taft high school tour

• Public, Magnet
• CHICAGO, IL

William Howard Taft High School

• grade  A minus Overall Grade
• Rating 3.73 out of 5   655 reviews

Report Card

• Academics grade  B
• Diversity grade  A
• Teachers grade  A minus
• College Prep grade  B+
• Clubs & Activities grade  A minus
• Administration grade  B minus
• Sports grade  B+
• Food grade  C
• Resources & Facilities grade  B minus
• Gifted Prog. Offered
• High School
• Magnet School

William Howard Taft High School Rankings

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• Best Magnet High Schools in Illinois 11 of 27
• Most Diverse Public High Schools in Illinois 49 of 715
• Best College Prep Public High Schools in Illinois 122 of 674

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• grade  A minus University of Illinois Chicago 943 Students
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• grade  A+ University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 551 Students
• grade  A+ Northwestern University 405 Students
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• grade  B minus Dominican University 325 Students
• grade  B Northern Illinois University 304 Students
• grade  A Michigan State University 275 Students

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• Cost of Living grade  B minus
• Good for Families grade  A minus
• Housing grade  B minus

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• Homecoming (Game and dance) 23%
• Sports activities 16%
• International Night 13%
• International Day 12%
• College Fairs 8%
• Spring musical 4%

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• Rating 5 out of 5   Excellent 129   reviews ( 20 %)
• Rating 4 out of 5   Very Good 275   reviews ( 42 %)
• Rating 3 out of 5   Average 207   reviews ( 32 %)
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• Rating 1 out of 5   Terrible 10   reviews ( 2 %)
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Open House 2023

Students and families will receive a free Taft car magnet when they attend our February 9th Open House!  All students who attend the Open House will also have early access to making their course selections in Aspen on Friday, February 9th vs Monday, February 12th for students who do not attend the Open House!  Please read below for details on how to register for the Open House Event!

Last week students in Grades 7-11 will receive an email outlining their recommended courses for School Year 2024-2025.  This communication included detailed information specific to each student, a Virtual Taft Electives Fair, and links to multiple resources to help students and families make informed decisions.

One of the resources we would like to highlight to help students make their course selections for next school year is an in-person Open House at the Taft Varsity Campus (6530 W Bryn Mawr) on Friday, February 9th from 9 AM - 12 PM.  February 9th is a non-attendance day for students, meaning that students’ regularly scheduled classes will not meet.  The February 9th event at the Taft Varsity Campus is for current Taft students and is designed to help students understand the full scope and sequence of courses offered at Taft prior to making their School Year 2024-2025 programming choices.  

Students who attend the Open House can expect to experience the following:

Face-to-Face meetings with Taft Teachers, allowing students to ask questions they have connected to courses they are interested in for next school year.

An Extracurricular Activities Fair, allowing students to explore all of Taft’s athletic and non-athletic extracurricular offerings.  

A Frequently Asked Questions Center, staffed by Program Coordinators, Administrators, and Counselors who can help answer any programming questions students have.

Students/families are required to register for the Open House Event using this link .  Students will make their selections in Aspen prior to Sunday, February 25.

'This team is very hungry.' Taft out for revenge in OHSAA DIII basketball state semifinal

Two months after stewing about last year's Ohio High School Athletic Association state semifinal loss , top college prospect Rayvon Griffith came in from the Taft High School track to the weight room with a proclamation for head basketball coach Demarco Bradley.

On that day in May, the Senators' 2022 campaign was christened the "Revenge Tour."

More: Taft's 'revenge tour' headed back to Final Four after regional title win over Georgetown

"I came up with it; now we're back," Griffith said. "We came up short and we're just trying to get it back this year. I feel like my skill set's better, my leadership is better and my work ethic is totally different."

Though the road has been bumpy at times as Taft played Division I and II opponents, the Division III Senators have been on a fill-the-hoop filibuster. They've gone from a 9-8 record to eight consecutive wins.

Now, back in the DIII state semifinals for a second straight year, the Taft "Revenge Tour" stops next at the University of Dayton for a 2 p.m. Friday, March 18, game with Cleveland Heights Lutheran East. A win there and it's a basketball brunch at 10:45 a.m. Sunday for a state title.

Lutheran East was last year's Division III state champion.

"In order to be the champs, you've got to beat the champs," Bradley said. "My guys have been saying it all year. This team is very hungry."

The Senators haven't won one since 2011 . The stars of that year, Adolphus Washington and Dwayne Stanford, are pictured on the banner commemorating that win. 

Bradley, an assistant to then-coach Mark Mitchell, wants his own spot in the gym where he's listed as head coach. He's been around great coaches like Mitchell and his mentors from Woodward, Larry Miller and Jim Leon.

He tries to teach by example, which includes sweeping his own basketball court at Taft. He calls himself a CPS (Cincinnati Public Schools) guy from the West Side of town where the zip code is 45225.

"It starts up top," Bradley said. "They see the top guy doing it, guess what? They're going to do it. I do the little things. It ain't the big things. It's the little things that count."

Bradley believes the most-conditioned team will win. To that point, he's had his Senators sprinting up on down the court without a basketball late in the season. The result has been a postseason run and a return to UD Arena.

"Our guys are not getting tired," Bradley said. 

There are new pieces to the Taft puzzle. The Southwest District Player of the Year Griffith has a couple of new Senators helping the cause with senior Mekhi Elmore and junior Eian Elmer.

Griffith, a 6-foot-6-inch position-less player, had 22 points in the regional final win over Georgetown , with Elmore and fellow senior Brandon Cromer adding 18 each.

Elmore missed last year's postseason run as the OHSAA transfer rules prevented him from playing the last half of the season. He had come from Dayton's Thurgood Marshall. Now in a full season, he led the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference in assists (6.1 per game).

"We have more talent," Elmore said. "Coach prepared us with the schedule he had us play this year. It definitely prepared us for the state tournament."

Elmer, a standout scorer at Covington Holmes High School, joined the Senators this season giving them another lengthy frame at 6 foot, 7 inches. While he can still deliver a key bucket, he led the CMAC in blocks this season with 3.6 per game and pulled down 7.4 rebounds behind 6-foot-8 freshman Kerian Granville, who led the squad with 10.4 per contest.

"I was the man at Holmes," Elmer said. "Coming to this team I play hard and rebound for my team. They ask me to go out and do something I will. I didn't win a lot at my old school so coming in here winning, it feels good."

A victory Friday afternoon would move the Senators to Sunday morning basketball against the winner of Columbus Africentric/Ottawa Glandorf. They play before Taft on Friday, so the Senators can scout before they play.

"I'm the happiest guy in America because this was our goal to get back," Bradley said. "Now that we're back, we've got to get to the 'ship (championship)."

Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval will speak at a Taft team send-off Thursday. Should the championship hardware return to Ezzard Charles Drive, the mayor and the Senators could culminate "The Revenge Tour" with another proclamation.

Edison Park Elementary School

Taft High School is hosting tours of the Freshman Academy (4071 N Oak Park Ave, Chicago, IL 60634) on multiple dates in November and December.

Thursday, November 4th

Tuesday, November 9th

Wednesday, November 10th

Tuesday, November 16th

Wednesday, November 17th

Tuesday, November 23rd

Tuesday, November 30th

Thursday, December 2nd

Tuesday, December 7th

Thursday, December 9th

Families should click  here  to register for a tour and to learn more about the many programs at Taft.

Taft boys basketball team wants to complete the 'revenge tour' with a state championship

CINCINNATI — The Taft High School boys basketball team is hungry for redemption during the state tournament this weekend in Dayton.

Nearly a year after the Senators lost to Worthington Christian on a buzzer-beater, Taft is poised for a different outcome in the Division III state semfinal Friday afternoon.

"We've been here before," Taft senior point guard Mekhi Elmore said. "Last year we did not finish the job. But, this year we just want to complete the mission: The revenge tour."

The first step is 2 p.m. Friday when Taft (17-8) plays defending state champion Cleveland Heights Lutheran East (16-9) at University of Dayton Arena.

The winner plays either Columbus Africentric (23-5) or Ottawa-Glandorf (24-2) in the state final at 10:45 a.m. Sunday.

Sunday can wait for now.

Taft coach Demarco Bradley told his team during practice Tuesday afternoon that the state final could be the greatest day in his players' lives. But, the Senators have to get to that point and not worry about anything outside the team.

"It's been elite mindset all year," Bradley said. "I'm glad that we play Lutheran East because in order to be the champs you have to beat the champs."

Bradley is no stranger to the state tournament. He was an assistant coach during Taft's 2011 Division III state championship team and won two state titles as a Woodward High School student.

"Taft is everything to me," Bradley said. "Taft basketball means the world to me right now. I'm the happiest guy in America because this is where I go to give back."

The Senators are led by several players including Elmore, who averages 12.2 points, 6.1 assists and 2.2 rebounds. He's received interest from North Carolina State, Norfolk State, Tulane, Tulsa and Radford, according to Bradley.

Junior guard/forward Rayvon Griffith - one of the nation's top players in the 2023 class - averages 19.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists.

He is considering Louisville, South Carolina, University of Cincinnati, The Ohio State University, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Arizona State, Alabama and Kansas among his finalists.

Griffth's college recruiting can wait. He said last year's loss made him cherish every moment during a season and not to take anything for granted. A state title would be very significant to Griffith and his teammates.

"It would mean everything because if we win a state championship you know it's going to be with Taft forever," Griffith said. "It's going to be with us forever. We set a legacy here at Taft. Blessed to be here, blessed to get another opportunity because it doesn't come for everybody."

Taft is also led by senior guard Brandon Cromer (11 ppg., 3.1 rpg), junior forward Eian Elmer (8.1 ppg., 7.4 rpg.) and freshman forward Kieran Granville-Britten (7.5 ppg., 10.4 rpg.).

The Senators take a great deal of pride in being the lone Greater Cincinnati representative in the Ohio High School Athletic Association state tournament this weekend.

Bradley said this week is also an opportunity to highlight how his team has made a significant effort academically, too.

"Out of 12 guys I've got nine guys on the honor roll," Bradley said. "That's where it starts in the classroom.The guys have been working very hard. And I learned a favorite saying from Bob Huggins: 'If you do well on the court it will carry off the court.'"

Cincinnati Public Schools Athletics Manager Josh Hardin said CPS and the entire city is very happy to support Taft and its memorable journey this week.

"Coach Bradley and the boys have been preparing for this moment for a year and they are ready for the challenge ahead and they know the city is behind them," Hardin said. "We hope to see everyone in Cincinnati take a half day on Friday and head up to UD at 2 p.m. to support our Taft Senators get back to the state championship."

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Marshall Kramsky

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