As you drive for the first time across the Swing Bridge into the historic and quaint New England town of East Haddam, pass the Goodspeed Opera House on your right, and continue on Route 82 toward campus, you cannot help but appreciate the beautiful and serene landscape. Franklin Academy’s property, with seventy-five acres of rolling hills, open fields, ponds, and thickets of trees, is adjacent to the extensive Chapman Pond Preserve. Even though our portion of Connecticut has been inhabited for more than 350 years, eighty percent of the region is forested, and wild life is abundant. We have deer, wild turkey, and fox on campus, and we are continually on the lookout for bald eagles, great blue herons, and red-tailed hawks. Indeed, the lower Connecticut River is one of the most plentiful ecological systems in the country, and it is here that we have established a unique community to serve students with Nonverbal Learning Differences and Asperger’s Syndrome.

Franklin Academy is the only accredited college preparatory boarding school in the country to exclusively serve students with NLD and Aspergers, and we have carefully created a truly exceptional community environment. As a result, our students easily identify with each other and enjoy the solidarity of belonging to a natural peer group. They live and learn together, and friendships blossom. They come to know each other well enough to appreciate each other’s strengths and to understand each other’s challenges, sharing day-to-day life and helping each other to do their best, celebrating in good times and supporting each other through difficult times, learning to manage conflicts, and collaborating toward common goals. The positive impact of this transformative and empowering experience should not be underestimated. Simply stated, having friends who share interests helps to build self-esteem, and feeling good about oneself becomes a key to unlocking the potential of every student.

Team A Girls	Ben, Ashley, Chase, Sara, Jason & Zach

We believe that a boarding school community is the desired setting for improving social skills – a crucial component in a comprehensive curriculum for our population of students. What is learned in the classroom about human interactions is practiced and honed in many different venues across campus – during meals in the dining hall, in the commons room or game room of the dormitory, at community meeting, while participating in clubs and activities, or taking part in an off-campus excursion. With one adult for every two students on campus, there are many opportunities to seize the "teachable moment" during these countless interactions. The goal? We expect our students to become responsible and independent young adults who are able to advocate for themselves and positively engage in the larger world beyond Franklin Academy.

The foundation of Franklin Academy is a safe community in which every student feels secure, connected, understood, and supported. We believe that a healthy community is the bedrock of our school, allowing students to find support and individual acceptance, as well as the challenge and reward of higher-level relationships. Safety, acceptance, challenge, and reward are important for all teenagers, but these are particularly critical for our students as they develop their identities and become strong, healthy, productive adults who enjoy life and relationships with others.

Payton, Alex & Welling	A Close-up at Breakfast

Our Code of Conduct is a statement of principles that helps us negotiate and make decisions about how we live together at school and in the world. This Code provides the philosophical framework for our community and a guideline for our work together. We use the Code as the basis to discuss issues that include respect and care – both for ourselves and for others, as well as honesty, and compassion for others. Discussions and explorations of these concepts are of particular importance to develop healthy self-esteem and self-efficacy. Specific parts of our program that help us learn, teach, and practice living in community include morning team meetings for teachers and students, community meeting that is a daily convocation of the entire school, Individual and Community classes, afternoon clubs and activities, student leadership opportunities, and class service projects.

We conscientiously practice respectful communication and constantly observe and assess the functioning of our groups and the school as a whole. Every day in community meeting we take time for affirmations – acknowledgement and appreciation of the talents, accomplishments, and good deeds of classmates and colleagues. We recognize that people often are very good at criticism, put-downs, and rejecting others, and our students are particularly sensitive to such negative experiences. We work intentionally not to do these at Franklin and to practice appreciation, respect, understanding, and acceptance. This practice of giving affirmations is so much a part of our lives that it has become common practice in other settings, such as team meetings, hall meetings, faculty meetings, and classes.

Celebrating the Moment	Between Classes

Leadership is another important part of community, and we work to give our students opportunities to practice leadership in many areas of the school. Student-run clubs, activities, the school store, student government, and our residential assistant (RA) program specifically provide the chance for students to learn about and practice leadership and collaboration. Our transition-to-college program during the senior year, called FLI, is the ultimate culmination and practice of leadership skills. Here our 12th grade students assist with orientation at the opening of the school and have many opportunities to serve as mentors to younger students throughout the year.

We include a required Individual and Community class for each student every year because learning about ourselves and how we relate to others is a life-long process. We address each other by first names rather than by titles to indicate that while positional authority is important, the respect we give one another is not dependent on position, power, or titles. Our dining hall tables are round in order to make conversation easier and because “there is always room for one more” at a round table. We intentionally keep our community small and work in teams so that we can know each other well. These specific details may seem insignificant, but they have a big impact. More importantly, making a choice about each of these matters helps us maintain focus on the development and care of our community.

Level III Seniors	"All for One, One for All"

A healthy and positive community climate is not the simple consequence of bringing people together to live and learn; it requires deliberate work by thoughtful individuals who share an inspiring vision and a set of values. The faculty and staff are a dedicated and creative group of professionals guided by the original founding administrators. Such continuity in leadership is absolutely crucial for sustaining the community’s traditions, maintaining momentum in the development and expansion of program and services, and encouraging each educator at Franklin Academy to make a personal contribution of talent and effort that adds to the strength of our community.

In the end, if the school environment is right, then the prospects for academic success in the classroom improve dramatically. To understand and appreciate the uplifting culture of our community and the positive essence of our daily interactions you will need to personally sample the enthusiastic welcome that is commonplace. We hope that what you read about Franklin Academy will encourage you to visit our campus and experience for yourself a remarkable school community that is transforming the lives of students with Nonverbal Learning Differences and Asperger’s Syndrome, one after another, and encouraging each individual to pursue dreams for college, career, and a fulfilling life.

The Camaraderie of Teachers	The Campus Tour