William Howard Taft High School (Chicago)
| Taft High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
  Taft High School  Taft High School  Taft High School | |
|
6530 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60631 United States | |
| Coordinates | 41°59′04″N 87°47′31″W / 41.9844°N 87.79192°WCoordinates: 41°59′04″N 87°47′31″W / 41.9844°N 87.79192°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public Secondary |
| Motto | "Teaching Academics For Tomorrow." |
| School district | Chicago Public Schools |
| Principal | Mark Grishaber |
| Grades | 7–12 (including Academic Center) |
| Gender | Coed |
| Enrollment | 3,220 (2015–16)[1] |
| Campus type | Urban |
| Color(s) |
Royal blue Silver |
| Athletics conference | Chicago Public League |
| Mascot | Eagles |
| Accreditation | North Central Association of Colleges and Schools |
| Yearbook | Aerie[2] |
| Website |
tafths |
Taft High School is a public 4–year high school located in the Norwood Park neighborhood on the northwest side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Taft serves communities on the far northwest side, specifically Norwood Park, Edison Park, Jefferson Park, Forest Glen and O'Hare. Taft is operated by the Chicago Public Schools district. The school is perhaps most famous as the high school attended by Jim Jacobs, the writer of Grease. Jacobs used Taft as an inspiration in writing the musical. Taft's NJROTC unit has won a Distinguished Unit award every year since 2001.[3] Since 2014, Taft High School has been considered a "wall-to-wall" IB school as part of the International Baccalaureate foundation. Taft high school has offered the International Baccalaureate program since 2001.[4]
Athletics
Taft competes in the Chicago Public League (CPL) and is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA). The boys' baseball team were Public League champions in 1968 and regional champions in 2009. The girls' volleyball team were Public League champions in the 1979–80 season.[5]
Notable alumni
- Jim Grabowski is a former NFL running back. He was selected in the first round of the 1966 American Football League Draft by the Miami Dolphins and the first round of the 1966 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. He played in Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II.[6]
- Robert Hanssen is a former FBI agent convicted of spying for the Soviet Union.[7]
- Ken Henry, U.S. Olympic gold medalist in speed skating, 1952 Oslo. At the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California, Henry was chosen to light the final torch at the opening ceremony.
- Jim Jacobs is the co-writer of the musical Grease, parts of which were based on his high school experiences at Taft.[6]
- Terry Kath was a guitarist and co-founder of the band Chicago.[6]
- Jerry Krause is the former general manager of the Chicago Bulls (1985–2003) whose teams won six NBA championships.[6]
- Lynn Morley Martin is a former congresswoman who served as U.S. Secretary of Labor (1991–93).[6]
- Donna Mills, class of 1958, is an actress whose best known role was as Abby on the television series Knots Landing.[6]
- Howard Moore is the former basketball head coach for the University of Illinois at Chicago (2010-15).
- Joseph A. Tunzi is a Chicago based author (Class of 1971).
References
- ↑ Chicago Public Schools: Taft
- ↑ 1967 Taft High School Yearbook- Chicago, Illinois
- ↑ Taft NJROTC
- ↑ "IB Diploma Programme". www.tafths.org. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
- ↑ IHSA Chicago (Taft)
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Defiglio, Pam (19 February 2009). "Debate plays on for Chicago guitarist's induction into Taft High School's Hall of Fame: Group wants late guitarist added to school hall of fame". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
But none of that is enough to sway some alumni of Taft High School, Kath’s alma mater, to induct the guitarist, who died in 1978, into the school’s Hall of Fame ... Alumni honored in Taft’s Hall of Fame include Jim Grabowski, who played for the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers; Jerry Krause, former Chicago Bulls general manager; actress Donna Mills; Lynn Martin, a Cabinet member in the George H.W. Bush administration; and Jim Jacobs, who based his musical “Grease” on Taft High School.
- ↑ Havill, Adrian (2001). The Spy Who Stayed Out in the Cold. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. xix. ISBN 0-312-98629-7.
Robert Philip Hanssen, a senior at Chicago's William Howard Taft High School in 1962, also saw the first James Bond movie that year.