FRANKLIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT CA history

The first Franklin School building was built at 508 Bridge Street in 1883.

Late 1886 brought a brand new Mission Revival style schoolhouse to Franklin District.

The History Behind the Creation of Franklin SchoolIn 1891 the people residing in the southern part of Schraalenburgh were unhappy when the School District decided to build a new school farther north than the prior one serving the area.

She later became the principal at Franklin School.In September of 1908, to meet the needs of the growing community, the Board of Education appointed a committee to locate land on the west side of town for a possible school.

On September 6, 1909 the cornerstone of Franklin School was laid.

On Wednesday September 7, 1910 Franklin School had its official dedication ceremony.

In June of 1913 the High School at Franklin School was disbanded, in accordance with order of the State Board of Education.

In 1914 J.B. Hambright was appointed supervising principal.

In 1917 the Board of Education granted permission to the "Home Guard" to use the grounds of Franklin School for drills.

In 1919 Roy W. Brown was hired as supervising principal.

In 1920 Laura Lachmund former teacher Gertrude Sugden became principal of Franklin School.

After fifty years, a new building was needed and in 1928, the new Franklin School for Junior High students was opened on the 1000 block of North 3rd Street.

In 1940 Franklin School was a K-6 school with a student enrollment of 274 students.

Plans for the third and present Franklin School began in 1949 when bid requests were posted for construction of "four classrooms and a multi-use room" to be built in the Franklin District.

In 1954 another referendum passed to add a third addition to Franklin School.Franklin School TodayAt the present day Franklin School serves 365 students in grades K-5.

The new Franklin School was erected in 1966 on the southeast corner of 5th and Bridge Streets.

The current principal is Rosemary LaGamma who first came to Franklin School as a teacher in 1968.

Starting in January of 1978, parents and school staff worked together to develop proposals for all aspects of Benjamin Franklin School.

In 1982 Franklin became an elementary school supporting K-6, as well as Special Education and Early Childhood Development, the later supporting the Family Education Project.

Further expansion of the school occurred in May of 1983, paving the way for more than 800 students to attend beginning the 1983-84 school year.

In 1987, the campus acquired the 500 block of Stark and DeKalb Streets for an enlarged playground.

Through a peer-tutoring program, started in 1988, sixth graders have been paired with younger grades, working on reading and comprehension.

The Mesa Governing Board voted in June of 1991, to move Franklin School to 1753 E 8th Avenue.

In August 1992, another 500 students began experiencing the Franklin program.

In April of 1994, the program expanded to offer 7th grade with an enrollment of 100 additional students.

In 1996 a collaborative effort between the Site Council/PTO, District, and the community provided much needed renovation of the Franklin Elementary School playground.

The bussing of students to the three Franklin campuses began in August 1997.

At the October 2003 School Board meeting, the Board of Education approved the design development documents for the Franklin Elementary School elevator provided by the architect firm, Seymour Davis Seymour, Inc.

However, in the fall of 2009, a new Franklin Junior High was opened in a facility adjacent to Franklin Northeast.