Wade Tomlinson
Email: wt********@fa***.org
Role at Franklin: Critical Thinking Teacher
Education: Guilford College, B.A.; Johns Hopkins University, MAT
Joined Franklin Academy: 2017
What is your favorite Franklin memory? I had a student that struggled in multiple areas. It took a while for this student to trust that Franklin was a safe place. This student was in their 3rd year when they started making progress in many different areas. In their 4th year they were nominated to give the student speech at graduation and this student identified all their many struggles and then talked about how the community at Franklin changed their lives for the better. At graduation this student won multiple awards, got accepted to multiple universities, and could explain their journey in ways that brought tears to my eyes.
The most important quality a teacher applying to Franklin Academy should have is… A willingness to grow. My most successful colleagues are those are not rigid, but willing to be flexible and allow students to grow on their own time table—not on ours. The adults at Franklin strive to build rapport with students and meet them at their individual level.
If I could shadow a Franklin alum for the day, what would I hope to learn? What skills that individual learned at Franklin and then transferred to their future lives.
