Taft Union High School

Last updated
Taft Union High School
2010-1230-Taft-UHS.jpg
Address
Taft Union High School
701 Wildcat Way

Taft
,
Kern
,
California
93268

United States
Coordinates 35°08′47″N119°27′38″W / 35.146508°N 119.460462°W / 35.146508; -119.460462
Information
School typePublic School
Motto"Excellence By Design"
Founded1912
FounderThomas Conley and Wilson St. Clair Leirly
School districtTaft Union High School District
SuperintendentBlanca Cavazos
PrincipalMary Alice Finn
Teaching staff50.01 (FTE) [1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment940 (2018-19) [1]
Student to teacher ratio18.80 [1]
Colour(s)  Blue
  Gold [2]
Athletics conferenceSouth Sequoia League
Nickname Wildcats
NewspaperThe Gusher
YearbookThe Derrick
Communities servedFord City, South Taft, Taft Heights
Feeder schoolsElk Hills, Midway, McKittrick, Belridge, Taft City School District
Website School website

Taft Union High School is located in Taft in Kern County, California, in the United States. Taft High was founded in 1912. Taft is a small city of fewer than 10,000, and the school also serves the surrounding rural area, which in the early 21st century has a total population of about 20,000. It is a part of the Taft Union High School District.

Contents

History

Founding and early history

In February 1909 Thomas Conley and Wilson St. Clair Lierly circulated petitions to establish the first school district in the town. Classes started September 1909 in a small frame shack near the Moron Boiler Works at Crystal Street and Leirly Avenue near what was then Boust City. The district was formed in 1915 and named after Conley, who had donated property for the school. [3]

By 1917 a new campus was completed on property purchased from the Southern Pacific Railroad on the northwest corner of Seventh and San Emidio streets; this is the present-day location. The Conley High School District was expanded in July 1920 by including Elk Hills, Midway, Mckittrick and Olig elementary school districts. It was then renamed the Taft Union High School District. [3]

TUHS has been developed over the decades, with the additions of an athletic field for football and track, a gymnasium, auditorium, science building, cafeteria and domestic science buildings. The stadium was renamed as the Marion Martin Memorial Stadium in honor of a popular student and captain of the football team who was killed in 1927 in a bus accident returning from a game. [3]

TUHS' first football team was formed under coach Andrew Hardin, although the school did not have a football field. The team was known as the Gaugers, after the oilfield workers who read the gauges on oil storage tanks. These were boom years for oil in Texas and Oklahoma. In 1928 the team was renamed the Wildcats, alluding to oil prospectors ("wildcatters"), and the wildcat was adopted as the school mascot. Practices and games were played in the baseball field.

A Taft-Bakersfield rivalry intensified over the next 30 years. Traditionally the Taft-Bakerfield game was the last game of the season and would draw crowds upwards of 7,000 for games played in Taft. It was rare for Taft to win, but in 1928 Taft defeated Bakersfield High for the first time and the Wildcats won their first Valley Championship. [3] They won a second Valley Championship in 2007, following which the team has had few successes.[ citation needed ]

The Taft Union High School District authorized the establishment of classes at the junior college level starting in September 1922. Taft Junior College was the 16th junior college formed in the state. In 1962 Taft Junior College formed its own district: the West Kern Junior College District.

Student activities

Taft High has many extracurricular activities for students. The school holds many dress-up weeks, including but not limited to dress-up days prior to the weeks of Christmas and spring break.

The school also offers numerous sports, including golf, swimming, football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, and others.

Taft High's drama department puts on one musical a year; roles are open by audition. Its music department (band, string orchestra, jazz band, choir, advanced choir) holds concerts that are free to the public.

2013 shooting

On January 10, 2013, at 9:00 a.m., a gunman, later identified as 16-year-old student Bryan Oliver, armed with a 12-gauge shotgun entered a second-floor classroom where 28 students were present. He shot and seriously wounded 16-year-old Bowe Cleveland, who was treated at Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield. Oliver shot at another student, but missed. The teacher, Ryan Heber, suffered a graze wound to the head. Heber and campus supervisor Kim Lee Fields persuaded Oliver to drop his weapon and surrender and evacuated the students from the room. Police quickly arrived and arrested Oliver. [4] [5] [6] [7] Per standard response, the school was placed on lockdown and students were later picked up by their parents. [8] Counselors were available after students returned to classes. [4] Oliver will first be eligible for parole in January 2027. [9] He is currently incarcerated at California Institution for Men. [10]

Oliver had complained of being bullied. [11] [12] Said to have a hit list, he was charged as an adult with two counts of attempted murder and three counts of assault with a deadly weapon. [13] [14] Oliver took a plea deal in the criminal case and was sentenced to 27 years and 4 months in prison. After sentencing, Cleveland filed a lawsuit against the school District claiming the shooting could have been avoided. [15]

The school was featured in the 1986 movie The Best of Times starring Robin Williams and Kurt Russell. Taft was also seen in For My Daughter's Honor (1996). [3] Parts of the 2004 movie Frog-g-g! were filmed at TUHS as well.[ citation needed ]

Notable people

Faculty

Students [Note 1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kern County, California</span> County in California, United States

Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bakersfield, California</span> City in California, United States

Bakersfield is a city in, and the county seat of, Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about 151 sq mi (390 km2) near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shafter, California</span> City in California, United States

Shafter is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is located 18 miles (29 km) west-northwest of Bakersfield. The population was 16,988 at the 2010 census, up from 12,736 at the 2000 census. The city is located along State Route 43. Suburbs of Shafter include Myricks Corner, North Shafter, Smith Corner, and Thomas Lane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taft, California</span> City in California, United States

Taft is a city in the foothills at the extreme southwestern edge of the San Joaquin Valley, in Kern County, California. Taft is located 32 miles (51 km) west-southwest of Bakersfield, at an elevation of 955 feet (291 m). The population was 9,327 at the 2010 census. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.1 square miles (39.1 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State University, Bakersfield</span> Public university in Bakersfield, California

California State University, Bakersfield is a public university in Bakersfield, California. It was established in 1965 as Kern State College and officially in 1968 as California State College Bakersfield on a 375-acre (152 ha) campus, becoming the 20th school in the California State University system. The university offers 39 different bachelor's degree programs, 17 master's degree programs, and a doctoral program in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.).

<i>The Best of Times</i> (1986 film) 1986 film by Roger Spottiswoode

The Best of Times is a 1986 American comedy film directed by Roger Spottiswoode, written by Ron Shelton and starring Robin Williams and Kurt Russell as two friends attempting to relive a high school football game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bakersfield College</span> College in Bakersfield, California

Bakersfield College (BC) is a public community college in Bakersfield, California. BC serves about 27,800 students each semester or 31,000 annually, and offers associate degrees, certificate programs, and is one of fifteen California Community Colleges offering a baccalaureate degree. It is part of the Kern Community College District (KCCD), which is itself part of the California Community Colleges system.

Bakersfield High School (BHS) is a public four-year high school located in Bakersfield, California, United States. Opened in 1893, Bakersfield High School serves grades ninth through twelfth within the Kern High School District.

Taft College is a public community college in Taft, California. It is a part of the California Community Colleges system and is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. The college is one of only a few community colleges in California to have on-campus housing.

Stockdale High School (SHS) is an American senior high school located in Bakersfield, California. Its athletics teams are known as the Stockdale Mustangs and the school colors are black and silver. Stockdale High School first opened in 1991. Now in its 28th year, with approximately 2,069 students enrolled, Stockdale has an API of 831. Sixty-four sections of GATE, Honors, and Advanced Placement classes are offered for the college-bound. For students interested in career pathways, eight courses are offered, including Agricultural Science and Technology, Applied Engineering and Design, Computer and Commercial Graphics, Computer Science and Information Systems, Accounting and Finance, Medicine, Virtual Business Enterprise, and Construction Technology. The school motto is "Branded by Excellence." In 2010, Newsweek ranked Stockdale among the top 6 percent of all public schools in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas H. Werdel</span> American politician

Thomas Harold Werdel was an American politician and lawyer who served as an assembly member and Representative from California as a member of the Republican Party.

The Kern High School District (KHSD) is a public high school system headquartered in Bakersfield, California that serves portions of the County of Kern located at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley. As of 2023, the Kern High School District serves over 43,000 students and 3,600 employees as of 2007. It encompasses over 3,500 square miles (9,100 km2), just under 43 percent of the total area of Kern County. It is the largest district of its type by enrollment and land area. Voted into existence in 1892, it began operation in January 1893. The district comprises 19 comprehensive campuses, six alternative education campuses, two career technical education sites, and four special education centers.

The Lindhurst High School shooting was a school shooting and subsequent siege that occurred on May 1, 1992, at Lindhurst High School in Olivehurst, California, United States. The gunman, 20-year-old Eric Houston, was a former student at Lindhurst High School. Houston killed three students and one teacher and wounded nine students and a teacher before surrendering to police. Houston was sentenced to death for the murders, and he is currently on California's death row in San Quentin State Prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvey Hall</span> American businessman and politician from California

Harvey L. Hall was an American businessman and politician who served as the 25th mayor of Bakersfield, California. Hall was first elected in 2000, and re-elected in 2004, 2008 and 2012. He was one of the longest-serving mayors in Bakersfield's history. As mayor, one of his focuses had been beautification, through "Keep Bakersfield Beautiful" and the creation of, and participation in, monthly "Mayor's Freeway Cleanups", trash pickups on local freeways. Hall had donated his mayor's salary to the Kern Community Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transportation in Kern County, California</span>

Kern County’s transportation system was quoted as the “unseen industry.” Located at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, the county is at a prime location to ship goods west to the central coast, south to ports in Los Angeles, and east to corridors that connect to the rest of the country. It is also on major corridors that link to all northern points.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Bakersfield</span> Place in California, United States

Downtown is the central business district for Bakersfield, California. It contains several of the city's major theaters, sports complex, museums, and historical landmarks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shannon Grove</span> American politician from California

Shannon Lee Grove is an American politician, who represents California's 12th State Senatorial district, encompassing the southern Central Valley and parts of the High Desert. A Republican, she served as the minority leader of the California State Senate from 2019 to 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kern County Sheriff's Office</span> Law enforcement agency in California, US

The Kern County Sheriff's Office is the agency responsible for law enforcement within Kern County, California, in the United States. The agency provides: law enforcement within the county, maintain the jails used by both the county and municipalities, and provides search and rescue. Its jurisdiction contains all of the unincorporated areas of the county, approximately 8,000 square miles (21,000 km2). The headquarters is in Bakersfield with 15 substations located throughout the county. The metro patrol area is divided into four regions: north, south, east, and west. The Sheriff's Office has over 1,200 sworn officers and civilian employees.

Trice Jeraine Harvey was an American politician in the state of California.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Taft Union High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Taft High School (CA) Softball Home – MaxPreps.com". maxpreps.com. 2012. Archived from the original on 2016-01-22. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Taft Union High School History". Archived from the original on 2007-08-06. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
  4. 1 2 "Sheriff: Teen critically wounded in Taft high school shooting". Bakersfield Now . January 10, 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-01-12. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
  5. ↑ "16-year-old student opens fire at high school in Taft, Calif.; 2 shot". 23ABC News. January 10, 2013. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  6. ↑ Taft High School shooting update: Reports indicate at least 1 person shot in California high school Archived 2013-01-12 at the Wayback Machine , WPTV. January 10, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2013
  7. ↑ Winter, Michael; Stanglin, Doug (January 10, 2013). "Calif. teen with shotgun wounds classmate in school". USA Today . January 10, 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-01-11. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  8. ↑ Simmons, Ana; Santa Cruz, Nicole; Mather, Kate (January 10, 2013). "Taft classroom shooting: Heroic effort prevents further violence". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on 2013-01-11. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  9. ↑ "CDCR Public Inmate Locator Disclaimer".
  10. ↑ "CDCR Public Inmate Locator Disclaimer".
  11. ↑ "Taft teacher and campus supervisor hailed as heroes". KGET . January 10, 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-01-14. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  12. 1 2 Martinez, Michael (January 11, 2013). "California sheriff: Youth who shot classmate felt he'd been bullied". CNN. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  13. ↑ Cone, Tracie (January 11, 2013). "Reports of hit list probed in CA school shooting". Associated Press . Retrieved January 11, 2013.[ dead link ]
  14. ↑ "16-year-old charged as adult in Taft classroom shooting". Los Angeles Times . January 14, 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-01-18. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  15. ↑ Group, Sinclair Broadcast (15 January 2015). "Bryan Oliver takes plea deal in Taft HS shooting case". KBAK. Archived from the original on 2016-08-15. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  16. ↑ "The Taft Newsletter" (PDF). Taft Union High School District.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Taft Union High School Hall of Fame". Taft Union High School Hall of Fame.

Notes

  1. ↑ (in chronological order)
  2. ↑ Senator Dianne Feinstein's father. [12]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.