The Taft School

Taft founded in 1890. The faculty of Taft are men and women who love not only their subject matter, but also the opportunity to teach it—to bring ideas alive in small, vibrant classes. They guide and shape students outside the classroom as well, as advisors, coaches, dorm parents, and directors. They have chosen the life of this school, where we are teaching at all hours of the day and on every corner of campus.

Taft students come from all over the nation and from around the globe. They bring incredible, inspiring diversity of talents, perspective, experience, and interests. They seek excellence and high levels of achievement in many areas. And, perhaps most importantly, they extend a culture of respect, empathy, and caring.

The campus of some two-hundred acres is a beautiful collection of collegiate-Gothic buildings, designed by a number of singularly visionary architects, who left us with a campus that brings people together, which creates contact and warmth, and which says that our work is serious and important. This blend of old and new, of the historic and the state-of-the-art, makes this a unique place to live and learn.

The community of Taft is close, warm, caring, spirited, and fun. We have core values that are simple and which guide us: we adhere to an honor code that shapes all we do and all we are; we expect students to treat each other with respect and kindness; we applaud high achievement and resilience in the face of challenge; and we believe in serving others.

In many ways, there’s a balance to Taft. On one hand, we have the curricular and extracurricular possibilities of a large school, and on the other we feel small, communal, and intimate. We are a place of high expectations—in conduct, in achievement—and yet we know that adolescents make mistakes and learn. And we take certain things seriously—especially service, honor, and respect—but we do not take ourselves too seriously. Our hope is that a Taft graduate leaves school happy and healthy, brave and resilient, empathic and respectful, a life-long learner who is committed to service to others.

While the world and the school have changed dramatically over the past 125 years, Mr. Taft’s fundamental values endure: work hard, without regard for public acclaim; develop all your talents—academic, artistic, and athletic; and most importantly, give of yourself to others. Our culture is inseparable from both our mission and our motto: non ut sibi ministretur sed ut ministret—not to be served, but to serve. Our community is fundamentally shaped by this dedication to helping young people become lifelong learners, thoughtful world citizens, and caring people.

We continually evaluate and modify our academic program to reflect the most advanced teaching and learning methodologies, while providing students with unique opportunities for pursuing their passions. Taft offers more than 200 courses—both required and elective—every semester, including 29 different Advanced Placement courses. Taft students may also choose to study away from Taft for a semester or two, propose an independent course of study, or enroll in Global Online Academy classes.

The Taft School admits students of any race, color, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability status, religious creed, and national and ethnic origin and provides them all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. The Taft School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability status, religion, or national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.