William Howard Taft High School is a public school located on Ventura Boulevard

Ventura Boulevard

Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east–west thouroughfares in the San Fernando Valley, USA; as it was originally a part of the El Camino Real , Ventura Boulevard is one of the oldest routes in the San Fernando Valley. It was also U.S...

 in Woodland Hills

Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California

Woodland Hills is a district in the city of Los Angeles, California.Woodland Hills is located in the southwestern area of the San Fernando Valley, east of Calabasas and west of Tarzana, with Warner Center in its northern section...

 in the San Fernando Valley

San Fernando Valley

The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...

 of Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, USA, within the Los Angeles Unified School District

Los Angeles Unified School District

Los Angeles Unified School District is the largest public school system in California. It is the 2nd largest public school district in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population...

.

History

Taft opened in 1960.
Taft won the 1998 Los Angeles City 4A football championship.

Taft is also home to one of the top Boys' and Girls' Volleyball programs in the CIF Los Angeles City Section. Taft has appeared in a combined 18 Championship games. Boys' 1990, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010. Girls' 1998, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011

Academics

US National Academic Decathlon Champions: 1989, 1994, and 2006.

In 2008 Taft High School was awarded the SSP NanoTechnology grant from the State of California. The academy is set to start September 2009.

Notable alumni

• Airabin Justin
  Airabin Justin
  Airabin Justin is a professional American and Canadian football defensive back who is currently a free agent. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Baltimore Ravens in 2003...
  
  - Former NFL Defensive Back
  Defensive back
  In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...
  
  .
• Rick Auerbach
  Rick Auerbach
  Frederick "Rick" Steven Auerbach was a shortstop in Major League Baseball. He played from - with the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, and Seattle Mariners...
  
   - former MLB Shortstop
  Shortstop
  Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
  
  .
• Jason Bateman
  Jason Bateman
  Jason Kent Bateman is an American television and film actor. After appearing in several 1980s and 1990s sitcoms including It's Your Move, and The Hogan Family, Bateman came to prominence in the early 2000s for playing Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, for which he won a TV Land, a Golden...
  
   - actor.
• Justine Bateman
  Justine Bateman
  Justine Tanya Bateman is an American actress, writer, and producer. She is best known for her regular role as Mallory Keaton on the sitcom Family Ties...
  
   - actress.
• Danny Boy O’Connor - rapper, House of Pain
  House of Pain
  House of Pain is an American hip hop group who released three albums in the 1990s before lead rapper Everlast left to pursue his solo career again. The group's name is a reference to the H.G. Wells novel The Island of Dr...
  
  
• Daniel Berdichevsky
  Daniel Berdichevsky
  Daniel Berdichevsky also known as DemiDec Dan is a noted figure in international education, the application of online social networks, and in the design of persuasive technologies...
  
   - founder
  Entrepreneur
  An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
  
   and CEO of DemiDec
  DemiDec
  DemiDec Resources is a private company founded in 1994 by now-CEO Daniel Berdichevsky that annually publishes study materials for the United States Academic Decathlon, hosts the World Scholar's Cup and co-operates several "study academies" around the world....
  
   and The World Scholar's Cup
  World Scholar's Cup
  The World Scholar's Cup is an international team academic tournament with students participating from over 30 countries. The competition was founded by DemiDec, in particular by Daniel Berdichevsky, DemiDec's president, in 2006. Other directors of the program include Zac Ellington and Bunnie Hadsall...
  
  .
• Scott Bloch
  Scott Bloch
  Scott Bloch is a US attorney, former deputy director and counsel to the Department of Justice's Task Force for Faith-based and Community Initiatives, and former Special Counsel at the United States Office of Special Counsel...
  
   - Office of Special Counsel
• Ice Cube
  Ice Cube
  O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
  
   - rapper.
• Cherie Currie
  Cherie Currie
  Cherie Currie is an American singer, actress and chainsaw artist. Currie was the lead vocalist of The Runaways, a hard rock band from Los Angeles in the mid-to-late 1970s.-Life and career:...
  
   - lead singer of The Runaways
  The Runaways
  The Runaways were an American all-girl rock band that recorded and performed in the second half of the 1970s. The band released four studio albums and one live set during its run. Among its best known songs: "Cherry Bomb", "Queens of Noise", "Neon Angels On the Road to Ruin", "California Paradise"...
  
  .
• Bret Mazur - record producer, rapper aka Epic Mazur
  Epic Mazur
  Epic Mazur is an American vocalist, rapper, and record producer. He is best known as a founder and frontman of Crazy Town.-Early life:...
  
   - Crazytown
• Larry Dierker
  Larry Dierker
  Lawrence Edward Dierker is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and manager. During a 14-year baseball career as a pitcher, he pitched from 1964–1977 for the Houston Colt .45s/Astros and the St. Louis Cardinals...
  
   - former MLB Pitcher
  Pitcher
  In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
  
  .
• Everlast
  Everlast (musician)
  Erik Francis Schrody , better known by his stage name Everlast, is a Grammy Award-winning American rapper and songwriter, known for his solo hit "What It's Like" and as the front-man for rap group House of Pain. He is also part of the hip-hop supergroup La Coka Nostra, which consists of members of...
  
   - rapper, House of Pain
  House of Pain
  House of Pain is an American hip hop group who released three albums in the 1990s before lead rapper Everlast left to pursue his solo career again. The group's name is a reference to the H.G. Wells novel The Island of Dr...
  
  
• Jordan Farmar
  Jordan Farmar
  Jordan Robert Farmar is an American professional basketball point guard for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Super League and Euroleague. He is also under contract with the New Jersey Nets, and is expected to return to the team after the 2011 NBA lockout ends.In high school, he was the...
  
   - NBA Point Guard
  Point guard
  Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...
  
  .
• Jeff Fisher
  Jeff Fisher
  Jeffrey Michael "Jeff" Fisher is the former head coach of the Tennessee Titans of the NFL. He has a 146-120 career record as an NFL head coach.-Early life:...
  
   - NFL Former Head Coach and player.
• Gabe Kapler
  Gabe Kapler
  Gabriel "Gabe" Stefan Kapler is an American Major League Baseball outfielder.He has played portions of 13 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, and the Tampa Bay Rays...
  
   - MLB Outfielder
  Outfielder
  Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
  
  .
• Kevin Kennedy
  Kevin Kennedy (baseball)
  Kevin Curtis Kennedy is a former manager in American Major League Baseball and a former television host for Fox Sports' baseball coverage. He was given the nickname "The Skipper" by Fox Sports due to his prior managerial career...
  
   - former manager and current TV broadcaster
  Presenter
  A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
  
   for the Tampa Bay Rays
  Tampa Bay Rays
  The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
  
   of MLB.
• Dave Koz
  Dave Koz
  Dave Koz is an American smooth jazz saxophonist.- Life and career :Dave Koz was born on March 27, 1963 in Encino, California....
  
   - musician.
• Mark Tulin
  Mark Tulin
  Mark Tulin was the bassist with The Electric Prunes. They had hit singles with "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night" and "Get Me To The World on Time"...
  
   - musician, founding member of, "The Electric Prunes"
• Lisa Kudrow
  Lisa Kudrow
  Lisa Valerie Kudrow is an American actress, best known for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the television sitcom Friends, for which she received many accolades including an Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards...
  
   - actress and star on hit TV Show Friends
  Friends
  Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
  
  .
• Pete LaCock
  Pete LaCock
  Ralph Pierre "Pete" LaCock, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball first baseman/outfielder.In 1975, he hit the only grand slam of his career, on the final pitch ever thrown by St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson.-Career:LaCock was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the first round of the 1970...
  
   - former MLB First Baseman
  First baseman
  First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
  
  .
• Maureen McCormick
  Maureen McCormick
  Maureen Denise McCormick is an American actress, celebrity and recording artist. She is most widely known as a child actress who played Marcia Brady in the television series The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974.- Early life and career :...
  
   - actress and star on hit TV Show The Brady Bunch
  The Brady Bunch
  The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis. The series revolved around a large blended family...
  
  .
• Kelly Paris
  Kelly Paris
  Kelly Jay Paris is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and shortstop. During his major league career, he played for the St. Louis Cardinals , Cincinnati Reds , Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox . He was born in Encino, California...
  
   - former MLB Third Baseman
  Third baseman
  A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
  
  .
• Dana Plato
  Dana Plato
  Dana Michelle Plato was an American actress notable for playing the role of Kimberly Drummond in the U.S. television sitcom Diff'rent Strokes.Plato appeared in over 100 television commercials as a young girl...
  
   - actress and star on TV Show Diff'rent Strokes
  Diff'rent Strokes
  Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...
  
  .
• Josh Portis
  Josh Portis
  Josh Portis is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He was signed by the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He was highly touted as one of the nation's top dual-threat quarterback prospects out of high school...
  
   - current NFL quarterback, Seattle Seahawks
  Seattle Seahawks
  The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
  
  
• Steve Smith - NFL Wide Receiver
  Wide receiver
  A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
  
  .
• Malcolm Smith (American football)
  Malcolm Smith (American football)
  Malcolm Smith is an American football linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks. Smith played college football for the USC Trojans, and was drafted by the Seahawks in the 7th round of the 2011 NFL Draft.-Early years:...
  
  , NFL Draft Pick
• Jan Smithers
  Jan Smithers
  Karin Jan Smithers is an American television and film actress, who is best known for playing Bailey Quarters on the television series WKRP in Cincinnati.-Life and career:...
  
   - actress and star on TV Show WKRP in Cincinnati
  WKRP in Cincinnati
  WKRP in Cincinnati is an American situation comedy that featured the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson and was based upon his experiences working in advertising sales at Top 40 radio station WQXI in Atlanta...
  
  .
• Justin Tryon
  Justin Tryon
  Justin Deaon Tryon is an American football cornerback for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft...
  
   - NFL Cornerback
  Cornerback
  A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
  
  .
• Wilmer Valderrama
  Wilmer Valderrama
  Wilmer Eduardo Valderrama is an American actor and television personality, known for the role of Fez in the sitcom That '70s Show, hosting the MTV series Yo Momma, and voicing the character of Manny in the children's show Handy Manny.-Early life:Valderrama was born in Miami, Florida the son of...
  
   - actor and star of TV Show That 70's Show.
• Holly Vincent
  Holly Vincent
  Holly Beth Vincent is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumental musician. Her band Holly and the Italians was one of the first American punk bands led by a female and signed to a major label....
  
   - musician/singer with Holly and the Italians
  Holly and the Italians
  Holly and the Italians were a short-lived American pop punk band that was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1978 by Chicago born singer and guitarist Holly Beth Vincent, bassist Mark Sidgwick, and drummer Steve Young...
  
  .
• Duffy Waldorf
  Duffy Waldorf
  James Joseph "Duffy" Waldorf, Jr. is an American professional golfer.Waldorf was born in Los Angeles, California. He attended UCLA where he was on the golf team from 1982-1985...
  
   - professional golfer
  Professional golfer
  In golf the distinction between amateurs and professionals is rigorously maintained. An amateur who breaches the rules of amateur status may lose his or her amateur status. A golfer who has lost his or her amateur status may not play in amateur competitions until amateur status has been reinstated;...
  
   and member of the UCLA Sports Hall of Fame.
• Quincy Watts
  Quincy Watts
  Quincy D. Watts is a former American athlete, winner of two gold medals at the 1992 Summer Olympics.Born in Detroit, Michigan, Quincy Watts attended the University of Southern California where he excelled not only as an athlete but also as a wide receiver on the college football team...
  
   - winner of two Gold Medals at 1992 Summer Olympics
  1992 Summer Olympics
  The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
  
  .
• Mike Borzello
  Mike Borzello
  Mike Borzello is a bullpen catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is the godson of former Dodgers manager Joe Torre, who was friends with Borzello's father. Borzello's sister, Keri, was an NCAA Women's College World Series participant in 1994, as a catcher and first baseman for the Missouri Tigers...
  
   - Bullpen Catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees
• Jane Wiedlin
  Jane Wiedlin
  Jane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and actress. She is best known as the rhythm guitarist of the all-female New Wave band The Go-Go's.-Early life:...
  
   - guitarist with The Go-Go's
  The Go-Go's
  The Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts....
  
  .
• Robin Wright - actress
• Larry Yount
  Larry Yount
  Lawrence King "Larry" Yount is a former major league baseball player. Yount is the only player in MLB history to be credited with pitching a game without actually facing a batter...
  
   - former MLB pitcher
  Pitcher
  In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
  
  .
• Robin Yount
  Robin Yount
  Robin R. Yount is an American former Major League Baseball shortstop and center fielder. He spent his entire 20-year baseball career with the Milwaukee Brewers . In 1999, Yount was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.-Early years:Yount was born in Danville, Illinois...
  
   - Baseball Hall of Fame player, formerly with the Milwaukee Brewers
  Milwaukee Brewers
  The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
  
   of MLB.
• Susan Olsen
  Susan Olsen
  Susan Marie Olsen is a former American child television actress and current animal welfare advocate. Olsen is best known for her role as Mike and Carol Brady's youngest daughter, Cindy Brady, on the 1970s television sitcom The Brady Bunch for the full run of the show, from 1969-1974.-Early...
  
   - actress and star on hit TV Show The Brady Bunch
  The Brady Bunch
  The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis. The series revolved around a large blended family...
  
  .
• Paul Pratt
  Paul Pratt (American football)
  Paul Pratt is an American football cornerback who is currently a member of the Detroit Lions practice squad in the National Football League. He was signed by the New York Sentinels as a street free agent in 2009. He played college football at Nevada.-External links:***...
  
   - NFL Defensive Back Detroit Lions
  Detroit Lions
  The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
  
  
• Sasha Alexander
  Sasha Alexander
  Sasha Alexander is an American actress. She is best known for several roles, including Gretchen Witter, the sister of Pacey Witter on Dawson's Creek; NCIS Special Agent Kate Todd in the first two seasons of NCIS; as Lucy in Yes Man ; and as Catherine in He's Just Not That Into You .She currently...
  
  - actress

External links

• William Howard Taft High School (Los Angeles, California) Official Website