Taft High School (Los Angeles)

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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.

Several areas, including portions of Woodland Hills, Tarzana and Melody Acres [1], are zoned to Taft. In addition, residents of Topanga, an unincorporated section of Los Angeles County, may attend Taft or Palisades Charter High School.

Contents 1 Mission Statement 2 Demographics 3 Sports 4 Academics 5 Notable Alumni 6 Taft in the Movies 7 Crime at Taft High School 8 External links

[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] Demographics

Taft High School= 3500 students

Latinos- 39%

Whites- 34%

Blacks- 18%

Asians- 8%

Other- 1%

[edit] Sports

Taft's nickname and mascot is the Toreadors.

Taft is home to winning football and basketball programs. Taft 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.

In 2005 Taft Boys Football played Crenshaw High School for LA City Football championship, and although they lost, Taft still has one of the best football programs in Southern California.

The Boys Volleyball team have been multiple city champions, 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 Girls Volleyball Team, led by Coach Arman Mercado, pulled a city championship win against San Pedro High School.

[edit] Academics

Taft is home to the renowned Individualized Honors Program, led 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 Los 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, Shawn Danino, and Alex Bigman) to the National Forensics League National Competition held in Texas.

In 2006 a new academy called the Visual And Performing Arts Academy (VAPA) was created. It combines the vocal music, instumental music, drama, dance, and art departments and puts focus on the arts in academic subjects.

The arch-rival school is El Camino Real High School also located in Woodland Hills.

[edit] Notable Alumni

• The Electric Prunes (1960s rock group)
• O'Shea Jackson (Ice Cube)- Member of NWA and Actor
• Erik Schrody (Everlast)
• Lisa Kudrow - Actress
• Quincy Watts - Olympic Gold Medalist
• Wilmer Valderrama- Actor, Notablee for role as Fez in That 70s Show
• Jan Smithers (Bailey on WKRP)
• Eric Wright (Eazy-E)
• Jordan Farmar (NBA currently with Los Angeles Lakers)
• Steve Smith (former USC starting wide receiver)
• Jason Bateman- Actor
• Justine Bateman- Actress
• Robin Yount (MLB)
• Larry Yount (MLB)
• Gabe Kapler (MLB)
• Rick Auerbach (MLB)
• Jeff Fisher (head coach Tennessee Titans)
• Kevin Kennedy (manager Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox)
• Cherie Currie (singer of The Runaways)
• Joan Jett (guitarist for The Runaways,singer/guitarist Joan Jett and The Black Hearts)
• Jane Wiedlin (founding member of The Go-Go's)
• Alex Everett (electronic recording artist)
• Maureen McCormick (Marcia Brady of TV's Brady Bunch)
• Susan Olsen (Cindy Brady of TV's Brady Bunch)
• Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan (NASA astronaut)
• Jeff Stork (pro volleyball player)
• Craig Buck (Olympic volleyball player)
• Steve Bartek of Oingo Boingo
• Brad Wilk (drummer, Rage Against the Machine)
• Valarie Vernon (pink member of the Power Rangers)
• Larry Dierker (MLB player, manager Houston Astros)
• Pete LaCock (MLB, Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals)
• Kelly Paris (MLB)
• Dale Launer (screenwriter) Ruthless People, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, My Cousin Vinny, Love Potion #9
• Heidi Nagel (Formerly Mason) First Female on Virginia Military Institute (VMI www.vmi.edu) Alumni Board
• Steve Hartman, Sportscaster, KLAC Radio, KCBS Television
• Malcolm Smith (college football), Linebacker, (University of Southern California)
• Daniel Berdichevsky, the all-time high scorer at the United States Academic Decathlon

[edit] Taft in the Movies

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

Also, Taft has been featured in many commercials, most recently for Home Depot.

[edit] Crime at Taft High School

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 Black and Latino students. Reportedly over 50 students were involved, with 17 patrol cars and an LAPD helicopter dispatched. [2]

On September 9, 2003, a gang-related drive-by shooting near Taft left three students critically wounded. [3]

On November 3, 2000, a gang-related shooting after a football game left one student wounded. [4]

[edit] External links

• Official website

	v • d • e Los Angeles Unified School District District 1
Magnet 4-12 schools	Sherman Oaks CES
High schools	Birmingham | Canoga Park | Cleveland | El Camino Real | Granada Hills | Kennedy | Monroe | Panorama | Reseda | Taft
Alternative high schools	Northridge Academy