As I gaze out the window in my new office, I see the beautiful colors of the changing leaves on nearby trees. I also see remnants of the construction project that has seen Franklin morph into a much larger, much more colorful, and much more modern schoolhouse. A brief classroom visit reveals significant changes in the manner in which we are instructing students this year. Indeed, there is change all around us. But in the midst of all this change surrounding us, I cannot help but think about the things that remain the same...our incredibly talented and respectful students that enthusiastically enter our building each day, our dedicated and passionate staff that works tirelessly for our school community, our supportive and collaborative families that continue to show us tremendous grace and gratitude, and the positive school climate/culture that exists because of our students, staff, and families. In a time of such uncertainty in the world, I take comfort in the certainty that our school community provides its stakeholders. I sincerely thank each and every member of the Franklin school community for your contributions to making this school year a positive, memorable experience and for demonstrating qualities such as flexibility, collaboration, perseverance, and grit as we continue to navigate our way through these trying times.

We are happy to announce that effective Monday, October 12, we will officially begin using the new FES Main Entrance and Administrative Offices. The Main Entrance and Administrative Offices are located adjacent to the GYM/CAFETERIA entrance that we have been utilizing this year. Parents/guardians who are dropping off/picking up students at school will continue to use the same procedures that have been in place since the start of this school year. For parents/visitors that are coming to the school during the day, you will enter the building at the doors labeled, “MAIN ENTRANCE.”

We are also anticipating that we will begin using the new bus drop-off & pick-up area located along the Stevensan Road side of the building later this week. This new bus drop off/pick-up area will have no impact on parents/guardians, but we simply wanted you to be aware of this. The image below shows an aerial view of traffic patterns for parent/guardian drop-off/pick up as well as bus drop-off/pick up.

Please wear your favorite hat on Tuesday, October 13!

All building newsletters are archived weekly on the North Allegheny website. This designated webpage will be updated with links to the previous week’s newsletters at the beginning of each school week by 11:30 a.m. A link to the archive is accessible on the District’s homepage and on each building’s homepage.