William Howard Taft High School (New York City)

William Howard Taft High School (New York City)

William Howard Taft High School was a high school in South Bronx, New York City.

The school was operated by the New York City Department of Education.

Taft H.S. is located in an impoverished, high crime area. Being located in the "South Bronx", in the 1980s and early 1990s, Taft H.S. earned a notorious reputation as one of the most crime, violence, and gang-ridden schools in the country.

This was in marked contrast to its past glory in the 1940s-1950s as one of the Bronx's premier public high schools - both in sports and academics. In that era, a majority of its graduates went on to higher education. Famous graduates included Stanley Kubrick and the singer Eydie Gormé.

As is the case in many American inner city public schools, metal detectors were installed to prevent students from bringing weapons in the school. Determined students found ways to circumvent the system, for example, by sneaking weapons through windows or passing them through back doors.

The danger of working at this school was highlighted in May 1997, when Jonathan Levin, an English teacher at the school and the son of former Time Warner chairman Gerald M. Levin, was murdered by a former student in his Manhattan apartment.Although few incidents were as grave.

Of the 629 students that attend this school, virtually all were Hispanic or African American. On any given day, attendance hovered around 86%, despite having 10 truancy officers assigned to the school.

After becoming a symbol of New York City public school failure, the school was gradually phased out and replaced with smaller schools and is no longer accepting new students.

The last graduating class was in June 2006 and the building is now used for:

*Jonathan Levin High School for Media and Communications
*Bronx High School of Medical Science
*Bronx High School of Business
*The Bronx Expeditionary Learning High School
*The Urban Assembly Academy for History and Citizenship for Young Men
*DreamYard Preparatory School

External links

* [http://www.nycenet.edu/OurSchools/Region1/X410/default.htm New York City Board of Education page]
** [http://www.nycenet.edu/daa/SchoolReports/03asr/274410.pdf 2002-2003 annual school report]
* [http://interversity.org/lists/arn-l/archives/Jul2003/msg00033.html Article by Michael Winerip]
* [http://www.insideschools.org/fs/school_profile.php?id=995 School profile and article from Insideschools.org] (also source of new schools in the building)
* [http://www.nyclu.org/rrp_p_survey.html Article on pregnant students]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • William Howard Taft High School — may refer to:* Taft High School (Los Angeles) in Los Angeles, California * The Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut * William Howard Taft High School (Chicago, Illinois) in Chicago, Illinois * William Howard Taft High School (New York City) in… …   Wikipedia

  • Taft High School (Los Angeles) — Infobox High School name= Taft High School headmaster= principal= Sharon Thomas motto= established= 1960 type= Public location= 5461 Winnetka Ave. Woodland Hills, CA enrollment= 3000 campus= Urban colors= Red, Gold nicknames= Toreadors conference …   Wikipedia

  • New York City Housing Authority — (NYCHA) Agency overview Jurisdiction New York City Headquarters 250 Broadway New York, New York Agency executive …   Wikipedia

  • William Howard Taft — For other people named William Howard Taft, see William Howard Taft (disambiguation). William Howard Taft 27th President of the United States In office March 4, 1909 …   Wikipedia

  • Jesuit High School (New Orleans) — Jesuit High School Address 4133 Banks Street New Orleans,  Louisiana, 70119 …   Wikipedia

  • New York Republican State Committee — New York State Republican Committee Chairman Edward F. Cox Senate leader Dean Skelos Assembly leader Brian Kolb Headquarters 315 State Street …   Wikipedia

  • New York Public Library Main Branch — New York Public Library U.S. National Register of Historic Places U.S. National Historic Landmark …   Wikipedia

  • New York Public Library — Coordinates: 40°45′10″N 73°58′54″W / 40.75270°N 73.98180°W / 40.75270; 73.98180 …   Wikipedia

  • Newburgh (town), New York — Newburgh   Town   J. Malone Bannan Center, the town hall, named for a former (1967 1978) town supervisor …   Wikipedia

  • Woodward High School (Cincinnati, Ohio) — Woodward Career Technical High School Address 7005 Reading Road Cincinnati (Bond Hill), Ohio, (Hamilton County), 45237 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”