B. F. Day Elementary School
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B.F. Day Elementary School is an elementary school located in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, USA, part of the Seattle Public Schools school district.
As the longest continually operating public school in Seattle, B.F. Day has a significant heritage. In 1891, after Seattle annexed the Fremont neighborhood, the Day family offered land to the Seattle School District on the condition that the District erect a brick school building. John Parkinson won the design competition for the B.F. Day School (1891-92; altered). The south wing of his design was constructed as an 8-room school and opened in 1892. The north wing and main entrance were added after 1900 following Parkinson's original design. Additional wings to north and south, designed by Edgar Blair, were added between 1910 and 1920. For more than two decades, B. F. Day School had the largest elementary school enrollment in Seattle, peaking with over 900 students in the 1930's.
B. F. Day School is known as an "arts-rich" school because of its close association with Fremont's "Center-of-the-Universe" neighborhood. For nearly a decade, the community has rallied around the school in March to support the PTSA's School Auction, raising tens of thousands of dollars. These monies help fund the school's art and music teachers, art programs, and assemblies.
The school has benefited from substantial contributions, both in financial and employee involvement terms, from local firms Getty Images and Adobe Systems. Since 1994, the Fremont Arts Council has made its headquarters in the school's former steam plant, called the Powerhouse, which is the base of operations for Fremont's Summer Solstice Parade. Decorative mosaics and other art projects have resulted in this on-going partnership between school and council.
With recent funding problems in the Seattle School district and, in 2006, with 42.5% of students participants in the free and reduced lunch program, fundraising efforts are greatly valued by the highly active P.T.A.. Activities include the Auction, the Family Picnic, and the Village Project, which involves local businesses and employees for several months of preparation in the school's mock-economy project; it is visited by hundreds of people in May.
Despite funding hardships, standardized test scores trended upward from 1998 through 2006. B. F. Day continues to provide a solid academic foundation to students by involving the greater community. As the school's song states, "...with caring, and sharing, and lending a hand, we all form a family across the land...come visit and you will see!"
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