FAIR School for Arts

They were the happiest years of my life

Cool school

At this school, life can be hard. And confusing. But the people around you help you learn who you really are. And you don't just learn school-stuff, you learn what life is all about, and what you value. And it's so important.

Fair Downtown has a lot of good things going for it. The school places high value on inclusion and cultural diversity. Kids don't associate with one an other according to their socio ecenomic class and have a wide variety of friends. Many of the teachers are passionate and offer really great experiences and curriculum for students. FAIR +, the after school cariculum is a great way for students to explore and get involved the downtown arts community. But FAIR falls short in a couple of key places. The administrative staff is disorganized and has been through too many transitions which makes finding out what opportunities are available to students difficult and is causing too much turnover in the staff. The school is very small which means that you can't avoid the culture of the school. Drug culture is something that the school needs to address. Kids are exposed to an ever pervasive acceptance of marijuana use. While all schools have to deal with issues like this, it is my belief that the smaller schools are more challenged by high school drug cultures and therefore must be more vigilant in dealing with drug use in their schools. It is my hope that FAIR downtown will work with Minneaplolis Public Schools to create an enriching environment for performing arts students that is relatively drug free.

My little sister goes there

Good teachers bad admins

School was nice a 3-5 years back but recently last year specifically it was horrible. Many people complained and reported of behavioral issues with kids in the elementary grades but my son didn't experience that till he got to 1st grade then all hell broke loose and he was fighting and defending himself every day. Finally I pulled him out. This school has no ability to discipline the children with behavioral issues nor seem interested in doing so since they are so afraid of getting sued. The staff doesn't seem experienced and the teacher turn over is high. I have spoken to past teachers and on of The reasons they have given was due to behavior issues and how it interfered with the learning of the students who want to learn. Teachers have expressed concern and nothing has changed. So it's hard for a good teacher to stand there and watch this clown show of an educational center go about its day.

This school I do find very mediocre, and unprofessional things have happened behind doors, and the only consequences have been sweeping it under the rug and bandaging it. It's disorderly, and ridiculous.

The only plus is the diversity in people from all across MN, and people from different life experiences. The political conversations, and the stories are the only good thing about this school, other than that, a steamy pile of you know what.