Fairfax Senior High School

My first year at this school was amazing, it's not like what I think a typical High School would be. The teachers and staff are supportive and every day there is something new to learn about.

After working at a number of schools I feel Fairfax High School is a great school. The energy of the entire campus is positive and feels quite normal. Every LAUSD school has the same issues with limited services, bad food, and a typical 36:1 student-teacher ratio. The majority of the kids are bused in, but I feel we get the cream of the crop. The school has a rich history of servicing kids who want to be here. Many of the students care about graduation and do well overall. As mentioned earlier I came from schools where students came in with an impoverish mindset. I don't feel that to be the case here. The campus is very diverse and representative of the real world. My child has been sheltered attending a certified Montessori school where she is not tested as much as LAUSD schools. Eventually, she will need to experience the "general population" and I believe Fairfax High School would be a nice transition.

Disappointed is not saying enough. There is no clear contact method or interaction beteen the teachers, counselors, and principal. There are more new staff members that don't seem to know how things work at this school than I care for, especially the principal and counselor. The teachers want your children to turn in the work but there is no clear way for parents to assist to make sure this is getting done. These are still children. As I was told by the prinicipal, teachers are not encouraged or required to post HW, CW, projects, etc. on-line. How do they expect parent participation. All parents can't take off work to be at the school. Teachers should learn to utilize the tools given to them to advocate parent participation (i.e. computers and e-mails). Come on now, if teachers and other public school staff do not want to foster a circle of success for students, please find another career.

I currently attend Fairfax, and overall, it's a pretty good school. I'm in the Schools for Advanced Studies, and the teachers for this program are generally good. I would have to say some of the best teachers are the AP teachers, but not all are great. There are teachers who hardly teach at all, and it's all up to you to learn, but it all depends on how driven the students are. The school is extremely diverse and offers a pretty good quantity of extra curriculars. The students at Fairfax are generally open minded. The budget cuts the school has suffered haven't allowed it to improve a whole lot, but the campus has become significantly nicer. The school allows for educational and social expansion.