Letter to Franklin Academy Parents

I so enjoy this segment of the school year, starting with Parents' and Grandparents' Day in mid-October and running through the Christmas and New Year's Holiday. Aside from the beautiful foliage, first snowfall, and festivities which mark the season, I always look forward to that magical tipping point when a boarding school filled with strangers becomes a community of close friends.

I witnessed the reality of this transformation as our students returned from their well-deserved Thanksgiving vacation. Instead of welcoming a group of foot-dragging teenagers who really did not want to resume classes after a lengthy holiday at home, I greeted enthusiastic students who were genuinely glad to be back on campus. Indeed, you could read the joy on each face as students rushed to find friends and dorm mates. The enthusiastic interactions cut across gender and ages, and I felt that I was in the company of happy and rambunctious brothers and sisters who were delighted to be back at Franklin Academy.

The winter intersession is now underway. In addition to some remarkable elective offerings, including Robotics, Neurochemistry, Military Aeronautics (with an outdoor survival component), and Hoofbeats (animal husbandry with horses), this intersession marks the beginning of Franklin Academy’s intern program. Designed by Jason Morin under the supervision of Tom Hays and offered in collaboration with local government, businesses, and organizations, the Franklin Internship provides an introduction to various career options that our students might later pursue. Jessica Barnett is working at the Goodspeed Opera House library. Joshua Schulman is assigned to the town clerk’s office to help set up a computer system, while Brendan Toomey, Stephen Lieberman, and Frannie Hall are tackling different projects for East Haddam’s First Selectman (our town’s mayor). Frank Jeffery is assisting the activities director at Chesthelm Nursing home, and Erin Vachon-Vierra reports every day to East Haddam’s elementary school for special reading assignments in kindergarten and first grade classrooms. Finally, Levi Bickford shadows a Franklin Academy instructor to gain perspective on what it takes to be a boarding school teacher. After the second day, Levi confessed: “This is not as easy as I thought!”

Though we have yet to reach the halfway point in our second year of operation, planning has already begun for next year and beyond. When school resumes after the Christmas holiday, we anticipate that our enrollment will reach 57 students, up from 30 students one year ago, and we must decide how many students can be accommodated for the 2005-06 school year. In addition, the school’s trustees have directed the administrative team to forge an ambitious five-year strategy that will create the “ideal” Franklin Academy. Part of our efforts will include the development of a master plan for our newly expanded 75-acre campus, and the first building projects will focus on the construction of several new dormitories for our girls, additional campus housing for our teachers, and new Science labs.

These are exciting and stimulating issues to address. Clearly, the establishment of Franklin Academy as a college preparatory school to serve students with NLD was a great idea. While any number of observers wondered about our very specific mission and questioned our ability to deal with a daunting set of challenges, the school’s trustees, administrators, and teachers never faltered in their focus or efforts. We secured the approvals necessary to open the school. We invested $2.5 million to renovate campus facilities. We created a new community – the “village” of Franklin Academy – filled with dedicated teachers and eager students. We learned something new about our students every day, and we celebrated a triumphant first graduation. Now, it is time to dream boldly about the future of Franklin Academy.

Sincerely,

Frederick Weissbach, Headmaster