Life Academy High School for Film and Music

Life Academy High School for Film and Music was designed to engage students in academic subjects while teaching them how to make music videos and short films. They also compose and perform songs and learn recording studio production techniques. 

This tiny, multi-racial school opened in the Lafayette Educational Complex in 2007. It has had rocky periods but academic performance has quickly improved under the leadership of Principal Eugenia Kelch, who took the helm in 2015. Although students and teachers still have some concerns about school discipline and climate, according to school surveys, most students graduate on time and about half are ready for college-level work. 

Teachers meet individually with students to give them feedback on ways they can improve and to set goals for each marking period, according to the Comprehensive Educational Plan. Discussion and writing is a priority is all classes, according to the Quality Review.

Students take photography and film trips to capture and create work in Central Park, Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. See student work, including personal “memoirs,” music videos and animations on the school website. 

They take field trips to Broadway shows, according to the Arts in Schools Report, and visit Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of the Moving Image. Students also visit colleges and historical sites in Washington D. C. and Philadelphia.

This school shares the Lafayette Educational Complex with four other schools. All schools may participate in campus-wide sports.

Students must pass through metal detectors to enter the school. 

Admissions: Educational option. The school seeks students with a range of academic performance. (Lydie Raschka, web reports, December 2018)