William Howard Taft Charter High School

William Howard Taft Charter High School is a public school located on the corner of Ventura Boulevard and Winnetka Avenue in the Woodland Hills district of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, California, within the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school gained affiliated charter status beginning with the 2013–2014 school year.

Taft Charter High School
Address
Taft Charter High School Show map of San Fernando Valley Taft Charter High School Show map of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Taft Charter High School Show map of California Taft Charter High School Show map of the United States
5461 Winnetka Avenue Woodland Hills, Los Angeles , California 91364 United States
Coordinates	34.1689°N 118.5730°W / 34.1689; -118.5730
Information
Type	Public
Established	1960
Principal	Daniel Steiner
Staff	93.50 (FTE)[1]
Enrollment	2,364 (2017-18)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	25.28[1]
Color(s)	Red, Gold, Black
Athletics conference	West Valley League
Nickname	Toreadors
Newspaper	Taft Tribune
Website	Official Website

History

Named after former U.S. president William Howard Taft, the school first opened in 1960.[2]

Notable alumni

Ice Cube

Jordan Farmar

Gabe Kapler

Robin Wright

• Jeshua Anderson – track and field sprinter[3]
• Rick Auerbach – MLB shortstop 1971-81[4]
• Steve Bartek – musician, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo[5]
• Matteo Barzini – Italian filmmaker
• Justine Bateman – actress, TV series Family Ties[5]
• Mike Bercovici – college and pro football quarterback
• Scott Bloch – Office of Special Counsel[6]
• Mike Borzello – bullpen catcher Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees[7]
• Craig Buck – Olympic volleyball player[5]
• Phil Buckman – musician, actor, and voiceover artist, bass player for Filter
• Bryce Dejean-Jones – basketball shooting guard[8]
• Larry Dierker – MLB pitcher, manager, broadcaster[9]
• Spencer Dinwiddie – NBA point guard for the Brooklyn Nets[10]
• Larry Drew II – basketball point guard[11]
• Eazy-E – rapper, West Coast hip hop[12]
• Everlast – rapper/singer House of Pain
• Jordan Farmar – basketball point guard, 2-time NBA champion[13]
• William Finnegan – Pulitzer Prize winning writer surfing essayist
• Jeff Fisher – Los Angeles Rams head coach from 2012 to 2016
• Char Fontane – actress and singer[5]
• Barry Green – U.S. orchestral and solo double bass player and teacher[5]
• Guy Hansen – professional baseball pitcher and coach[14]
• Steve Hartman - sportscaster[15]
• Ice Cube – rapper, actor, director, producer, Friday, Are We There Yet?, Straight Outta Compton[5]
• Airabin Justin – NFL and CFL defensive back[16]
• Gabe Kapler – MLB outfielder, San Francisco Giants manager[17]
• Brad Kearns – professional triathlete[18]
• Kevin Kennedy – MLB manager and radio-TV baseball commentator[5]
• Dave Koz – smooth jazz saxophonist, radio personality[5]
• Lisa Kudrow – actress, TV series Friends[5]
• Pete LaCock – MLB first baseman and coach[19]
• Dale Launer - comedy screenwriter[20]
• Epic Mazur - vocalist, rapper, and record producer
• Maureen McCormick – actress, TV series The Brady Bunch[5]
• Danny Boy O’Connor – rapper, House of Pain[21]
• Susan Olsen – actress, TV series The Brady Bunch[5]
• Kelly Paris – MLB third baseman[22]
• Dana Plato – actress, TV series Diff'rent Strokes
• DaShon Polk – NFL linebacker[23]
• Paul Pratt – NFL defensive back for Detroit Lions[24]
• Elliot Rodger – murderer
• Malcolm Smith – Super Bowl XLVIII champion and MVP[25][26]
• Steve Smith – NFL wide receiver, Super Bowl XLII champion[27]
• Jan Smithers – actress, TV series WKRP in Cincinnati[5]
• Bill Spooner – NBA Referee
• Jeff Stork – volleyball Hall of Famer, member of 1988 Summer Olympics gold-medal U.S. men's team[5]
• Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan – NASA space shuttle astronaut[5]
• Michael Thomas – NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver, New Orleans Saints[28]
• Justin Tryon – NFL cornerback[29]

• Mark Tulin – musician, founding member of The Electric Prunes[30]
• Wilmer Valderrama – actor, TV series That '70s Show[31]
• Duffy Waldorf – professional golfer, member of UCLA Sports Hall of Fame[32]
• Quincy Watts – athlete, winner of two gold medals at 1992 Summer Olympics[5]
• Jane Wiedlin – musician, singer and original member of band The Go-Go's
• Brad Wilk – drummer for Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave[33]
• Darrion Weems – NFL offensive tackle[34]
• Robin Wright – actress, The Princess Bride, Forrest Gump, House of Cards, Wonder Woman (2017 film) [35]
• Larry Yount – MLB pitcher[36]
• Robin Yount – Baseball Hall of Fame player, 19 seasons with Milwaukee Brewers of MLB[37]
• Antwaun Woods - Nose tackle for the Dallas Cowboys, college Defensive Lineman of the Year in 2016[38]

References

1. "Taft Charter High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
2. "LAUSD School Profile". Search.lausd.k12.ca.us. September 16, 2009. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
3. "Jeshua Anderson". Washington State High School. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
4. "Rick Auerbach Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
5. "Achievements". Taft Charter High School. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
6. "Bush appointee turns the spotlight inward". Los Angeles Times. May 2007. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
7. "Mike Borzello". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
8. "Bryce Dejean-Jones Stats – Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com.
9. "Larry Dierker Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
10. "Spencer Dinwiddie Stats | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
11. "Larry Drew Stats – Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com.
12. 'Thursday, Marty McFly-var lastDate =; 10, January; Thursday, 2013'; 10, January; Comments, 2013-11. "Celebrity Real Estate: The Late Eazy-E's Wife Gets Foreclosed in Calabasas and the Search For Eazy's Playhouse".CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
13. "Jordan Robert Farmar". Basketball-Reference.Com. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
14. "Scout Who Discovered Saberhagen Convinced the Royals With Radar Scout Who Discovered Saberhagen Convinced the Royals With Radar". Los Angeles Times. June 14, 1986. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
16. "Airabin Justin". CBS Sports. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
17. "Gabe Kapler Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
18. "Brad Kearns". bradkearns.com. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
19. "Pete LaCock Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
21. "Danny Boy O'Connor". Danny Boy O'Connor. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
22. "Kelly Paris Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
23. "He Plays Hitter but Not a Heavy : When Taft High's DaShon Polk Takes the Field, He Smiles on Contact". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
24. "Paul Pratt". University of Nevada Athletics. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
25. "Malcolm Smith". The Official Site of USC Trojan Athletics. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
26. Football: The pride of Taft High, Malcolm Smith, is Super Bowl MVP, Los Angeles Times, February 2, 2014
27. "Steve Smith #12 WR". NFL Enterprises LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
28. "Michael Thomas". NFL.com. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
29. "Justin Tryon". The Official Athletics Site of Arizona State University. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
30. "PASSINGS: Mark Tulin". Los Angeles Times. March 3, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
31. "Wilmer Valderrama". The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
32. "HIGH SCHOOL SPRING SPORTS DIGEST : AN EARLY GLANCE AT TOP TEAMS AND PLAYERS : Golf : Taft Again Has Another Solid Team". Los Angeles Times. March 13, 1987. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
33. "Achievements". Taft Charter High School. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
34. "Darrion Weems". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
35. "Robin Wright". The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
36. "Larry Young Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
37. "Robin Yount Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
38. "Antwaun Woods", Wikipedia, December 5, 2019, retrieved February 10, 2020

External links

• Official William Howard Taft Charter High School website
• Great Schools Inc.org: "Taft Senior High School"
• U.S.News.com: "Taft High School"
• LAschoolboard.org: Taft High School 2013-2018 Charter Term — (Archive).