The Franklin School of Innovation

The Franklin School of Innovation
A Public Charter Middle and High School

About Our Name

Innovation: From the latin word innovates: “in” into and “novus” new, or literally, “To go into the new”.

Benjamin Franklin is often referred to as the first great American. Author, printer, statesman, inventor, civic activist, musician, athlete, political theorist and a Founding Father – Franklin’s curiosity, creativity, ingenuity, and commitment to ongoing self-improvement are the embodiment of the spirit of American innovation. His pursuit of self-improvement was equaled by his commitment to the improvement of others. He founded the first lending library and the first fire department, and was instrumental in the founding of the University of Pennsylvania. He served as an ambassador, governor, and post master. From his early, anonymous feminist writings to his later actions as an abolitionist, Franklin demonstrated a commitment to equality for all.

Of all his accomplishments, Franklin is perhaps most often remembered for his experiments with electricity. Every school child remembers that “aha” moment with the kite, key, and lightning bolt. At the Franklin School, our students and teachers engage in the ongoing study and experimentation that leads to those “aha” moments of discovery.

The Franklin School of Innovation will be a free public charter school serving students in grades 6 – 12. We will submit an application for a charter to the State Department of Public Instruction at the next opportunity (anticipated late Fall, 2012) for an August 2014 opening date. The school will open with grades 6 – 9, adding a grade each year. We plan to enroll four classes of 24 (total 96 students) per grade in the middle school. Starting in 9th grade, we will expand to four classes of 28 (112 total). By year four we plan to have capacity to serve 736 students.


Our Vision

At The Franklin School of Innovation students are encouraged to apply their knowledge to real-world problems; creativity is nurtured, students dare to experiment and understand that failure is part of the process, and students learn the values, ethics, and skills that will help them grow into the leaders of tomorrow. Achieving this vision requires the input, wisdom, and commitment of an entire community.

Excellent teachers and administrators are central to our vision. Strong teaching, by teachers connected and committed to students, families, and one another, is key to our success. The Franklin School is committed to deep and continuous professional learning by teachers and staff, and to the creation of sustainable careers. Our teachers work as teams and engage in mentoring and sharing of talents and knowledge.

Community engagement is at the core of The Franklin School. Strong community engagement allows students to participate meaningfully in their community, and provides authentic audiences, motivation, and relevance to student academic efforts. We believe the oft-repeated phrase “it takes a village.” To become effective global leaders, our students need the opportunity to engage with the leaders of our own community.


School Design

The Franklin School of Innovation is small by design. Our faculty and staff will know each student, personally and individually. Our culture will challenge all students to achieve excellence, while our structure will ensure no student falls through the cracks. As an Expeditionary Learning School, our educational model will allow for depth of learning, and will incorporate field experiences, sustained interdisciplinary learning, and a commitment to community service while exceeding the requirements of the NC Future-Ready Core graduation requirements

The following form the core of The Franklin School’s education structure:

• Learning Expeditions: Expeditions are long-term, teacher-designed studies, in which students are involved in original research, critical thinking, and problem solving. Often multi-disciplinary, learning expeditions are directly tied to curriculum standards, and explicitly focus on developing literacy as well as persistence, leadership, and collaboration. Most learning expeditions will incorporate field work and/or service learning and local expertise, expanding learning beyond the classroom walls. Expeditions culminate in student products that have value to an external audience – such as a research project on public transportation resulting in a presentation to the city council, outlining the findings and proposing resolutions.

• Crew: Crew is a graded course in which multi-age teams of students and an adult advisor meet to discuss academic issues, work on habits of scholarship and character traits, share accomplishments, and organize portfolios or exhibitions.. Students will stay with the same adult advisor over the course of middle or high school, providing the opportunity for ongoing relationship and further ensuring that every student is making progress toward individual goals.

• Personalized Learning Plans: As a component of Crew, every student, working in conjunction with his or her advisor and parents or guardians, will develop a detailed individual plan that sets forth academic and social goals. PLPs are works in progress, evolving over time as the student grows in experience, knowledge, and skills. Through the development and ongoing assessment of PLPs, students take personal responsibility and ownership for their learning.

• 8th and 10th Grade Portfolios: The portfolio is a collection of student work that demonstrates mastery of specific academic standards as well as development of habits of scholarship and student self-assessment. Students present their portfolios to faculty and parents, demonstrating their readiness to move on to the next level of their education.

• Intensives: Several times a year, students will participate in “intensives” – a week-long session designed to provide opportunity for remediation and enrichment. Students who have not mastered core content of the prior period will participate in intensive tutoring and independent work to gain critical skills and knowledge before moving forward to new content. Students who have mastered the core content will select from a range of courses for a short but in-depth learning immersion outside our “typical” curriculum. We will work with community organizations, parents, and community members to provide a wide range of topics of interest to all types of students.

• Extensive: Longer and more in-depth, Extensive is a three-week period in which students and faculty are given the opportunity to indulge their intellectual curiosity, follow their passion, build their expertise, and express their creativity. It’s the bigger version of our Intensives, providing time for remediation when needed, and expanding the opportunity for students to discover and explore the world of learning.

• Junior Internship or Independent Study: Every junior will participate in an internship or a mentored independent study. The internship will incorporate a compelling topic selected by the student, strong reading and writing components, fieldwork, and a final product that demonstrates the deepened understanding of the content studied and skills learned. Planning for the internship or study will be incorporated into crew.

• Senior Capstone: All seniors will complete and present a Senior Capstone project as part of graduation requirements. The Capstone Project, presented to a panel of students, staff, and community members, is the final opportunity for the student to demonstrate that she or he has developed the skills needed to become a leader, problem-solver, and effective and ethical citizen of the local and global community.

• Community Service: As a school-wide project, students, parents, and faculty at The Franklin School will select an annual community service project. Students will plan, design, fundraise, and implement a project of value to the community. Examples of potential projects include a universally accessible playground, development of community gardens to support the local food bank, or a study and plan to improve the “walkability” of a selected neighborhood. These are just examples – the vision for service projects will grow from the students and the school community.


About Expeditionary Learning

Expeditionary Learning is a proven instructional model, based on research from the Harvard School of Education and the Outward Bound program. By partnering with Expeditionary Learning (EL), The Franklin School joins a network of over 150 schools, 4,000 teachers, and 45,000 students from all across the United States. The EL model challenges students to think critically and take active roles in their classrooms and communities, resulting in greater engagement and higher achievement. As a leader in implementation of the Common Core Standards, EL provides a curriculum model and professional training to ensure our teachers are supported with the best of current educational research. Students in EL schools outperform state and district averages on standardized tests, and in EL high schools, 100% college acceptance is the standard.

EL schools offer a true choice for parents and students seeking schools where:
• Learning is active. Students are scientists, urban planners, historians, and activists, investigating real community problems and collaborating with peers to develop creative, actionable solutions.
• Learning is challenging. Students at all levels are pushed and supported to do more than they think they can. Excellence is expected in the quality of work and thinking.
• Learning is meaningful. Students apply their skills and knowledge to real-world issues and problems and make positive change in their communities. They see the relevance of their learning and are motivated by understanding that learning has purpose.
• Learning is public. Through formal structures of presentation, exhibition, critique, and data analysis, students and teachers build a shared vision of pathways to achievement.
• Learning is collaborative. School leaders, teachers, students, and families share rigorous expectations for quality work, achievement, and behavior. Trust, respect, responsibility, and joy in learning permeate the school culture.


Our Academics

The Common Core and North Carolina standards form the minimum baseline for our academic program. While the academic bar is set high, teachers will differentiate instruction to ensure that students are supported and challenged at the appropriate level. Instruction is guided by specific learning targets tied to curriculum standards. Frequent use of community experts, fieldwork, and real-world connections bring the curriculum alive and provide for greater depth of instruction.

Collaboration is essential throughout our school community. Teachers are rarely isolated within the walls of their own classroom, working instead as a team to provide an integrated approach to instruction. Students work in small groups to develop essential skills such as collaboration, communication, organization, and problem-solving. Students are also responsible for completing independent projects, strengthening their self-initiative and persistence.

Students may elect to take courses at the Honors level which allows for deeper investigation and rigor in the subject matter. High School students will complete a minimum (4 to 6) AP courses as part of their graduation requirements. All students will pursue a college-preparatory program and will graduate college-ready.

Middle School

Middle School students will have a six-period day. Four of these are dedicated to daily courses of English Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies. As middle school is an important period of exploration, two periods each day will be dedicated to rotating courses to introduce subjects students will pursue in greater depth in high school and beyond. Crew, Art, and Spanish will take one period, while the final period will offer a rotation of electives (including STEM and music options) and PE. Intensives take place outside the standard schedule and offer further opportunities for exploration and enrichment.

Middle school curriculum is designed to ensure that all students are prepared to follow a college-preparatory high school curriculum. Students are encouraged to pursue at least one course per semester at the Honors level.

A possible Middle School Schedule is as follows. In 7th and 8th grade, students can pursue any course at the Honors level. An alternate schedule allowing for extended field work will be used as needed.


Period Subject
0 Morning Meeting
1 Social Studies
2 Language Arts
3 Crew/Art/Spanish
4 Rotating Elective (engineering, technology, PE, etc)
Lunch/Recess
5 Math
6 Science


High School

The Franklin School graduation requirements exceed the North Carolina Future-Ready Core course of study requirements. While our smaller school size limits the number of courses offered, we believe the high degree of personalization and differentiation of instruction, the strong connection between our faculty and our students, and the depth of learning offered through our intensives, field work, internships, and expeditions will better prepare our students for a lifetime of learning and leadership. Our academic standards are high, and students are strongly encouraged to challenge themselves through Honors and AP level courses, and are required to complete a minimum number of AP courses. All students will graduate college-ready.

High school students must complete a minimum of four years of English Language Arts, four years of science, four years of math (including at least one course beyond Pre-Calculus), four years of history and civics, four years of Crew, two years of foreign language, one year of physical education/health, one year of art or music, and one course of debate/rhetoric. . Juniors will complete an internship or a mentored independent study, while Seniors will complete a Capstone Project. The school day is organized in a similar six-period schedule as in Middle School, allowing two periods per day in which students will take Crew, languages, physical education, debate, and electives. The Junior internship, intensives, and the Senior Capstone Project offer further opportunity for individualization and differentiation of instruction.

Extracurriculars

We recognize that the middle and high school experience is deeply enriched through extracurricular activities, such as theater programs, sports, music, and clubs. We will work with the local community to offer a wide variety of extracurriculars, based upon the interests of our students and our faculty.