William Howard Taft High School (Chicago) facts for kids

Taft High School is a public high school in Chicago, Illinois. It is located in the Norwood Park neighborhood. The school serves students from several areas. These include Norwood Park, Edison Park, Jefferson Park, Forest Glen, and O'Hare.

Taft High School is part of the Chicago Public Schools district. A famous fictional school, Rydell High, from the musical Grease, was inspired by Taft.

Taft's NJROTC unit is a special program. It won a "Distinguished Unit" award every year from 2001 to 2014. This shows how well the unit performed.

In the late 1990s, the school made changes to attract more students. They added the NJROTC unit. They also created a special academic center for 7th and 8th graders. This center was for students who wanted a more challenging program. Taft also started an International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma program. The IB program became official in 2001. Since 2014, Taft has been an "IB World School." This means all students can take IB classes.

Academics at Taft High School

Taft High School is rated by GreatSchools.org. This website gives schools a quality rating. Taft received a 5 out of 10. This rating looks at things like test scores and how well students get ready for college. It also checks for fairness in student progress.

Sports and Athletics

Taft High School has many sports teams. They compete in the Chicago Public League (CPL). They are also members of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA).

Baseball and Volleyball Achievements

The boys' baseball team has had great success. They were Public League champions in 1968. They also won regional championships in 2009. The girls' volleyball team won the Public League championship in the 1979–80 season.

Football and Wrestling Success

In 2018, the boys' varsity football team won a big championship. They brought home their first Chicago Public League championship since 1972. They won with a score of 29–13. The wrestling team has also been very strong. They won four Chicago Public League Championships in a row. These wins were in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

New Sports Facilities

A nine-hole putting green was added to the school during the summer of 2023. This new facility cost $32,000. In 2024, the girls' flag football team had a fantastic year. They became champions in both the city and their state region.

Famous People from Taft High School

Many notable people have graduated from Taft High School.

• Jim Grabowski was a professional NFL running back. He played in the first two Super Bowls.
• Robert Hanssen was a former FBI agent.
• Ken Henry won an Olympic gold medal in speed skating in 1952. He also lit the final torch at the 1960 Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
• Jim Jacobs helped write the musical Grease. Parts of the story were based on his time at Taft.
• Terry Kath was a guitarist and co-founder of the band Chicago.
• Jerry Krause was the general manager for the Chicago Bulls. His teams won six NBA championships.
• Lynn Morley Martin was a congresswoman. She also served as the U.S. Secretary of Labor.
• Donna Mills is an actress. She is best known for her role on the TV show Knots Landing.
• Howard Moore was a basketball head coach for the University of Illinois at Chicago.
• Jack Suwinski is an outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates MLB team.
• Joseph A. Tunzi is an author, publisher, and producer from Chicago.