Taft High School (Los Angeles)

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Taft High School
Established 1960
School type Public
District Los Angeles Unified School District
Grades 9-12
Principal Sharon Thomas
Colors Red and gold
Mascot Toreadors
Location 5461 Winnetka Ave.
Woodland Hills, CA
Information (818) 227-3600
Website www.tafthigh.org

William Howard Taft High School is a public school located on Ventura Boulevard in Woodland Hills in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California, USA, within the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Contents

[edit] Mission Statement

Taft High School believes in the equal worth and dignity of all students and is committed to educating all students to their maximum potential.

[edit] Sports

Taft is home to winning football and basketball programs. Led respectively by head coaches Troy Starr and Derrick Taylor, Taft has sent many players to division one programs and professional sports. Most recently, former All-American Steve Smith had three touchdown receptions for the University of Southern California in the 2005 National Championship game against Oklahoma. Jordan Farmar led the UCLA Bruins to the National Championship game for men's basketball in 2006. In 2005 they played Crenshaw High School for LA City Football championship, and although they lost, Taft has one of the best football programs in Southern California. The boys volleyball team has also had a superb record. They won the city championship in both 1999 and 2000. The baseball team has a new coach now and they are an up and coming program. They will be a force to reckon with in the upcoming years. In 2006, the Taft Volleyball Team, led by Coach Mercado, finally pulled a city championship win against San Pedro High School.

[edit] Academia

Taft is home to the renowned Individualized Honors Program, lead by Dr. Arthur Berchin. This program sends over 80% of its students into the UC system, and holds approximately 120 students per calendar year. Taft has also seen repeated success in the United States Academic Decathlon, Winning Nationals in 1989, 1994, and 2006. Taft has also won the Angeles regional competition every year since 1994, with the exception of 1999. Taft is also home to a top notch Speech and Debate under the leadership of Doug Lasken that has proven itself as a dominant team within the Tri Valley Forensics League, sending 10 to the State Competition held in Sacramento, California, and 3 (Brittany Gorin, Alex Bigman, and Shawn Danino) to the National Forensics League National Competition held in Texas.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Taft in the Movies

Taft starred as the high school used in 1976's The Boy in the Plastic Bubble with John Travolta, 1985s Mask (film), starring Cher, 1995s The Brady Bunch Movie , 2005s American Pie: Band Camp, 2007s Keith (film) starring Pop Superstar, Jesse McCartney

Taft High was mentioned in the pop-up version of the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical (2006) as the winner of the United States Academic Decathlon.

[edit] Crime at Taft

On November 21, 2006, a gang motivated stabbing took place at Taft. Little is known about the event; however, police took extra care to protect Taft. The perpetrator used a screwdriver, available at your local hardware store. On May 18, 2005, a series of racially motivated brawls occurred on campus ahead of Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa's visit during a period of tension between African-American and Latino students. Reportedly over 50 students were involved, with 17 patrol cars and an LAPD helicopter dispatched. [1]

On September 9, 2003 a gang-related drive-by shooting near Taft left three students critically wounded. [2]

On November 3, 2000 a gang-related shooting after a football game left one student wounded. [3]

[edit] External links


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