Franklin Phonetic Primary School

I love Franklin. For me, my son being able to attend this school is the only thing I like about living in Prescott Valley. My family relocated from Mesa three and a half years ago. My son attended two other schools before I found Franklin. What a relief. He is able to be involved with band and sports. The music program and their dedicated teachers are amazing. With such small class sizes the kids are monitored well. I have always had great communication with the teachers, staff, and principals. I am disappointed with the negative comments I have read. Get up and make your children lunch. It is no big deal that their are no hot lunches served. Occasionally there will be pizza and hot dog days to break the monotony, which is a lot of fun for the kids. Don't let the small space fool you. There is more heart and dedication here then anywhere else in PV. There are so many after school activities to choose from that are FREE! I would highly recommend taking a tour and getting to know Franklin. Best school in the Tri City area.
—Submitted by a parent

Based on the dates of the negative comments left from dissatisfied parents, I could tell you who each and every one of them is; and further tell you that their criticism is absolutely invalid. The only reason kids have difficulty at Franklin is because of their parents: you will not find a more dedicated and harder-working staff anywhere in the Prescott area. What you will find, however, are parents bringing their kids to school without bothering to teach them anything about respect or proper behavior, then being disrespectful and/or abusive to staff who try to enforce simple, fair rules designed to preserve the learning environment. Every one of those comments were left by parents who failed to parent, and had nothing to do with the teachers or staff at Franklin. Excellent school, Excellent arts, Excellent teachers, Excellent Learning environment, Excellent Special Education Services. I have a child who goes there, and they love it. Highly recommended :)
—Submitted by a parent

Four of my grandkids attended this school; two didVERY well, because they were "model" robot students. The other two had issues which most of the school's employees WOULD not deal or empathize with, causing the children to be unnecessarily punished because they were not robotic. Too much favoritism shown to the exceptional students.

I had a 5th grader attend Franklin... This school does NOT have much to offer. The teachers are overly strict, and like another person mentioned here, your child has to be a robot to be considered well behaved. Heaven forbid your child have a fun personality! Not to mention there is no grass areas for playing at recess, and NO hot lunches prepared daily. Way too much homework, it rules your life with this school! My child repeatedly asked to change to a different school, and the staff is not fair in disciplining the kids, they don't get the whole story. And sports? HA! What a joke.
—Submitted by a parent

This is the best school my child has ever gone to. The teachers are so helpful and willing to do whatever it takes to help the students succeed. They offer so many different programs for the students to get involved in. While other schools are doing away with art and music this school keeps growing and improving their programs. They have artist in residences who come in to work with the kids on different projects. They have several different levels of band and choirs. Their theater program is amazing! They just put on this great grammar play created by one of the staff members that was hilarious. They even have sports teams that apparently have gotten trophies. On top of this their afterschool program is helpful and fun for the students. I love this school and would recommend it to any parent out there.
—Submitted by a parent

While we had a great experience with our child in Kindergarten at this school, we have had some problems with our child in the 1st grade. We have found the teacher and school to be unresponsive in dealing with our concerns with our child's learning environment. We have had problems with excessive punishments for petty behavior problems. When we approached the teacher and principal, we were dismissed as overly sensitive and lax in our own behavior modification. Unfortunately, this conduct by the school and the defensive, standoffish way that they have responded to our concerns has caused us to consider placing our children in a different school. Our children deserve an environment that challenges them academically while nurturing emotional growth. We don't allow our children to misbehave at home, and we don't expect the school to tolerate inappropriate behavior in the classroom, but humiliation and degradation is not an effective tool.
—Submitted by a parent

Selling candy (daily) to children in the lunch room to raise money? Shame on them.
—Submitted by a parent

The best school we have ever experienced. We are very happy with Franklin and look forward to our next year. They are committed professionals. We like the small campus to be able to allow the children to be closely supervised.
—Submitted by a parent

Overall I think this school is great. My children attended for 2 years before we moved. We are considering moving back to PV and we will send our children back. I think the buildings are cramped and they do seem to be running out of space. I would like to see a better middle school program. But, we are still very happy. Both of my children enjoyed going to school.
—Submitted by a parent

This guide is a little out of date. The school goes all the way through 8th grade now, and the younger grades have many more students than the older grades - as many as 24 to a class with one teacher and one teacher's aide. The classes and office seemed a little cramped, but ok. They just did a lot of building, and remodling, so there isn't much outdoor space left. I'm still considering this school, but was a little taken back by the campus set up and size (and short fence height around the younger kids' playground). They are running out of room - a circle K on one side, and a Big 5 on the other, a frontage road in front, and older residential in the back. The staff seemed nice, and they had very good control on making sure the kids went home with the right parents.
—Submitted by a parent

This is a great school that strives to make sure no child will 'slip through the cracks'. My child has attened the school since 1987 and it's a great school.
—Submitted by a parent

In my opinion there is no better school in the tri-city area, or in the state. My kids have been in Prescott and Chino Valley charter/public schools. All were big disappointments. Awesome program and teaching staff. Staff has an ability to see a problem and they willing to help the student improve. Excellent before/after school programs. My kids love it there, I don't ever hear 'I don't want to go to school' or I don't like school'. Realistic disipline without the mass hysteria of other schools. A place where a kid can be a kid and not a tiny adult. School rules are actually enforced, including a conservative dress code for both girls and boys. I can only hope that they will expand to high school in a few years. They should be held up as a school to emulate in all of Arizona.
—Submitted by a parent

We've transferred our son to franklin phonetic about 2 months ago. We have been 'extremely' pleased with the results. Franklin phoneitc works closely with all children, especially the special needs children. Our son was not able to read in the old school, he now can! many many thanks to mrs. Franklin, ms. Andrews and of course ms. Hardy.
—Submitted by a parent

This is my sons first year of school, he is in kindergarden at Franklin Phonetic. I think Mrs. Brown is great! He really enjoys school and seems to be learning quickly. I am wondering why the student count seems to drop in 4-5 grade?
—Submitted by a parent

Franklin Phonetic is one of the best schools out there. I highly rate the teachers, teacher aides, environment, their programs and the administration. My children enjoy learning here!
—Submitted by a parent

My experience at this school showed me a rigidity and 'sterileness' in the learning process. Learning should be a joy, not a stress at this tender age.
—Submitted by a parent

I have been very inpressed with all the music, art, drama and more offered to the children. They do fun learning based field trips. Also I have been very inpressed with the willingness to help EVERY child succeed even if it meant extra work for them. I have two very different children and both of their needs have been meet and met very well. I am so glad Franklin was recommended to us.
—Submitted by a parent

Was happy whith the lower grades teaching in grades 1-5 BUT in the grades 6-8 have not been happy at all. Each year the school seems to be getting worse. Too much for them to handle.
—Submitted by a parent

My children have attened for 3 years and I am happy with their education. I've looked at private schools in the area, and I have found that Franklin kids outperform their private school counterparts. I'm not saying the school is perfect. There are some things I'd change. First, I'd like the school to be cleaner; but I realize what I am trading in not paying large janitorial staffs, is instead going to help my kids academically. So I send my boys with hand sanitizer in their lunches. Second, I'd like more space for the kids. However, I am trading large buildings and grounds (with large maintence and gardening staffs) for more emphasis being placed on teaching. Third, I'd like to see less teacher/staff turnover. I'm still pursuing why there is turnover at Franklin. The comments about stressed staff is something I'll look into. Overall, I'm very happy with Franklin Phonetic School.
—Submitted by a parent

Franklin Phonetic School is a great K-8th grade school, academically. The 'politics' are a little odd, though. I have a child who has attended FPS since pre-K; he has had a wonderful experience. FPS offers band, drama, choir, art, Spanish, computers, library, and PE besides the traditional academics. Test scores have been fantanstic; although, it is true that the children are strongly pushed to achieve such high scores. Sometimes the stress seems too much on the children, and the teachers often appear to be stressed as well. The children are well behaved, too. The teachers have been wonderful to my child so far. The administration is seen to be a little odd; decisions seem to be often made by the office manager who may not be qualified to make academic decisions. Teachers are highly qualified and are able to clean up any problems that administration makes. It is a great school.
—Submitted by a parent