GarfieldNJSchools history

East High School, Seattle, 1921

The new James A. Garfield High School opened in September 1923 with over 1,000 students.

A bond issue passed in March 1929 provided funds for an addition to the building.

Enrollment continued to grow until 1939, when it reached an all-time high of 2,300 students.

The 1945 annual emphasized contributions made by various groups in the school, including a Cathay Club that staged Chinese plays, Japanese-American pupils who performed traditional dances, and African-American musicians.

In 1949, during the earliest planning stages of this school, the Fairfax County School Board chose to name it Garfield.

In February 1951, FCPS applied for $241,500 in federal aid to build a school at Simm’s Corner near Springfield.

Plans for an eight classroom addition to the building were approved during the winter of 1953, bringing the total construction cost to $452,000.

By September 1955, student population growth in FCPS had jumped to 33,058 students at 61 schools.

In 1960, FCPS opened its first intermediate schools.

In 1962, a United States Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter made an emergency landing at Garfield Elementary School.

Did you know that when Garfield opened there were no kindergarteners in our school? A kindergarten program was piloted in several schools in 1967 and proved so successful that one year later FCPS implemented kindergarten county-wide.

FCPS enrolled approximately 8,000 children in kindergarten in September 1968.

The boys' basketball team won the state 4-A tournament in 1998.

Some of the buildings profiled are historic, some of recent vintage, and many no longer exist (new names and buildings not included in these profiles from 2000 have been added), but each plays or has played an important role in the education of Seattle's youth.