Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools will hold a special ribbon-cutting ceremony to help commemorate the new beginning of Alfred Fairfax Academy.
The ceremony will take place at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 7, at the Alfred Fairfax Academy, 2226 N. 85th St., in Kansas City, Kansas. It is the location of the former White Church Elementary School.
The event will feature remarks from KCKPS Superintendent, Dr. Anna Stubblefield, KCKPS superintendent; Skyler Myers, Alfred Fairfax Academy principal; Randy Lopez, Board of Education president; and Jermayne Greer, former Alfred Fairfax Academy student.
Alfred Fairfax Academy is a restorative high school designed to offer an alternative educational experience for KCKPS students who are not reaching their full potential in a traditional high school setting.
It offers small class sizes and a student-centered instructional approach to learning. Students receive small group or one-on-one support from teachers and staff.
It was on Tuesday, May 31, that the KCK Board of Education approved the name change from the Fairfax Learning Center to the Alfred Fairfax Academy.
Alfred Fairfax is the namesake of the Academy. He was an African American man who escaped slavery, fought for the Union in the Civil War, and relocated to Kansas.
While living in Kansas, Fairfax became a successful businessman, who went on to become the first black state legislator in the state where he advocated for equal education rights, 70 years before Brown v. Topeka Board of Education.
According to the Kansas Historical Society’s website, Fairfax brought 200 families with him to locate in Chautauqua County, Kansas. Fairfax also was a Baptist pastor in the Parsons, Kansas, area.
“We are so excited for this next chapter of our school as Alfred Fairfax Academy. It’s a name that allows us to bring recognition to the service and legacy of Alfred Fairfax,” Myers said.
- Information from KCK schools