 for Ragtime[33] as well as for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography and Staging for the 2022 production of Newsies.

[34] Louis J. Medrano won for Outstanding Scenic Achievement in 2022 for Newsies Columbia High School has a series of clubs.

[7] The Columbia High School Cougars[2] compete in the Super Essex Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Essex County and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).

[47][48][49] Trailing by eight points in the final three minutes of the championship game at the Newark Armory, the 1925 boys basketball team came back to win the Class B (since recategorized as Group III) state title with a 24-21 victory against Princeton High School.

[59][60][61] The 2007 boys' soccer team won the North II, Group IV state sectional championship with a 1–0 win over Westfield High School in the tournament final.

[74] In the 2010–11 season, the girls placed third in the team state championships after defeating Governor Livingston High School in the consolation meet.

[82] The team won the McMullen Cup in 2019 with a 4–2 win against Frisch School in the tournament final at the Richard J. Codey Arena.

[83] The 2023 varsity softball team won the North I Group IV state sectional title, their first since 1979, after defeating Livingston High School, ranked number 17 in the NJ.com Top 20 at the time, by a score of 7–5 in extra innings.

[86] In 2004, Columbia High School made national headlines when the administration amended a policy regarding religiously themed holiday songs putting more strict guidelines in place.

[88] Within this black-and-white composition are found a variety of ethnic backgrounds including Jamaican, Nigerian, Haitian, African-American, English, French, Jewish, Polish, Italian, and Irish.

[91] On January 20, 2017, in protest of the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, hundreds of CHS students participated in a school walk-out and marched to the Maplewood Town Hall building.

[92] In September 2014, instructor Nicole Dufault was indicted on 40 counts of aggravated sexual assault committed against six male students.

[93] In October 2014, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint against Columbia High School and the South Orange-Maplewood School District in relation to its academic leveling and disciplinary systems, stating that the overuse of discipline and "zero-tolerance" policy, and implicit racial bias within the level selection system violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

[95] In late February 2018, the non-profit The Black Parents Workshop[96] filed a new suit concerning this same topic — systematic suppression of minority students via their academic opportunities.

The plan was designed with input from Temple University Professor Edward Fergus, and implementation will be overseen by retired New Jersey Supreme Court Justice John Wallace, Jr.[98] In March 2023, Columbia principal Frank Sanchez was involved in a confrontation with a student, resulting in his eventual arrest and charge.

[99] In the weeks following the incident, the student in question filed an Affirmative Action complaint against Sanchez, alleging he used excessive force by grabbing her and slamming her against a wall.

The incident, partially captured on video from three different sources, has sparked division in the community, and following official and private investigations, has led to legal proceedings questioning whether Sanchez used excessive force or acted to protect students.

Principal Sanchez has been on paid administrative leave since January 2024, and in March 2024 surrendered himself to detectives working for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office on charges of simple assault and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

[101] As with many controversial events at Columbia, there is a focus on class and race; Sanchez is a white latino, and the student involved is black.

[102] Ann Bodnar, an assistant district superintendent, was named as interim principal in January 2024 after Frank Sanchez was placed on administrative leave.