a good one

When principal Anthony Smith came to Taft High School 10 years ago they had a graduation rate of 21% and a building so bad that it looked like a condemned property.  Partnered with local corporations, Smith, his staff and their motto, "Failure is not an option," have changed the direction of Taft.  This week they moved into their new facility - the reborn Robert A. Taft Information Technology High School (home to 9 IT labs).  Named a 2010 Blue Ribbon School, Taft now has a graduation rate of 95% and any student who maintains a 3.3 GPA receives a cell phone and a laptop.  At last count, more than 25% of the students qualified.  And in March, a long dormant sports program produced a basketball state champion. Good stories are out there - they just take hard work to create and to find.