Taft High School (Los Angeles)

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Taft High School

Principal Sharon Thomas
Established 1960
School Type Public
Location 5461 Winnetka Ave.
Woodland Hills, CA
Enrollment 3500
School colors Red, Gold
Nicknames Toreadors
Website Official website

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

Taft opened in 1960 [2].

In May 2007 teachers from Taft began negotiations with Green Dot, a charter school operator [3].

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 and is now a professional NFL receiver for the New York Giants.

Jordan Farmar recently drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2006 also graduated from Taft in 2004.

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 website with information on the football program is : http://www.TAFTFOOTBALL.com

The Boys Volleyball team have been city champions multiple times, winning the city championship in 1999, 2000, and 2001, while also making the city finals in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007.

In 2006, the Taft Boys Track Team, led by Coach Richard Rucker, pulled a city championship win

In 2006, the Taft Girls Basketball Team pulled a city championship win against Washington High School.

In 2006, the Taft Girls Volleyball Team, led by Coach Arman Mercado, pulled a city championship win against San Pedro High School.

In 2007, the Taft Boys Tennis Team, led by Captains Josh Tchan and Justin Gold, stunned Los Angeles with a sterling City Championship win against Palisades Charter High School with a score of 21-8.5, it was Taft's first Tennis City Championship since 1983.

In 2007, the Taft Boys Track Team, led by Coach Richard Rucker, pulled a city championship win

By far the most notable sporting achievement by the Toreadors was their 1998 Los Angeles City 4A Football championship over the Banning Pilots of Wilmington.

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 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.

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 and 2007. The 2007 team proved to challenge the former standards of elitism held for Academic Decathlon at Taft.

In 2006 a new academy called the Visual And Performing Arts Academy (VAPA) was created. It combines the vocal music, instrumental 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.

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 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, Skittles and the video game Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

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Los Angeles Unified School District District 1
Magnet 4-12 schools Sherman Oaks CES
High schools Birmingham • Canoga Park • Chatsworth • Cleveland • El Camino Real • Granada Hills • Kennedy • Monroe • Northridge Academy • Panorama • Reseda • Taft
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taft_High_School_%28Los_Angeles%29"
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