The William H. Ray Elementary School has a decades long partnership with the 57th Street Art Fair.  They provide their facilities for artists and the public during the fair and organize the food court on their grounds. They serve breakfast to the artists in their cafeteria, have student volunteers on clean-up duty throughout the weekend, and provide restroom access to the public.  Their PTA volunteers sell beverages in the food court and rent space to food vendors whose profits all directly benefit the Ray PTA. It has become one of the PTA's biggest fundraisers and represents the important relationship between the school and the larger community as we work together to support each other. 

Ray School is a Chicago public elementary school serving a diverse population of children from Hyde Park and surrounding neighborhoods. Ray School reflects Hyde Park, sharing its racial, cultural and economic diversity. The school also serves a large number of students with hearing impairments as well as a significant population of students with learning disabilities. Year after year it has been praised as one of Chicago's top neighborhood public schools. Not surprisingly, the school relies on the strong fundraising efforts of the PTA to support programs such as Ray's science curriculum, playground maintenance, sports and other extracurricular activities. The partnership with the 57th Street Art Fair is very important in supporting the continuation of such programming.