BREAKING NEWS! LAUSD proposed to build a middle school at Fairfax High School to “increase enrollment”. If the majority votes yes, it is said that the following school year, the middle school would be in session. The middle school will take over the 400 building which is where the Police Academy Magnet is located. This change prioritizes the new school instead of the existing program. PAM classroom location will be unknown if the middle school is co-located at Fairfax HS. It is said that the Visual Arts Magnet will be affected as well. There will be less access to the magnet, college, and social worker’s office. Our gym and library have to be shared. The initiative program claims that the middle school will be a LAUSD school, not a charter. However, the one leading this change is Executive Director Valerie Braimah from City Charter Schools. There are mistruths written this proposal and the Fairfax community deserves to know the whole truth.

The inclusion of a middle school to Fairfax High School undermines the efforts that teachers have taken during the January Teacher Strike. One of the main reasons for the strikes was because the district kept approving many co-location projects and adding that middle school is dishonoring their time and effort into the cause. The middle school will have a selection and lottery-based system, the only kind of schools that function this way are charter schools. “Charter schools are publicly funded but are not governed by a local district. In other words, charters schools run more like private schools with little oversight.” says Adriana Chavira, journalist/teacher who wrote an op-ed for PBS called “Opinion: Charter schools are draining LA’s public schools. That’s why I’m on strike”. Charter schools are ableist and purposefully exclude children with disabilities due to the fact they have fewer restrictions than public schools. Students at Fairfax want to support UTLA and say “It’s time to stop”. Resources, as well as teachers, will be cut in the process as well.

We can’t allow our high school to become like Los Angeles High School, which recently established an all girl’s middle school GALA (Girls Academic Leadership Academy). This change has happened over poor performance, however, Fairfax is outperforming most schools. We have an outstanding magnet and a variety of electives and activities to keep our students busy. Having a middle school here undermines our programs and less money is spent on our school. LAUSD needs to understand that Fairfax continues to perform well and doesn’t need a middle school to “improve” it. FUND FAIRFAX INSTEAD! We have dedicated staff and teachers and having a middle school defeats the overall purpose of the January strikes. It’s not fair for our programs to be ignored. Therefore, the Fairfax community and all that support it, please sign this petition to make sure we keep our beloved high school. Please spread the word and let LAUSD and Valerie Braimah know that middle school is not the success of Fairfax High School.

PLEASE READ!!! URGENT NEWS FOR FAIRFAX!!!

We have recently heard that this is not a recent plan by LAUSD but has been planned for the past 10 YEARS through city council meetings WITHOUT hearing the public’s opinion about this issue. 

From an email, Nick Melvoin (LAUSD board member District 4) is trying to ‘sugarcoat’ the issue by using other schools’ “success” as examples of why we should implement this middle school into Fairfax. Some of the schools he listed are not easy schools to get into such as LACES. They use a lottery-based system to pick their students just like charter schools. 

Throughout the email, Nick Melvoin constantly contradicts himself about the situation in order to make it seem like a good idea but in reality, it will only push out after school activities, as well as drive special needs kids out in order to favor the affluent, rich families that live around the neighborhood.

Enough is enough. Sign this petition and bombard Nick Melvoin as well as other representatives with emails as well as phone calls.

Credit goes to Fairfax Senior Martina Carson who sent the email to Nick Melvoin and provided us with this news.