Fairfield Elementary School History 


Painting of Fairfield School in the 1800s
















Fairfield Elementary School was chartered on May 7, 1866, two years prior to the Davisville School. It has functioned as a public school continuously since then – on two different sites and in three different buildings – with the exception of 1977 to 1980 when it was temporarily closed due to Proposition 13 budget cuts. Rural families living near the school campaigned long and hard during those three years to have the school reopened. Finally, the Board of Education agreed to the reopening, on the condition that families keep costs down by providing some support services. The community agreed and Fairfield resumed operation in 1980 as a single, stand-alone, first, second and third grade combination class. Children from all parts of Davis were invited to attend the school for the first time, upon Fairfield’s reopening. The first year as an inclusive DJUSD school was so successful that the school expanded the following year to two teachers and two combination classes (K/1 and 2/3).