Franklin Elementary School

Due to the frequent moving of my children's mother, this is the first year of my two kids. I have been unable to reach both of my kid's teachers. This is what brought me to the office where the office staff were extremely rude and not helpful in the least. The principle is somewhat a professional but still lacks the authority to make a lot of important decisions. I would do your homework when looking for a school. The lack of parental involvement is the worst thing for the success of young students and Franklin Elementary needs to work in this area also.
--Submitted by a parent

My child has been a student at Franklin for two years. We have had a wonderful experience and are looking forward to another great year at Franklin! We are truly amazed by the dedication and enthusiasm of the teachers and find that the administration is first rate. For such a large school we feel a great sense of community.
--Submitted by a parent

Franklin is a great school that fosters a sense of community among all of its students and their families. The administration if FIRST CLASS. Both the Principal and Vice Principal are dedicated educators who are far from the bureaucratic fund-raising machines we found the administration to be at our older child's private school. They are committed to the right of education for every child, not just the one's whose parents can donate the most money. The teachers at Franklin take the lead of the administration and, for the most part, are also dedicated, engaged and committing their lives to educating every child that passes through their classroom. You couldn't ask for a more positive environment. I have an older child in a Westside private school, and find that the experience my younger child is having at Franklin to be a much more well-rounded and all over happier experience than the private education offers.
--Submitted by a parent

I am blessed to be both a parent and a teacher at Franklin. My daughter has had an exceptional beginning at this wonderful school. I love being able to teach at the same school where my six year old from Hunan China receives such a wonderful balance socially and academically. I also love being able to affect change as a teacher there that will directly benefit my child. She has been blessed to have two years in kindergarten because of her background as an adoptee coming from China. Both Mr. Schwengel and Mrs. Badt have given her such a strong foundation for literacy and a love of school . She is reading at a second grade level and writing stories as a six year old. I also love the administration. They are smart, authentic, and hold us to very high standards. Both Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Sinfield put children first. It is amazing to me after 28 years of teaching that I want to keep going because of such a wonderful staff. I wish others could see what an amazing learning community we have. Thank you to all of the wonderful teachers and parents at Franklin. I am so lucky.
--Submitted by a teacher

Had not just a bad teacher, but dismissive, nasty and lacking in judgement. Many parents feel the same. Complaints land in complaint box. Anyone care? Have had positive experiences and good teachers but the bad ones sadly where so bad it has had a profound lasting effect and difficult to understand how they can just stay on. Really this site has to make API scores less relevant than the children themselves, this school didn't.
--Submitted by a parent

franklin's reputation far exceeds reality. there are MANY outstanding teachers, but just as many average teachers...many of whom show little enthusiasm. once you get to 4th grade, discipline gets very punitive and the enthusiasm in this grade is at an all time low in all but one classroom. the pta raises tons of money, but smartboards and computers can't replace instilling a love of learning. and all those smartboards are basically being used as very expensive overhead projectors, anyways. franklin is above average compared to many schools, but considering the resources we have, it's not living up to it's potential.
--Submitted by a parent

now that we're leaving franklin, i feel like i can give a fair review. my child has been there since kindergarten. out of the 6 teachers we've had, 4 were great and two were awful. when i say awful, i mean unenthusiastic, dismissive, fell short of teaching the curriculum, non-responsive, unempathetic, punitive, enacted favoritism...the list goes on and on. the complaints about franklin are a common them of parent get togethers, but most are not comfortable going to the administration. those who have haven't really been taken seriously. some have been lucky and had 6 for 6 fantastic teachers and have no complaints. others have had mostly horrible experiences and i especially feel for them.
--Submitted by a parent

A comment. It would seem that you should heed the comments about the office staff. There is nothing more off-putting as a first impression as rude, dismissive office staff. My family experienced this upon its first visit to the school, and was provided little help in working out the problems of entering a new school. As a former teacher, I know how important office staff is, yet I also know that the first impression of a school should be a positive one, and evidently, yours, because of the office people, isn't. It would be smart to address this in the future. My rating is based on other reviews, Great Schools ratings, and the fact that Franklin is a Distinguished School.

A rather mixed and sometimes uneven experience. On the plus side, many of the teachers - senior and junior - are truly outstanding, dedicated, hard-working and enthusiastic. I have been enormously impressed by many. But there are some notably weaker teachers, who seem to exhibit little enthusiasm or interest. The administration is competent, though in the face of genuine complaints seems more interested in damage control than genuinely addressing parental concerns. The front desk is staffed by some notoriously difficult individuals who play favorites - helpful to some parents, terribly rude and dismissive to others. There is a split between mothers who work and wealthier ones who volunteer, reflecting local demographics. Funding is a growing concern, and private fund-raising cannot be a long-term solution. Teacher union rules mean layoffs are based on seniority, not value added. A good school, in an affluent neighborhood, with strengths and weaknesses, facing funding problems.
--Submitted by a parent

I like Franklin because it's like one big family and also the teachers make such an outstanding effort to help our children learn.
--Submitted by a parent