Principal's Post
Dear Franklin Families,
Welcome back to Franklin Elementary School for the 2019-2020 school year! I hope this letter finds you healthy, happy, and energized for another exciting school year at Franklin.
As you are likely aware, our building is undergoing a significant renovation/expansion project. This construction project broke ground in April 2018 and is projected to be completed in September 2020. As such, we have been an active worksite all summer, work will continue to be done externally during the upcoming school year, and all work hopefully will be finalized internally and externally during the 2020 summer break. If you have driven by the building lately, I am sure you noticed the changing landscape. When completed, Franklin will be transformed into a larger elementary school that is approximately double the size of our existing structure.
While the renovation/expansion project certainly is exciting, it surely will continue to bring forward challenges and obstacles for us to overcome as a school community.
I urge you to be patient with us this school year. Due to the renovation work internally, teachers did not have access to their classrooms until August 21. This will make it incredibly difficult for teachers to have their rooms fully decorated and ready for students as we typically do each year. Also during the construction project, parking will be significantly reduced, our student drop off/pick up procedures will need to be modified, our recess area will be reduced, and there will be additional temporary inconveniences along the way. At the time I am writing this, we are still finalizing some procedural modifications. I will be sure to share details with you as they become available.
As we work through (and around) this project, it is important to remember that a school’s greatness, strength, and impact are not based upon the brick and mortar structure. Rather, a school’s value is based on the quality of the programs and
PEOPLE that exist within the walls of the schoolhouse. I know that the FES community will rally around this project and unite to make this a productive, positive, and memorable school year filled with much growth and learning for all involved. While the crews are building a structure around us, we’ll be inside building character, building life-long learners, and building the future.
The 2019-2020 school year brings FES lots of changes, from staffing, to programming, and to construction, but we embrace these changes as opportunities to learn and grow as a community. I am looking forward to the 2019-2020 school year with eager anticipation. I trust you share the same excitement and hope that you will continue to work collaboratively with the Franklin staff to maximize your child’s elementary school experience. I thank you in advance for your support, collaboration, and flexibility and look forward to strengthening the dynamic home-school relationship that we enjoy in our learning community.
