Fairfax High School (Los Angeles)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fairfax High School
"Fare fac" (Say and Do)
Location
7850 Melrose Ave Los Angeles, California 90046, USA
Information
Type	Public
Established	1924
School district	Los Angeles Unified School District
Principal	Mr. Edward Zubiate
Grades	9th through 12th
Enrollment	2500+
Campus	Urban
Campus size	24.2 acres (98,000 m2)
Color(s)	Crimson, Gold, Black
Mascot	Lion
Newspaper	The Colonial Gazette
Website	Official website

Fairfax High School is a Los Angeles Unified School District high school located in Los Angeles, California, USA, near the border of West Hollywood in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles. The school is located on a 24.2-acre (98,000 m²) campus at the intersection of Fairfax Avenue and trendy Melrose Avenue.

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 ^[1]. Bancroft Middle School, Emerson Middle School, LeConte Middle School, and John Burroughs Middle School feed into Fairfax.

Contents 1 History 2 Demographics 3 Small Learning Communities 3.1 Fairfax Magnet Center for Visual Arts 4 Achievements 4.1 Athletics 4.2 Music 5 Greenway Arts Alliance 6 Notable alumni 7 References 8 External links

[edit] History

The high school was founded in 1924 under the direction of Principal Rae G. Van Cleve. Most of the original campus facilities were demolished in 1966 because they did not meet earthquake safety standards, but the historic Auditorium and its iconic Rotunda were spared by preservationists and are still in daily use. 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 has served since 1999 as the home of the Greenway Arts Alliance.

Fairfax High School was known from the 1930s until the 1980s as a breeding ground for future major figures in the entertainment industry. Redistricting and white flight transformed it into an inner-city school during the 1980s.

Former NFL official Jim Tunney served as the school's principal from 1964 to 1970.

On January 21, 1993, a Fairfax student brought a gun to school. The gun fired accidentally, killing one student, Demetrius Rice, ^[2] and wounding another.

[edit] Demographics

During the 2006-2007 school year, FHS had 2546 students ^[3].

• 52% were Hispanic
• 20% were African-American
• 18% were Asian
• 7% were White

[edit] Small Learning Communities

When Fairfax High School re-opened in Fall 2008, it was reconfigured into a complex of five new small learning communities (SLCs) and the existing Fairfax Magnet Center for Visual Arts. The campus was divided into six areas of "contiguous space". Non-magnet students and staff were reorganized into five new schools-within-a-school. These SLCs are:

• Academy of Media & Performing Arts (AMPA)
• Global Studies
• Health Sciences Academy (HSA)
• Individual Determination Empowerment Academic Success (IDEAS)
• School of Mathematics, Science and Technology (SMST).

[edit] Fairfax Magnet Center for Visual Arts

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.

[edit] Achievements

[edit] Athletics

In 2007, the Lions Boys Basketball Team, under the coaching of Harvey Kitani, took the title of State Champions, Division 1A.

A special edition of the Zoom Lebron IV was produced for the basketball team using the school's colors .

[edit] Music

In 2007, the Fairfax Marching Lions and Color Guard, under the direction of Raymundo Vizcarra, won Second Place a Competition and First Place in the LAUSD Division I Band and Drill Championship. It was the first year in more than 20 years that Fairfax had a band eligible to compete.

[edit] Greenway Arts Alliance

Fairfax High School is home to the Greenway Arts Alliance, which operates the Greenway Court Theater, a 99-seat Equity-waver playhouse, and provides arts educational programs, mentoring, and employment opportunities to Fairfax students.

In March 1998, the Greenway Arts Alliance hosted the first Melrose Trading Post. This chic flea market has become a weekly event, held every Sunday in the school parking lot at the corner of Melrose Avenue and Fairfax Avenue. With revenue from entry and vendor fees, the Melrose Trading Post is the most successful ongoing fundraiser in the history of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

[edit] Notable alumni

Notable graduates of Fairfax High School include:

• Byron Allen, talk show host ^[4]
• Herb Alpert, musician, music industry executive ^{[5] [6] [7] [8]}
• David Arquette, actor/professional wrestler ^[9]
• Michael "Flea" Balzary, musician (Red Hot Chili Peppers) ^{[5] [10]}
• J. Curtis Counts (1915-1999), Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.^[11]
• James Ellroy, writer ^[12]
• Janet Fitch, author ^{[13] [14]}
• Larry Gelbart, television writer/producer ^[15]
• Michele Greene, actress ^[16]
• Jerome Hines, opera singer ^[8]
• Timothy Hutton, actor ^{[7] [8]}
• Chanel Iman, model ^[17]
• Jack Irons, musician (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam) ^[18]
• Jermaine Jackson, musician (Jackson Five) ^[7]
• David Janssen, motion picture and television actor (The Fugitive) ^[8]
• Alain Johannes, musician (Anthym, Eleven) ^[18]
• Jack Kemp, politician and professional football player ^[6]
• Anthony Kiedis, musician (Red Hot Chili Peppers) ^[10]
• Mila Kunis, actress ^[19]
• Carole Lombard, actress ^[20]
• Quinn Martin, producer ^[21]
• Demi Moore, actress (dropped out at age 16) ^{[5] [7]}
• Ricardo Montalban, actor ^{[22] [5] [7] [8]}
• Bria Myles, model, actress ^[23]
• Henry Samueli, cofounder of Broadcom ^[24]
• Mickey Rooney, actor ^{[5] [7] [8]}
• Allan Sherman, musician, parodist, satirist, and television producer ^[25]
• Larry Sherry, major league baseball pitcher & MVP of the 1959 World Series ^[6]
• Hillel Slovak, musician (Red Hot Chili Peppers) ^[10]
• Phil Spector, record producer ^{[26] [7]}
• Zev Yaroslavsky, politician ^[5]
• Warren Zevon, musician ^[27]
• Craig Smith,Basketball player (Los Angeles Clippers)
• Saul Hudson,musician
• Chris Mills,former NBA player

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Fairfax High School Official Website
• Fairfax School Newspaper - The Colonial Gazette ONLINE
• Greenway Arts Alliance
• Views from Fairfax High

v • d • e Los Angeles Unified School District District 4 7-12 Schools Eagle Rock High Schools Belmont · Bernstein · Contreras LC · Fairfax · Franklin · Hollywood · Marshall · Roybal LC Alternative High Schools Downtown Magnets · High School for the Visual and Performing Arts Middle Schools Bancroft · Le Conte · Virgil · Irving ·