[4] The new building used sustainable design practices such as excess Carbon dioxide removal through automated fresh air intake, daylighting, a stormwater management system, waterless urinals, and small learning environments.

[10] Franklin Elementary was recognized by King County for its participation in the Green Schools program in 2013 for its conservation and recycling efforts.

The Tesla STEM High School student, Kai Vanderlip, worked with Franklin Elementary's librarian Leann Clawson to found the Day of Remembrance Japanese Incarceration Literature for Libraries.

[16] Japanese artist Alice Van Leunen's 1989 Mingei Crazy Quilt made of hand-printed Chiyogami paper hangs in the library.

[18] In 1985, Washington State Legislature enacted a law requiring schools to provide equitable program for students identified as highly capable, or gifted.

[32] Parents started a petition in response to news of the closure, but the district informed them that there was no longer enough space in the school to accommodate the program.

[33] In 1985, teacher Carolyn Carpp, the Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Ninety-Nines (an international organization of women pilots), began the Young Astronauts program at Franklin Elementary.

[38] For her work on the Young Astronauts program, Carrp won an Aerospace Education Award from the Washington Wing Civil Air Patrol in 1989.