Jump to content

Fairfax High School (Los Angeles)

Coordinates: 34°04′55″N 118°21′36″W / 34.082°N 118.360°W / 34.082; -118.360
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fairfax High School
Address
Map
7850 Melrose Avenue

,
United States
Coordinates34°04′55″N 118°21′36″W / 34.082°N 118.360°W / 34.082; -118.360
Information
TypePublic
Motto"Fare fac" (Say and Do)
Established1924
School districtLos Angeles Unified School District
PrincipalLeonard Choi
Staff81.33 (FTE)[1]
Grades9–12
Enrollment1,827 (2018-19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio22.46[1]
CampusUrban
Campus size24.2 acres (98,000 m2)
Color(s)Crimson, gold, black    
Athletics conferenceCIF Los Angeles City Section
Western League
NicknameLions
NewspaperThe Colonial Gazette
Websitewww.fairfaxhs.org

Fairfax High School (officially Fairfax Senior High School) is a Los Angeles Unified School District high school located in Los Angeles, California, near the border of West Hollywood in the Fairfax District. The school is located on a 24.2-acre (98,000 m2) campus at the intersection of Fairfax Avenue and Melrose Avenue, in West Hollywood, north of the CBS studios, right at the heart of the Thirty Mile Zone.

Several sections of Los Angeles, including the Fairfax District, Park La Brea, portions of Hancock Park, and Larchmont, and the city of West Hollywood are served by Fairfax. Some areas (including parts of West Hollywood) are jointly zoned to Fairfax High School and Hollywood High School. In fall 2007, some neighborhoods zoned to Hamilton High School were rezoned to Fairfax High School.[2] Bancroft Middle School, Emerson Middle School, Le Conte Middle School, and John Burroughs Middle School feed into Fairfax. In 2009, some territory from the Los Angeles High School attendance boundary was transferred to Fairfax High School.[3] Fairfax High School has been widely regarded as one of the most diverse high schools in the city, state, and country.[4][5][6]

History

[edit]

Fairfax High School was founded in 1924 under the direction of Principal Rae G. Van Cleve, for whom the athletic field is named. When first built, with a backdrop of the iconic rotunda and Dewitt Swann Auditorium, a reflecting pond was the first thing students saw when they arrived at school. The school has seen numerous renovations over the years. The original Spanish Colonial Revival main building did not meet earthquake safety standards. In order to comply with Earthquake and modernization codes, the main building was demolished and rebuilt in 1966. However, the historic D. S. Swan Auditorium and iconic Rotunda were spared by preservationists and retrofitted. In 1971, a magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Los Angeles, severely damaging other schools. The rotunda was not demolished during the rebuilding phase in 1966, leaving it as one of the only two rotundas on the west coast. The theater was renovated in 2014.

Greenway Court, originally built in 1939 as a social hall by the students at Fairfax as a class project, was also spared and was moved to its current location on Fairfax Avenue, where it was converted into a theater in 1999 by the Greenway Arts Alliance and renamed the Greenway Court Theater.

Former NFL official Jim Tunney served as the school's principal from 1964 to 1970. Most of the current campus facilities, except for those mentioned above, were built between 1966 and 1968.

When the 1971 San Fernando earthquake struck with a magnitude of 6.5–6.7, nearby Los Angeles High School was damaged severely and closed for repairs. Students from Los Angeles High attended Fairfax High on "double sessions", with Fairfax students using the campus from 7 am to 12 noon, and LA High students from 12:30 pm to 5 pm.

Fairfax was the foreign language magnet school in the 1960s and 1970s, offering Hebrew, German, Chinese and Latin, among other languages. The Fairfax Magnet Center for Visual Arts opened in 1981 and remains the only visual arts magnet in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

In 1984, Dr. Virginia Uribe, founded LAUSD's Project 10 program, a dropout prevention program specifically for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students in the United States.[7]

Organized by a group of local theater artists, the first Melrose Trading Post flea market was held in 1996 in the school's parking lot. Regarded as the most successful on-going fund-raising activity in the LAUSD, the flea market evolved into the Greenway Arts Alliance, the Friends of Fairfax and the Institute for the Arts at Fairfax High School, all which are of immense benefit to the school and students.[8]

Demographics

[edit]

As of the 2015–2016 school year, there were 2,108 students enrolled in Fairfax High School.

The racial/ethnic composition (as of the 2015–2016 school year) was as follows:

White Latino Asian Black Pacific Islander American Indian Two or more races
8% 55% 20% 17% 0.1% 0.4% 0%

According to U.S. News & World Report, 92% of Fairfax's student body is "of color", with 79% of the student body coming from economically disadvantaged households, determined by student eligibility for California's reduced-price meal program.[9]

In the 1950s, Fairfax High School was known for having a large Jewish student body,[10] as a Jewish community surrounded the school. It became known as a "Jewish" high school, and some non-Jewish parents withdrew their children from Fairfax as they felt discomfort with the Jewish character of the school.[11] In 1953, Fairfax High introduced Modern Hebrew classes, initially taught by the principal of the Beverly-Fairfax Jewish Community Center, Ronnie Tofield.[10]

The racial composition became significantly more multi-cultural following the integration efforts of 1968. As Fairfax principal William Layne told the Los Angeles Times in 1975, “Fairfax began changing in 1968. Then the boundaries were adjusted to include an area past Pico. It caused a trauma to what had been an all-white, academic school. There was strong reaction from the community as well. The senior citizens got upset when they saw a kid they couldn't identify with. There was also unrest at school, fearfulness, and an increase in thefts and people being molested."[12]

Eventually, racial tensions subsided as the school worked toward an active integration plan led by Layne.

The table below represents the number of enrolled students at Fairfax High School through 2003–2007.

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
2,838 2,949 3,131 3,174 2,889

Source:[13]

Small Learning Communities

[edit]

Fairfax High School re-opened in fall 2008 reconfigured into a complex consisting of the existing Fairfax Magnet Center for Visual Arts and five new small learning communities (SLCs). The campus was divided into six areas of "contiguous space". Non-magnet students and staff were reorganized into five new schools-within-a-school. Subsequently, in 2010, two of the SLCs were replaced by a single SLC, bringing the total down to four SLCs and the Magnet. Currently, these SLCs are:

  • Academy of Media & Performing Arts (AMPA)
  • Academy of International Business and Communications (IBC)
  • Health Sciences Academy (HSA)
  • School of Mathematics, Science and Technology (SMST).

Fairfax Magnet Center for Visual Arts

[edit]

Fairfax is home to the Fairfax Magnet Center for Visual Arts, which attracts students from across the 700 square miles (1,800 km2) of the district. It opened in 1981 and is the only visual arts magnet in Los Angeles Unified School District.

Greenway Arts Alliance

[edit]

Fairfax High School's outer South side is home to the Greenway Arts Alliance (not an FHS entity), which operates the Greenway Court Theater, a 99-seat Equity-waiver playhouse, and through the Institute for the Arts at Greenway, provides non-LAUSD arts educational programs, mentoring, and employment opportunities to Fairfax students.

Since 1997, the Melrose Trading Post outdoor flea market has created opportunities for Fairfax High School and the surrounding neighborhood. Money raised by this nonprofit organization from the low-cost patron admission and vendor booth fees fuels an off-campus, arts education program called Institute for the Arts at Greenway.

Notable alumni

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Search for Public Schools - School Detail for Fairfax Senior High". nces.ed.gov.
  2. ^ "laschools.org" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 9, 2008. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  3. ^ "Proposed Changes to Fairfax High School Area Schools, School Year 2009–2010". Los Angeles Unified School District. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
  4. ^ "Senior Year". KET.
  5. ^ https://www.weho.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=2067 [bare URL PDF]
  6. ^ "Gay Teen Receives Prom Queen Crown". ABC News.
  7. ^ "Welcome to Friends of Project 10, Inc!". Archived from the original on June 2, 2013. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  8. ^ "http://www.greenwayartsalliance.org" Greenway Arts Alliance. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  9. ^ "rankings". usnews.com. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  10. ^ a b Moore, Deborah Dash. To the Golden Cities: Pursuing the American Jewish Dream in Miami and L.A.. Harvard University Press, 1994. ISBN 978-0-674-89305-4, 9780674893054. p. 86.
  11. ^ Moore, Deborah Dash. To the Golden Cities: Pursuing the American Jewish Dream in Miami and L.A.. Harvard University Press, 1994. ISBN 978-0-674-89305-4, 9780674893054. p. 87.
  12. ^ Lee, Garnt (December 21, 1975). "Fairfax – It's Still Where the Heart Is". Los Angeles Times.
  13. ^ "Fairfax Senior High School Enrollment Rates". SchoolMatters.com. October 1, 2009. Retrieved January 24, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ Noriyuki, Duane (November 9, 1995). "Class Clowns". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  15. ^ a b c d e f "City of West Hollywood to Honor Award-Winning Fairfax High School Marching Band and". Reuters. December 11, 2007. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  16. ^ a b c Thurber, Jon; Bloomekatz, Ari B. (May 3, 2009). "Jack Kemp, an original pillar in Republican 'big tent,' dies at 73". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  17. ^ a b c d e f Pool, Bob (May 21, 1999). "Fairfax High Alumni Bridge Generation Gap". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  18. ^ a b c d e f "Los Angeles Times Magazine Map No. 7". Los Angeles Times. April 13, 1986. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  19. ^ a b c d e f Hartman 2012, p. 118.
  20. ^ a b c "Red Hot Chili Peppers | Music Videos, News, Photos, Tour Dates, Ringtones, and Lyrics". MTV. June 25, 1988. Archived from the original on July 18, 2007. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  21. ^ Los Angeles Times: "Obituary:Saul Brandman" May 29, 2008
  22. ^ Simon Yaffe. "Modest psychologist proudest of mental health contribution". Jewish Telegraph.
  23. ^ Thurber, Jon. "J. Curtis Counts; Labor Negotiator Headed Federal Mediation Service", Los Angeles Times, July 4, 1999. Retrieved July 2, 2009.
  24. ^ "George Dickerson Added to Bruin Coaching Staff". The Los Angeles Times. September 5, 1937. p. 9. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  25. ^ "The Faces Behind Fairfax". Jewish Journal. February 28, 2002. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  26. ^ "'The Chosen' Almost Wasn't". Los Angeles Times. December 16, 1930. p. 19. Retrieved September 25, 2022. She was well known in Hollywood, a graduate of Fairfax High, playing with Paramount and Pathe.
  27. ^ Haldane, David (October 4, 1987). "Mother's Murder Unsolved, Too". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  28. ^ Leavengood, Ted. "Mike Epstein". Society for American Baseball Research.
  29. ^ "California State Meet Results – 1915 to present". Hank Lawson. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved December 25, 2012.
  30. ^ Cromelin, Richard (June 18, 2011). "LARRY 'WILD MAN' FISCHER, 1944 - 2011; Vagabond singer caught Zappa's ear". Los Angeles Times. p. AA5. Retrieved October 9, 2022. Lawrence Wayne Fischer was born Nov. 6, 1944, in Los Angeles. He attended Fairfax High School, but his home life was turbulent and he was sent to mental institutions as a teenager.
  31. ^ McGreevy, Patrick; Fox, Sue (March 8, 2001). "Heavy Hitters' Gifts to Padilla Strike Some as Excessive". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  32. ^ "Janet Fitch at Santa Monica College". Californiawriter.blogspot.com. May 1, 2008. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  33. ^ "Judge Manuel Franco Video by on Myspace". February 20, 2009.
  34. ^ "Former Cal Star Larry Friend Dies". AP NEWS.
  35. ^ Brando (March 8, 2018). "Ep. 50 – Rob Gardner, ORIGINAL drummer of Guns N' Roses" (Podcast). Appetite for Distortion podcast. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  36. ^ Chavez, Stephanie (January 23, 1993). "Hard Times at Fairfax High". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  37. ^ Michele Greene biography at her official website
  38. ^ Pineda, Dorany (July 15, 2019). "Rose Greene, L.A.'s early-day champion of LGBTQ rights, has died". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  39. ^ "Homer Griffith Pro Football Stats, Position, College, Transactions". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  40. ^ "Ex-USC star, Rams QB Jim Hardy dies at 96". Los Angeles Times. February 22, 2011. p. D1. ProQuest 853015243. [W]hen Guetta was 15, his father moved the family to Los Angeles. [...] His father soon returned to France and passed away, leaving Guetta and his siblings to fend for themselves. He attended Fairfax High for about a year, despite speaking no English.
  41. ^ Spitz, Marc (February 2003). "GN'R: THE INSIDE STORY". Total Guitar.
  42. ^ "Ex-USC star, Rams QB Jim Hardy dies at 96". Toronto National Post. August 20, 2019. ProQuest 2276692553. A three-time letterman at USC, Hardy, who saw his first USC game at the Coliseum at the age of 8, attended Fairfax High in Los Angeles, then eventually went on to become an inductee in the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1994.
  43. ^ "Behind the Movie Sets". Los Angeles Times. February 9, 1949. p. 7. Retrieved September 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  44. ^ Associated Press (September 7, 1943). "Hunt Bops Kramer for Net Crown; Navy Ace Triumphs in Four Sets". The Los Angeles Times. pt. II, pg. 9. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  45. ^ Meisel, Steven (May 2007). "Hit Girls". Vogue. Archived from the original on April 20, 2007. Retrieved August 2, 2007.
  46. ^ a b Goldstein, Patrick (August 18, 1991). "POP EYE". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  47. ^ Jym, Harris (August 24, 2011). "EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH MIKE JAGOSZ, ORIGINAL FRONTMAN FOR LA GUNS! – by Jym Harris". Proud to Be Loud. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  48. ^ "More Music News: Orchestra Members Set Panel Discussion". The Los Angeles Times Calendar. p. 27. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  49. ^ "Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Home". scjewishsportshof.com.
  50. ^ "Looking to make a splash". Park Labrea News/ Beverly Press. August 22, 2019.
  51. ^ Lytal, Cristy (October 16, 2008). "I was a good kid". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  52. ^ "Barry Latman Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  53. ^ Wright, Rick (January 20, 2021). "Duke City native Leo eager to defend crown". Albuquerque Journal. ProQuest 2479196455. Leo recalled his father, Miguel, a single parent, taking him out of Albuquerque to Los Angeles, where Angelo trained and attended Fairfax High School.
  54. ^ Barker, Andrew (August 22, 2011). "'Hound Dog' lyricist Leiber dies at 78". Variety. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  55. ^ Rosenberg, Howard (July 3, 1999). "'Hoop's' Arena Is Culture of Sports Off the Court". Los Angeles Times.
  56. ^ "Carole Lombard Bio". Carole Lombard .org. Archived from the original on November 20, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  57. ^ Saxon, Wolfgang (September 7, 1987). "Quinn Martin Is Dead at 65; Produced Popular TV Series". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  58. ^ Taylor, Clarke (August 31, 1980). "'The Chosen' Almost Wasn't". Los Angeles Times. p. 29 (Calendar). Retrieved September 25, 2022. Miller is an LA native and a graduate of Fairfax High.
  59. ^ Rosenberg, Scott (January 1, 1987). "Fairfax Has the Horses in City Title Race". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 10, 2012. As of the 1986–87 school year, Montgomery was a junior at Fairfax.
  60. ^ "Ricardo Montalban: Up Front and Center". nosotros.org. Archived from the original on April 30, 2005.
  61. ^ "Fact-checking my memoir". Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  62. ^ Sweeting, Adam (September 9, 2022). "Mo Ostin, record label executive who nurtured the careers of Neil Young, James Taylor and Prince". The Guardian. pp. SS2-7. ProQuest 2717107409. When he was 13 he moved with his parents and brother, Gerald, to Los Angeles, where they lived in the Fairfax district and ran a small fresh produce market. Ostin attended Fairfax high school, where he headed the music society, and then went to UCLA to study economics.
  63. ^ Whatever Happened to Baby Peggy? by Diana Serra Cary, page 197
  64. ^ Prelutsky, Burt (October 6, 1974). "How to Stay Popular Even Though Well-Liked". The Los Angeles Times Calendar. p. 25. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  65. ^ "Meet Meghan Markle's family: The diplomat uncle, the yoga teacher mother and the cannabis-growing nephew". Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  66. ^ "City Section selects third class to be inducted in Hall of Fame". Los Angeles Times. October 20, 2014.
  67. ^ Barnes, Mike (August 27, 2020). "Joe Ruby, Co-Creator of Scooby-Doo, Dies at 87". The Hollywood Reporter.
  68. ^ "Ames Daily Tribune, November 9, 1940, p. 8". Ames Daily Tribune. November 9, 1940. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  69. ^ Conway, Ann (April 13, 1999). "Technically, Samueli Is Leaving Mark Backing Arts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  70. ^ Lieberman, Paul (August 16, 2003). "The Boy at Camp Granada". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  71. ^ "Norm Sherry". Society for American Baseball Research.
  72. ^ "Al Silvera Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". baseball-almanac.com.
  73. ^ "Fairfax High School Notable Alumni". Fairfaxclassof61.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  74. ^ Weber, Bruce (November 17, 2015). "P. F. Sloan, Enigmatic Writer of '60s Hit 'Eve of Destruction,' Dies at 70". The New York Times. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  75. ^ Hartman 2012, p. 228.
  76. ^ Gheorghiu, Cristian (July 5, 2012). "KCET interview". kcet.org. Archived from the original on July 6, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
  77. ^ Peltz, Jim (January 5, 2010). "JIM PELTZ / ON THE CLIPPERS; Turning it over, then around; After Clippers' sloppy first half, Gordon and Kaman help pull it together. / CLIPPERS 105 PORTLAND 95". Los Angeles Times. p. C4. ProQuest 422268055. Smith, 26, who grew up in Inglewood and attended Fairfax High, has made accuracy one of his strengths since joining the NBA in the 2006-07 season with the Minnesota Timberwolves. passed away, leaving Guetta and his siblings to fend for themselves. He attended Fairfax High for about a year, despite speaking no English.
  78. ^ Mikulan, Steven (July 20, 2009). "First Phil Spector Wife Vanishes". Blogs.laweekly.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2009. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  79. ^ Barnes, Mike (August 19, 2016). "Cynthia Szigeti, Groundlings Improv Teacher and 'Seinfeld' Actress, Dies at 66". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  80. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (Variety.com) (June 28, 2015). "Veteran comedy writer Chris Thompson, on eve of comeback bid, found dead". The Calgary Sun. ProQuest 2168783696. Born in Detroit, Thompson moved to Los Angeles with his family around the age of 12. He attended Fairfax High School but never graduated.
  81. ^ Leighton, Leslie Gayle (June 28, 2015). "Howard Swan, Charles Hirt, and Roger Wagner: Their influences and the building of choral culture in southern California". University of Southern California. p. 14. ProQuest 1026572961. The family relocated to southern California when [Howard Shelton] Swan was six in 1913, his father eventually becoming principal of Fairfax High School—the very same high school Roger Wagner attended.
  82. ^ Davis, Stephen (August 26, 2008). Watch You Bleed: The Saga of Guns N' Roses. Penguin. ISBN 9781440639289 – via Google Books.
  83. ^ Gaines, Steven (1986). Heroes and Villains: The True Story of the Beach Boys. New York: Da Capo Press. p. 98. ISBN 0306806479.
  84. ^ "About the Cover: Gunslinger's Debut". The Cincinnati Post. p. 24. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  85. ^ Boucher, Geoff (September 8, 2003). "Warren Zevon, 56; Singer Had a Sense of Grim Theater". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 2, 2010.

Sources

[edit]
[edit]