Franklin Elementary School
Welcome to Franklin Elementary School!
We welcome Port Angeles first through sixth graders to Franklin Elementary School, 2505 South Washington Street. If you have any questions, please call (360) 457-9111 or (360) 457-1343.
- Franklin Elementary School website
- Continous School Improvement Plan 2008-09
- Continous School Improvement Plan School Reporting Format & Schedule 2008-09
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide a safe, healthy, caring environment where all students are challenged to think, grow and achieve academic and social independence through shared responsibility and a commitment to life long learning. Students will leave Franklin Elementary with the skills to interpret and use data to make sense of information and complex situations, to make meaningful connections and discover new insights leading to the formulation of new questions.
| Franklin Statistics | 2007-08 |
2006-07 |
| Enrollment | 459 |
464 |
| Smallest Class | 10 |
20 |
| Largest Class | 25 |
26 |
| Average Class Size | 20 |
22 |
| Classroom Teachers | 24 |
26.5 |
| Support Staff | 1.9 |
1.9 |
| Administrators | 1 |
1 |
| Secretaries | 1.5 |
1.5 |
| Para-Educators | 11 |
17 |
| Custodians | 2 |
2 |
| Food Services | 3 |
3 |
| Volunteers | 98 |
97 |
| Avg. Annual Attendance | 98% |
93% |
| Suspended | 5 |
17 |
| Expelled | 1 |
1 |
| Students Promoted | 99% |
99% |
| Free/Reduced Lunch % | 46.8% |
46.3% |
| Title I/Lap | School-Wide |
School-Wide |
| Special Education | 66 |
85 |
| Bilingual | 10 |
7 |
Reflections on the 2007-08 School Year
Our students – at all grade levels – consistently rank higher than other state schools of similar size and demographics. In the reading, writing and math portions of the 2007-2008 WASL, more than 65 percent of Franklin students met standard. Our strength is in powerful teaching and learning by our staff and students. We continue to:
- Differentiate specialized instruction
- Personalize instruction by maintaining a low student/teacher ratio
- Provide a variety of program configurations and opportunities for success
- Guide instruction with student-driven data
- Develop and maintain high expectations and standards for both students and staff
- Encourage high levels of involvement in professional development for all staff
Plans for the 2008-09 School Year
Response to Intervention: This year we will continue to expand our school wide student achievement improvement model, Response to Intervention. The key objective in RTI is to select an instructional or behavior-management strategy that matches a student’s specific needs. This model allows teachers and support staff to work together in teams to create small learning groups that target these specific student skill needs. Skills range from remedial to gifted, giving each student an opportunity to focus on his or her academic strengths as well as weaknesses. Students with serious academic skill deficits, for example, require very different intervention strategies than those who need more challenging assignments or are simply too disorganized to turn in assignments. Student intervention strategies are scientifically based and feasible to carry out with the resources available to our teaching staff. In the RTI model, a student with academic delays is given one or more research-validated interventions. The student's academic progress is monitored frequently to see if those interventions are sufficient to help the student to catch up with his or her peers. If the student fails to show significantly improved academic skills despite several well-designed and implemented interventions, this failure to 'respond to intervention' can be viewed as evidence of an underlying learning disability.
One advantage of RTI in the diagnosis of educational disabilities is that it allows schools to intervene early to meet the needs of struggling learners. Another is that RTI maps those specific instructional strategies found to benefit a particular student. This information can be very helpful to both teachers and parents in future school years. Finally, RTI gives students who need a higher level of academic challenge an opportunity to go beyond grade level expectations in a small group setting of peers with similar academic needs.
Student Learning. We take pride in the fact that we are a school of many strengths and accomplishments. We are acutely aware that we must recognize and embrace the vital challenge of meeting the needs of all students so that, indeed, no child is left behind.
Toward that goal, our classrooms offer a variety of learning environments, including the multi-age classroom (MAC) program, that address the social and emotional needs of students. Teacher collaboration allows us to work together to identify and meet individual student needs. At Franklin, we constantly focus on differentiating, so that we can accommodate each learner’s style and help every student find a personal niche and an accessible adult advocate.
Professional Development. To implement RTI effectively, our professional development includes acquiring a specialized set of tools and competencies, including a structured format for problem-solving, knowledge of a range of scientifically based interventions that address common reasons for school difficulty, and the ability to use various methods of assessment to monitor student progress in academic and behavioral areas.
Our school improvement team consists of certificated and classified staff, as well as parents and community members. The team guides and evaluates the teaching and learning within the Franklin learning community. Staff support for school improvement is evidenced in the professional goal-setting portion of the evaluation process, and in the high level of involvement of each staff member in staff development.
School Climate. Franklin teachers are accountable for students being engaged in powerful teaching and learning, while keeping the community meaningfully involved. One of our staff core values is our unshakable belief that it is possible to help all students achieve. This is done by improving teaching and learning, and additionally, by enhancing student access to technology. We will continue to build and organize our school to honor and value diversity, simultaneously closing the achievement gap to make it possible for all students to live successful and productive lives in the 21st Century. We are mindful that we must train all students in the essential skills required for the global economy: to think critically, to solve problems, and to work in teams. This awareness is evident in the powerful teaching and learning alive in each classroom in the midst of a high level of rigor, relevance and relationships.
How Can You Help?
Every child deserves the opportunity to succeed. But not all children learn in the same way at the same time. The parents, friends of Franklin students and our community are all instrumental in providing the additional support that makes learning at Franklin motivating and rewarding. We need your support to continue our rich history of an elementary school that cares for kids and celebrates success. Please call us at 360.457.9111.
Use and Condition of Building
Franklin Elementary School is the second largest elementary school in the district, built in 1954, with additions in 1956, 1958 and 1978. The facility supports kindergarten through grade six classrooms, as well as outdoor fields and a track for district and community recreation. The physical evaluation of this educational facility is rated 55.4% based on a January 8, 2008 study and survey by BLRB Architects. Facility Use and Conditions Report is available at the Port Angeles School District office.
For more information on Port Angeles School District's Report Card go to: reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us.