The Taft School is a private, coeducational school located in Watertown, Connecticut, United States. It teaches students in 9th through 12th grades and post-graduates. About three-quarters of Taft's roughly 600 students live on the school's campus. The Taft School was founded in 1890 by Horace Dutton Taft, brother of President William Howard Taft. The original campus was in Pelham Manor, New York; the school moved to Watertown two years later. In its 130-year history, Taft has had only five headmasters. William R. MacMullen, a 1978 graduate of Taft, has served as Head of School since 2001.
Campus and facilities
The campus includes The Lady Ivy Kwok Wu Science and Mathematics Center, Pinto Language Lab, Moorhead Academic Center, Hulbert Taft, Jr. Library, Belcher Reading Room, Mortara Academic Wing, Pailey Dance Studio, Tremaine Art Studio, Gail Wynne Art Studio, Potter Gallery, two theaters, an 18-hole golf course, 16 tennis courts, eight squash courts, two fieldhouses, two ice hockey rinks, and more than 10 fields around Potters Pond.
Students
Taft students come from across the globe. While numbers vary from year to year, a typical student body hails from more than 45 countries and more than 30 US states. About 34% of Taft students share more than $9.2 million in need-based financial aid.
Academics
Taft offers more than 200 academic courses. The average class consists of 11 students. Advanced Placement Program courses are offered in 29 subjects, including Mandarin Chinese, Spanish Literature, Spanish Language, French Literature, French Language, Latin, European History, American History, American Government, AB and BC Calculus, Statistics, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, and Environmental Science, Studio Art, Music Theory, Art History, English Literature, Economics, and Computer Science. 90% of graduates take one or more AP exams with an average score of 4 out of a possible 5. Taft is a member school of the Global Online Academy. The class of 2014 had mean SAT Reasoning Test scores of 633, 653, and 652.
Athletics
Taft's athletic teams are known as the Rhinos and their colors are cardinal red and navy blue. The following sports are offered at Taft:
