Colorado Springs School District 11 is pleased to announce a partnership with EDU, Inc., which administers the Common Black College Application. By forming this partnership with CBCA, eligible District 11 students will be able to apply to sixty-seven Historically Black Colleges and Universities using one common application at no cost.

The Common Black College Application program was founded in September of 1998 by Robert Mason. His goal was to eliminate the often times cumbersome process of applying for universities and colleges by creating one application that is presently accepted at sixty-seven HBCUs. To date, over 250,000 students have completed the CBCA. Approximately 97% of those have been accepted to at least one CBCA member institution, and over 33% have received a scholarship.

Mr. Mason has been quoted as saying, “You are who you think you are.” This program has done just that by instilling a sense of confidence and accomplishment in students as they seek a path to higher learning that best suits them.

For further information on how to apply through the CBCA process, District 11 high school students are encouraged to speak with their respective school counselors. The District looks forward to a long and successful partnership with the CBCA.

It started with a phone call from William Thomas Pikes Peak Library District in the fall of 2017 to CAPT Greg Thomas, Senior Navy Science Instructor at Doherty High School. The library had acquired some documents regarding Petty Officer Daniel T. Griffin, a 1928 Colorado Springs High School graduate and considered the first casualty during the Japanese Invasion of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. CAPT Thomas accepted the information and an idea was born. By the end of the school year in May of 2018, the Hall of Honor mural project was underway. 

The purpose of the extensive mural is to instill the significance that Colorado and the U.S. Navy  played in the history of the United States. PO Griffin’s story is detailed along with his aircraft, a PBY Catalina. Other military members from the Colorado Springs area are also featured, including LCDR Philip ‘Phil’ Long, who served as an F6F pilot on the USS Enterprise (CV-6), LT COL Marion Rogers, who was one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, and LT COL Bob Masonheimer, a B-24 bomber pilot, as well as other notable veterans, ships and aircraft with ties to Colorado Springs.

Kim Polumka, a professional muralist whose work has been shown on other local projects and across the country, helped plan the design concept and painted the murals. Recently, the Hall of Honor was completed and now the Navy Junior ROTC unit at Doherty is ready to dedicate the memorial.

A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at Doherty High School on December 7, Pearl Harbor Day, at 6:30PM in the school’s auditorium. A brief presentation about the mural will explain the project and recognize the many contributors who helped fund the $14,000 project. Guided tours of the murals painted on the two long hallways will be given and refreshments will be served. Members of local military organizations, veterans and friends and family are invited to attend.

For questions, please contact CAPT Greg Thomas at 719-328-2743 or eg.thomas@d11.org">greg.thomas@d11.org.