FWCD Dedicates Annie Richardson Bass Lower School Building

The Annie Richardson Bass Lower School Dedication was a “red letter” day for Fort Worth Country Day, a celebration of vision, generosity and community. The official dedication and ribbon-cutting on Monday, January 13, 2025, honored the building itself and the over 300 families, foundations, alumni, faculty, staff, grandparents and Trustees who made the facility possible.

Designed by nationally acclaimed architecture firm Lake|Flato, with Hocker Design handling landscape architecture and Linbeck as the general contractor, the Lower School represents an era of progress and innovation for the FWCD community. Constructed as part of the School’s historic Forward Together Comprehensive Campaign and completed after just one year of construction, FWCD’s new 32,720-square-foot Lower School provides an inspiring, modern, light-filled, indoor-outdoor learning environment for 325 students in grades 1 through 4. The building, which replaced FWCD’s 1964 original Lower School building, integrates groundbreaking designs and sustainable elements that prioritize modern educational needs while preserving FWCD’s rich environmental legacy.

The dedication program took place at 5 p.m. on the same day that Lower School Falcons walked into their classrooms for their milestone first day of school in their new nest. It was standing room only in the Harrison Commons (new Lower School common area) as over 300 members of the community were on hand to celebrate. The program’s speakers included Board of Trustees President Brian Crumley ’92, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, Head of School Eric Lombardi, Campaign Volunteer Mary Hallman Smith ’03, and Forward Together Campaign Co-chair William Butler ’96. 

Crumley opened the program by acknowledging the many trailblazers who came before to create a school of excellence. “Isaac Newton once stated, ‘If I have seen further, it’s by standing on the shoulders of giants,’ he noted. “For the last 60 years, thousands of Country Day students and faculty were able to see further standing on the shoulders of the visionary giants that built that original Lower School [in 1964] right here on this property at what was, at that time, just a field of wildflowers. And now, thousands more students and faculty here at the School will be able to see further standing on the shoulders of the generous giants gathered here today that have made possible such an enormous drive forward to enhance the educational experience of the school. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, thank you all for being those giants.”

Crumley’s sentiments set the tone for an evening steeped in pride, gratitude, and a collective vision for the future of FWCD.

“This place is special,” Mayor Parker said as she addressed the crowd. “ … don’t take it for granted. You’re educating tomorrow’s leaders.” She acknowledged Fort Worth Country Day’s legacy and its impact beyond campus boundaries, shaping not just individuals but the city itself. “Fort Worth continues to be the largest, fastest-growing city in the country,” she said. “With that comes a tremendous amount of responsibility, especially as you think about the future of our city, which, of course, is our young people – those that we’re educating across every single zip code in the city of Fort Worth.

“I’ve gotten to enjoy myself on this campus many times over for different events,” Mayor Parker continued. “I'm always impressed by particular initiatives that reach out to the community, probably most notably your Breakthrough [Fort Worth] program, of course, led by Coach [Joe] Breedlove [’78], and the students that really understand the importance of giving back and making opportunities more available to all students.”

With words that captured the academic excellence that has been the hallmark of FWCD since its first days, Lombardi said: “Today, we went from having a beautiful building to now being inside a tremendous school,” he said. Fort Worth Country Day has never been just about the buildings. We’re about the people. This building came to life this morning when the children started arriving.” He described the energy that filled the new spaces as students and teachers walked into the building, kicking off a new era of teaching, learning and community.

“A building, of course, does not create community. The students and the teachers in the building are what let us know we are in the Fort Worth Country Day community. That sense of community is the stuff of legend,” Lombardi said. “The legend is based on experiences like this one today. We're here with hundreds of people who chose to put incredible time, effort and thought into furthering the particular community of our Lower School by finding a way to contribute to this cause. The cause of first knocking down a truly remarkable and much-loved building and then starting from scratch to create a second edition of a Lower School building that will serve our school for at least its second 60 years. January 13, 2025, now becomes another red letter date in the history of our school as we open the second edition of the Annie Richardson Bass Lower School in the presence of one of Annie Richardson Bass’s grandsons, Lee.”

Reflecting on the role of faculty and with gratitude and applause for the Lower School faculty, Lombardi said, “You'll see they've [the teachers] transformed this from a beautiful architectural space, shiny and new, into a more comfortable, already familiar new home. This morning's icing on the cake was the installation of two paintings by Fort Worth Country Day Class of 1987 alum John Holt Smith. In the first and second grade hall, you'll see an abstraction of the wonderful Texas mosaic. Remember it from the old building down by the library at the south end? He took a picture from that and abstracted it. In the third and fourth grade hall on the other side, you'll see John Holt's abstraction of a wonderful live oak tree. A tree that so defines our campus.” 

As she stepped up the podium, Smith, another Falcon alum, reflected on her connection to the campus. “I've been a member of the Fort Worth Country Day community since I started kindergarten here in 1990. At that time, the Butler Kindergarten building had just been completed. And my class, the Class of 2003, was the first to inhabit those magical classrooms,” she said. “I will never forget the excitement of walking into a brand new building on the first day of school. Of course, being 5 years old, it didn't occur to me to notice how excited the parents and the teachers were. But judging by the size of tonight's audience, I have to assume that they were.”

Paying homage to her early education, Smith added, “The building that stood here before was my early education. My entry into the 3A's and my introduction to the values, traditions, expectations and opportunities that make our school so special. But improvements were needed badly. This building, with its light-filled classrooms, tall ceilings, outdoor learning spaces, and inviting expansive library, will be that home for our children and our grandchildren. This will be the place where they sprout their Falcon wings and the place that they visit long after they've graduated to reminisce and give thanks. I hope that, sitting here today in our brand new Lower School, you can appreciate the significance of this moment, even without the benefit of hindsight.

“I hope that you can see what a gift this building is to our community, to the teachers and administrators who will work here, and to the lower schoolers who get to learn and grow and play in these spaces for years to come,” she continued. “And I hope you know that it wouldn't have been possible without all of your support. The School had a vision for what the Lower School could be, and this community once again showed up and gave generously to make that vision a reality.”

The new building, with its light-filled classrooms, innovative STEM spaces, and outdoor learning porches, embodies a new legacy. Butler, also a fellow alum, spoke about a Country Day history that includes his parents, in-laws, his wife, children, and nieces and nephews. “We, as a family, benefited so much in terms of our education, and experiences with the community of Country Day that I was naturally motivated to step in and co-chair this campaign was a no no-brainer,” he said. “What I'm really excited about is all the first-generation Falcon families that stepped up [to make this building happen].”   

Butler also announced that the Forward Together Campaign, a historic campaign for the School, had officially crossed the $40 million finish line. “One of our overarching goals as a Board has been to maintain Country Day’s status as a flagship school in the city,” he said. “This Lower School will only enhance that future pipeline for our admissions and really help fortify the base of our student body going forward.” 

Before introducing student speakers Declan Cumming ’33 and Bella Garcia ’33, and the Falcon Flyers choir, Head of School Trey Blair spoke briefly. “I want to give you a very simple and sincere thank you. This is transformational,” he said. “It is hard to describe what it was like this morning. The best thing I can tell you is that our teachers have worked so hard to prepare for this.”

For many, the best part of the program came with Cumming and Garcia reciting a meaningful poem titled “This is a Place,” commissioned for the occasion by Director of Fine Arts Lindy Heath, and the singing of the alma mater by third and fourth grade Falcon Flyers choir students. 

Following the ceremony, the official ribbon-cutting of the building took place, as well as 23 individual ribbon-cuttings for named spaces within the Annie Richardson Bass Lower School Building. View the slideshow. 

The Annie Richardson Bass Lower School building is a stunning facility in which FWCD will continue to build and celebrate community. “I'd love to congratulate all of the Fort Worth Country Day community, from the Plankholders who started here in 1963 to kids who just learned of their acceptance for the Class of 2039,” Lombardi said. “And ultimately, let's go ahead and extend the congratulations to all of those not even yet born who will be in this building in the years to come. Congratulations to us all on being fortunate enough to be a part of a community that rallies to a cause like the building of this building. We are, indeed, so fortunate to be a part of Fort Worth Country Day.”