Opening of School - September of 2003

YESTERDAY

Franklin Academy is the fulfillment of a long-held dream among educators, parents, and consultants who understand that schools across the country are not yet ready to meet the complex, multi-faceted needs of children with Nonverbal Learning Differences and Asperger's Syndrome who are seeking a comprehensive, college preparatory education.

The school was incorporated in November of 2001. A board of trustees was created, and these visionaries successfully secured the school's start-up funding and hired a founding headmaster. Franklin Academy's administrative team began a year of preliminary work in July of 2002. Approval to operate a boarding school for students with NLD and AS was secured from the Connecticut State Department of Education, $2.5 million was invested in school facilities, and a faculty was hired.

Franklin Academy opened its doors on September 10, 2003 with thirty-three students enrolled. The adventure began. During the year the IRS awarded to Franklin Academy its tax-exempt 501 (c) 3 status. The College Board approved the school as a SAT test center - an important benefit for our students who perform better in a familiar setting where their own teachers can manage any test-taking accommodations for which they qualify. The school graduated its first class of six seniors on June 12, 2004.

We began our second year of operation with 55 students in attendance, and the numbers increased to 69 students during the 2005-06 school  year and then to 75 students during 2006-07.  We now have more than eighty students enrolled, and tuition revenue funds 100% of our operating budget.  This means that Franklin Academy has quickly forged a strong financial base.  

Great friendships in a safe, welcoming, and supportive community

TODAY

What have we learned at Franklin Academy since we began this important work? First, it really makes sense to focus exclusively on bright adolescents who have a nonverbal learning profile and an auditory learning style preference. Our students possess similar strengths, share common interests, and face comparable challenges, allowing friendships to blossom naturally across our school population and permitting a more intelligent investment of school resources to achieve important educational objectives. Our highest priority from the very beginning has been to create a school community where every student feels safe, connected, understood, and supported. This positive environment reshapes attitudes about school, improves prospects for success in the classroom, and allows students with NLD and AS to shine. We also realize that a boarding school provides a superior setting for the daily instruction and direct practice of social pragmatics.

Over these first seven years we have witnessed dramatic transformations as students regain their self-esteem, rekindle their academic curiosity, and once again embrace the risk-taking necessary for learning. They engage in student government, manage the school store, and participate in off-campus internships. By taking advantage of Franklin Academy’s extensive travel/study program, our students have journeyed to Alaska, Hawaii, the American Southwest, Washington DC, Brazil, the Caribbean and the Yucatan Peninsula, Patagonia, India, Europe, Scandinavia, and the Mediterranean. Now, we are able to point to a growing list of college acceptances for our graduates, and we are confident that the class of 2010 and future classes will have many wonderful opportunities to consider for college and career.

As the enrollment has grown, we have worked diligently to provide additional facilities to accommodate our students and to support the expansion of our programs. Our new library opened in the fall of 2005, and the student center was ready for use in the fall of 2006 along with our new science facility that houses two labs and six additional classrooms. To support the Franklin Learning Institute, which offers programming for young adults who have graduated from high school and who are not quite ready to move on to an independent college setting, we have created two satellite dormitories on the campus grounds.

During the 2006-07 school year the administration and faculty completed a thorough self-study to prepare for accreditation through the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, and Franklin Academy was granted accredited status by NEASC in June of 2007. In response to the school’s two-year interim evaluation report which was submitted in the fall of 2009, NEASC commended Franklin Academy for acting decisively in all suggested areas and concluded that the school is on a carefully considered upward path and is proceeding with ambition and accountability. Recently, the U.S. government gave permission to Franklin Academy to begin enrolling qualified international students identified with NLD or diagnosed with Asperger’s. Currently, we are negotiating the purchase of the seventy-five acre campus that we have leased since the school opened, and we are forging an ambitious strategic plan that envisions an enrollment of 125 students over the next five years.

A beautiful New England setting for our campus

TOMORROW

The school's distinctive mission appeals to many families seeking a college preparatory boarding school program specially designed for students with Nonverbal Learning Differences and Asperger's Syndrome. Thus, we anticipate a growing student population. We foresee the construction of new dormitories and classrooms, and we are mobilizing to secure additional resources to fund an ambitious expansion of our physical plant. As our success grows, we look forward to sharing our expertise with educators, psychologists, consultants, and parents across the country.

For more specific details about the goals, timeline, and progress of Franklin Academy's strategic plan, please go to that section of the Franklin website titled "Headmaster's View."  There you will find a link to the school's strategic plan.  You might also want to review the latest list of college acceptances for seniors in our first seven graduating classes.

The Class of 2009 -- fourteen young men and ten young women ready for new challenges and opportunities

College Acceptances 2004 - 2010