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The Farifax-Brewster School was a private K-6 elementary school in Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia.[1] The school was founded in 1954 by Stuart A. Reiss and Robert S. Reiss, with Robert's wife Olga also serving in an administrative role.[2][3][1] The school began operating in 1955 with an average enrollment of 21 students.[3] The Fairfax-Brewster School opened a summer camp the following year, also serving students in Kindergarten through 6th grade.[3][4] By 1962, 21 students attended the summer camp.[3]
| Fairfax-Brewster School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia | |
| Coordinates | 38.855067°N 77.1343409°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Private |
| Opened | 1955 |
| Grades | K-6 |
The proximity of the school's founding to Brown v. Board of Education ruling desegregating public schools has led some legal scholars to describe Fairfax-Brester as a segregation academy.[5]
By 1972, enrollment at the Fairfax-Brewster School had grown to 236 students during the school year and 223 students at the summer camp.[3] No black student had ever been enrolled in the school or summer camp.[3] The school faced a federal lawsuit in 1973 (Runyon v. McCrary) after denying admission to a black child, Colin M. Gonzales.[3] The school denied having discriminated against black students, saying that Gonzales was not admitted because he would not qualify to begin first grade.[3] The court found that Gonzales was denied admission solely because of his race, a decision that was upheld on appeal to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.[6]: 472 [7][8]
The Reiss family continued to own and operate the Fairfax-Brewster School until Olga and Robert retired in 1987 and 1988, respectively.[1][2] By 1989, Norma Brill had become the owner and director of the school and summer camp.[4] The school was sold to Chancellor Beacon Academies in 2000, which was later acquired by Imagine Schools.[9][10]
In 2006, the school was torn down and several homes were built on the property, most of which have an address on Brill Court, a street named after former owner Norma Brill.
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