William Howard Taft High School (New York City)
Encyclopedia
William Howard Taft High School was a high school in Southwest section of the Bronx, New York City
.
The school was operated by the New York City Department of Education
.
Taft H.S. is located on Sheridan Avenue and 172nd Street in the Bronx. In the early 1970's, Taft H.S. earned a reputation as a "failing school" with many of the problems of other high schools in poor, marginalized neighborhoods in New York City.
Founded in the 1940's, Taft originally served the largely homogeneous population of the surrounding area. In the post-war years of the forties and fifties, famous graduates included Stanley Kubrick
, Chuck Negron, producer Jerry Weintraub
and the singer Eydie Gormé
.
Demographic changes in the sixties, the exodus of the homogeneous population, and the advent of specialized magnet schools brought about shifts in enrollment at Taft HS. During the Abraham Beame
(1974-77) and Edward Koch (1978-89) Administrations, there was no priority given to the needs of the shifting demographics in the school community. City-wide, crime rates were high and unfavorable publicity further accelerated the decline of the school. Entering the 1990's, as a non-selective high school, it was unable to compete with the newer schools housing magnet programs that attracted prime students from throughout the borough. Crime intimidated vibrant young professionals from teaching at the high school. The danger was highlighted in May of 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.
Due to the above-mentioned demographic changes, of the 629 students attending Taft in the 1990s, the majority were Hispanic and African-American. On any given day, attendance hovered around 86%. The impoverished community, lacking in political clout or a cohesive PTA, was provided 10 truancy officers, rather than improved education strategies. The last graduating class of Taft High School was in June 2008. Within the same building, the previously identified "failing school" has been transformed into a series of small specialized high schools to meet modern career needs. The specialty schools are:
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
The school was operated by the New York City Department of Education
New York City Department of Education
The New York City Department of Education is the branch of municipal government in New York City that manages the city's public school system. It is the largest school system in the United States, with over 1.1 million students taught in more than 1,700 separate schools...
.
Taft H.S. is located on Sheridan Avenue and 172nd Street in the Bronx. In the early 1970's, Taft H.S. earned a reputation as a "failing school" with many of the problems of other high schools in poor, marginalized neighborhoods in New York City.
Founded in the 1940's, Taft originally served the largely homogeneous population of the surrounding area. In the post-war years of the forties and fifties, famous graduates included Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
, Chuck Negron, producer Jerry Weintraub
Jerry Weintraub
Jerry Weintraub is an American film producer and former chairman and CEO of United Artists. He now lives in Palm Desert, California.-Life and career:...
and the singer Eydie Gormé
Eydie Gormé
Eydie Gormé is an American singer, specializing, with her husband, Steve Lawrence, in traditional pop music, in the form of ballads and breezy swing. She has earned numerous awards, including the Grammy and the Emmy...
.
Demographic changes in the sixties, the exodus of the homogeneous population, and the advent of specialized magnet schools brought about shifts in enrollment at Taft HS. During the Abraham Beame
Abraham Beame
Abraham David "Abe" Beame was mayor of New York City from 1974 to 1977. As such, he presided over the city during the fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s, during which the city was almost forced to declare bankruptcy....
(1974-77) and Edward Koch (1978-89) Administrations, there was no priority given to the needs of the shifting demographics in the school community. City-wide, crime rates were high and unfavorable publicity further accelerated the decline of the school. Entering the 1990's, as a non-selective high school, it was unable to compete with the newer schools housing magnet programs that attracted prime students from throughout the borough. Crime intimidated vibrant young professionals from teaching at the high school. The danger was highlighted in May of 1997, when Jonathan Levin, an English teacher at the school and the son of former Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
chairman Gerald M. Levin
Gerald M. Levin
Gerald M. "Jerry" Levin is an American mass-media businessman. CNBC named him as one of the "Worst American CEOs of All Time".- Early life and education :...
, was murdered by a former student in his Manhattan apartment.
Due to the above-mentioned demographic changes, of the 629 students attending Taft in the 1990s, the majority were Hispanic and African-American. On any given day, attendance hovered around 86%. The impoverished community, lacking in political clout or a cohesive PTA, was provided 10 truancy officers, rather than improved education strategies. The last graduating class of Taft High School was in June 2008. Within the same building, the previously identified "failing school" has been transformed into a series of small specialized high schools to meet modern career needs. The specialty schools are:
- Jonathan Levin High School for Media and CommunicationsJonathan Levin High School for Media and CommunicationsJonathan Levin High School for Media and Communications is a public high school located in The Bronx, New York City. It is one of six smaller specialty high schools located on the campus of the former William H. Taft High School, which was closed in 2008 and divided into separate collocated...
- 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
- New York City Board of Education page
- Article by Michael Winerip
- School profile and article from Insideschools.org (also source of new schools in the building)
- Article on pregnant students