Jefferson School 1 was the first free public school in the city. School Number 1 opened on October 3, 1870 and was destroyed by fire on October 6, 1921. Six teachers instructed 270 students in the primary department, 70 in the grammar grades, and 30 in the high school. The Passaic Street and William Street location later became the site of the Passaic Police Department. The new School 1 at the corner of Broadway and Van Houten Avenue was constructed in 1927 and opened in 1928. The tower at School 1 was used during World War II by air raid wardens. It was designed after the Capitol Building by architect John F. Kelly. In addition, the blacktop parking lot was once covered by beautiful green grass.

Washington School 2 has always been on the corner of Bergen and Market Streets. It was first built with three floors and eight rooms as a public school in the city in 1872. In 1898-99, it was enlarged to 22 rooms. The Dundee Water Power and Land Company donated eight lots to the Village of Acquackanonk. The city sold the school in 1950 to the archdiocese for $50,000, and School 2 operated as a parochial school with only two floors for many years due to a fire. Today, once again, the two-story school is public, and the district is renting the facility. It is the only school still on its original foundation.

In September 1874, classes for Franklin School 3 began in a rented room in a building on Westervelt Place and Franklin (Main) Avenues. Then in 1890, School 3, which was a two story, nine classroom building, was built at Van Houten Ave. at Waverly Place. A third story was added in 1910. Mario Drago School #3, named for a former principal, was first known as Franklin School. The Gym/Auditorium Wing was built in 1949 at a cost of $359,157, and the dedication service was held on Saturday, May 13, 1950 with Mayor Paul DeMuro cutting the ribbon to the building. This wing also added six classrooms and a library at the time.

The Main Academic Wing, built at a cost of $713,705 on the site of the former playground, contains 18 classrooms, two kindergartens, office, nurse's room, and teachers' room and was dedicated on Sunday, May 19, 1968. In the 1940's, School 3 had no gym, and students had to go to Ahavas Israel Annex for their gym class. In 1991, the Park Branch Library, which was located in School 3, was closed to make more room for teaching. That space of 35x45 feet was converted into two classrooms.

Lincoln School 4 was built in 1877 at a cost of $3,000, consisting of two rooms and being of frame construction. In 1894, a new Number Four School, which was a manual training school, was built across the street at Howe and Paulison Avenues. In 1895, a manual training school and a school kitchen took over the old Number Four. Lincoln Middle School, as it stands today at 291 Lafayette Avenue, was constructed in 1909-1910 with additions in 1959, 1975, and 1993. Mayor Paul DeMuro delivered the message to the community at the Lincoln Junior High School Number 4 dedication on Sunday, October 23, 1960.

The site of the old School 5, built in the 1890's, was on Harrison Street in 4th Ward, where Johnson Park sits today. Today, School 5 is located on 168 Monroe Street.

In the late 1890's, Lafayette School 6 was built on Hamilton Avenue. and Madison St. Construction of the present building began in 1982. The dedication ceremony was held on May 7, 1984. In 1989, there was an addition to the present building.

The original section of Grant School 7 was constructed in 1899. On April 8, 1946, School 7 suffered a devastating fire which sent 422 pupils and 20 teachers marching from three floors in less than two minutes after the alarm was sounded. A roofer's soldering iron heated the metal gutter and set fire to a squirrel's nest underneath, leaving only the brick walls of the school standing. Children attended School 11 part-time. After soil tests were done, School 7 was rebuilt on the same corner at Summer Street and Myrtle Avenue in 1949, with a new addition in 1992. The dedication service for the main building was held on Saturday, November 5, 1949. In 1992, the Venice Harvey Annex was constructed, adding a multi-purpose room and additional classrooms. Ms. Harvey was the former principal of School 7.

McKinley School 8, located at 5th and South Street, was constructed in 1902; a third floor was added in 1910. Today, the same building exists as the Stamford Arms Apartment House. Pulaski School Number 8 began building in 1959 and was opened on 4th Street on April 25, 1960. At the dedication ceremony on Sunday, May 15, 1960, Principal Peter Polowniak and Mayor Paul DeMuro greeted guests. Located on a .63 acre plot, School 8 has regular classrooms, a gymnasium/assembly room, two kindergartens, clinic, faculty room, cafeteria, and an arts and crafts room. The dedication of the eastside school was on May 15, 1960.

Columbia School Number 9, built in the early twentieth century, was a yellow brick building. Located on Columbia Ave. and Jackson Street, it was abandoned in 1945 and converted into an office building. In 1949, the school reopened to students while Number 10 was being refurbished. The school had ceilings and windows that were 13-feet high. From 1950-67, the building was used for administrative offices. In the fall of 1967, it was opened again as a school through June 1984. In 1973, School 9 was the only non-graded school. In 1986, the yellow brick building was converted into the Schoolhouse Condominiums. In September 1984, Etta Gero School 9 opened in the old Pope Pius XII High School at 140 First Street.

Roosevelt School 10 was first built in 1908 as a two-floor school. In 1918, the third floor was added. Renovation to the exterior and replacement of windows took place in 1949-1950 and once again, in the '70s. At the dedication service on Saturday, March 25, 1950, Principal Mary Dwyer and Mayor Paul DeMuro addressed those in attendance. The school was designed by John Kelly, the same architect who designed the main building at Lincoln Middle School, former Number 12, and Schools 1 and 11. Kelly also designed St. Mary's Church on Market and Monroe Streets. This year is the school's 90th anniversary.

In September 1910, the old vacant high school building on the southeast corner of Lafayette Avenue and Broadway became the first Number 11 School. Memorial School 11 at 390 Gregory Avenue, which was designed after Harvard University, was constructed in 1922 with an addition in 1986. The school was named Memorial after World War I veterans and enrolled K-9 students through the late '50s. In 1984, the school was renamed William B. Cruise School. Cruise was a former teacher, vice principal, and principal of the school.

Special Thanks to Mark S. Auerbach, Passaic City Historian and Karen Tomczyck, Public Relations Coordinator of the Passaic Public Schools for their assistance in providing these wonderfully nostalgic photographs.