Fairdale High School

South-end Academies high school with districtwide heavy equipment and diesel pathways

Resides high school + Academies of Louisville · Heavy Equipment Sciences and Diesel Mechanic Technician are districtwide · Home of the Bulldogs · navy and gold

Grades: 9th–12th
How to get in: Resides, in-network, or districtwide pathway
School day: 8:40 a.m.–3:20 p.m.

Fairdale is a south-end Academies of Louisville high school. If School Finder assigns your address here, that is the resides school. Two districtwide pathways sit on the same campus — Heavy Equipment Sciences and Diesel Mechanic Technician — and those are districtwide pathway seats, not magnet high-school applications. Everything else follows resides and in-network Academies rules. JCPS Insider is not affiliated with Jefferson County Public Schools.

1001 Fairdale Road · South end · Kentucky

Official starting points

School Choice:(502) 485-6250 schoolchoice@jefferson.kyschools.us

What this school is

Fairdale opened in 1958 at 1001 Fairdale Road and is home of the Bulldogs, in navy and gold. It is a resides high school and an Academies of Louisville campus, not a districtwide magnet.

Freshman Academy comes first. Then Civil Service, Global Service, and Public Service. Heavy Equipment and Diesel sit inside Public Service and remain districtwide pathway seats, so a student anywhere in JCPS can apply for those. JCPS also lists Cambridge International as a significant Fairdale offering — ask counseling how students enter it.

Who runs the building

Brandy Corbin

Brandy Corbin is listed as principal. Assistant principals listed are Travis Burden, Nicholas Chlon, Derieco Irvin, Geoffrey James, and Chris Johnstone. David Hicks is listed as athletic director. Confirm names on the school site before you write a letter.

School details

Address: 1001 Fairdale Road, Louisville, KY 40118
Phone: (502) 485-8248
Official JCPS site: jefferson.kyschools.us/o/fairdalehigh(opens in a new tab)

School day: 8:40 a.m.–3:20 p.m.
Title I: Yes
Board district: Gail Logan Strange · District 5
Opened 1958 · Bulldogs, navy and gold
Hosts King of the Bluegrass basketball and wrestling

How families get in

Three paths. Path A: School Finder says Fairdale is the resides high school — register. Path B: you live in the same network and want Fairdale instead of your assigned school — apply as an in-network Academies request. Path C: districtwide Heavy Equipment or Diesel — apply for that pathway in the JCPS window from anywhere in the county.

Run School Finder. Write down the resides high school and the network.
If Fairdale is the resides school, register. New-to-JCPS families still complete district registration.
If you want Heavy Equipment or Diesel from across the county, apply as a districtwide pathway.
Tour the shop or the fire house — not only the main office.
Watch the response deadline if a pathway seat is offered.

Buses follow the pathway rule

Resides students use regular high-school transportation.
Districtwide Heavy Equipment and Diesel seats follow the current districtwide-pathway bus rule. An academy seat is not automatically a magnet bus.
Confirm 2026–27 on the Transportation Verification form.

Official 2027–28 application window: November 2, 2026 through December 18, 2026.

Who it tends to fit

A good match when

Fairdale is your south-end resides high school.
You want fire science, law enforcement, or cyber security.
You want diesel or heavy equipment and can get your child to Fairdale Road.
Health, pharmacy, or teaching pathways, or Cambridge International, are the draw.

Think twice when

You need high published proficiency bands.
You want IB — that is Atherton.
You want a districtwide academic magnet such as Manual, Male, or Central.

Tour the shop.

Students

Counts come from the JCPS Oct. 1, 2025 files: 1,446 students (420 / 366 / 361 / 298 plus 1 in grade 14) in a building listed at 1,746 optimal capacity. Multilingual learners: 360 (25%). Title I: Yes. Head counts below are calculated from the published Oct. 1, 2025 percentages, not the older NCES cut.

Diversity index

67%

Standard racial/ethnic diversity index calculated from the Oct. 1, 2025 percentages and the 1,446-student headcount. White students are the largest group, with Hispanic students close behind.

Reported race and ethnicity counts for Fairdale High School
Group	Students	Share
White	593	41%
Hispanic / Latino	535	37%
Black / African American	231	16%
Other reported groups	87	6%

Gender: Not broken out separately in this guide's sources.

Headcount 1,446 · Oct. 1, 2025
Listed capacity 1,746
Multilingual learners 360 (25%)
Title I: Yes
School day: 8:40 a.m.–3:20 p.m.

Academics

Use the Kentucky School Report Card first. These figures match the official 2024–25 accountability table labeled Fairdale High and the school's own banners.

Reading: 23% proficient, 4% distinguished — 27% official combined P+D.
Math: 16% proficient, 4% distinguished — 20% official combined P+D.
Social studies: 15% proficient, 4% distinguished — 19% official combined P+D. Writing 26%.
Fire/EMS and diesel are the school's reputation. They are not a reading score.
With 360 multilingual learners, ask how ELD is staffed in your child's grade.

Awards and recognition

Districtwide pathways
Heavy Equipment Sciences and Diesel Mechanic Technician
Civil Service
Fire Science, Law Enforcement, and Cyber Security — local fire departments hire from here
Cambridge International
JCPS lists Cambridge as a significant Fairdale offering
King of the Bluegrass
Fairdale hosts the annual basketball and wrestling tournament

Location and daily life

1001 Fairdale Road, 40118 — the south end, off Preston Highway and the Gene Snyder. The school day runs 8:40 a.m. to 3:20 p.m.

Ask how long the Fairdale Road car line runs at 8:20, and whether there is a bus for a districtwide diesel or heavy-equipment seat.

Recent news, in context

Enrollment is 1,446 in a building listed at 1,746 seats. A 1,427-student block that circulates in some profile extracts is Fern Creek, not Fairdale.

How students enter Cambridge International inside Freshman Academy was not treated as settled. Ask counseling directly.

Exact 2026–27 bus-stop exceptions for districtwide pathway students were also unsettled at the time of this check.

Compare before you commit

Questions to ask on a tour

1.Is this my resides high school, an in-network Academies request, or a districtwide pathway?
2.If we want fire, EMS, diesel, or heavy equipment, is there a seat this year?
3.After Freshman Academy, how does pathway placement actually work?
4.How is reading taught when most tested students are novice or apprentice?
5.With 360 multilingual learners, how is ELD staffed in this grade?
6.Is there a bus for a districtwide diesel or heavy-equipment seat?
7.How long is the Fairdale Road car line at 8:20?
8.How do students enter Cambridge International, and who is the academy principal for this pathway?
9.What does King of the Bluegrass look like for a ninth-grader who is not a starter?
10.If we decline a seat, what is the deadline?

What to do next

1.Run your address through the district's School Finder and write down the resides high school and network.
2.If Fairdale is the resides school, register — no Academies application is needed.
3.If you want Heavy Equipment or Diesel from across the county, apply as a districtwide pathway in the JCPS window.
4.Read the current High School Choices Guide pages for Fairdale before you apply.
5.Tour the shop or the fire house during the academic day.
6.Complete the Transportation Verification form if you need a bus, and watch the response deadline on any offer.