Franklin High School (Seattle)

Franklin High School is a public high school in Seattle, Washington, located in its Mount Baker neighborhood and administered by Seattle Public Schools.

Franklin High School
Address
3013 South Mt. Baker Boulevard

Seattle
,
Washington
98144

United States
Coordinates47°34′34″N 122°17′34″W
Information
School typePublic, Coeducational
MottoTruth, Unity, Honor
EstablishedSeptember 1912 (1912-09)
School districtSeattle Public Schools
NCES School ID530771001168[1]
PrincipalDr. Joseph Williams III
Faculty64.40 FTEs[1]
Grades9–12
Enrollment1,232 (2019-2020)[1]
Student to teacher ratio19.13[1]
Classrooms42
CampusUrban
Campus size12.7 acres (5.1 ha)
Color(s)Forest Green & Black
   
Fight songOn, Wisconsin![2]
Athletics18 Varsity teams
Athletics conferenceSea-King: Metro 3A
NicknameQuake
NewspaperThe Tolo
YearbookThe Tolo
Budget$7,440,714
Communities servedBeacon Hill, Mount Baker, Columbia City
Feeder schoolsWashington Middle School
Mercer Middle School
Websitefranklinhs.seattleschools.org

FHS from Cheasty Boulevard South

As of the 2014–15 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,315 students and 65.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 20.2:1. There were 676 students (51.4% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 206 (15.7% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

History and facilities

Franklin High School opened its doors 111 years ago in September 1912 and was Seattle's second purpose-built high school, after Seattle High School. Designed by architect Edgar Blair in a neo-Classical style, it was constructed of reinforced concrete and sited on 2.2 acres (0.9 ha). Expansions in 1925 by school district architect Floyd Naramore saw the site expanded to 10.6 acres (4.3 ha), in 1942 to 12.7 acres (5.1 ha), and in 1958 with a major addition by architect John W. Maloney that obscured the front facade of the building.[3]

In 1986, the Seattle School Board voted to tear down the building, in part due to the cost of required seismic upgrades, which resulted in major protests by students, alumni, and the public. The Seattle's Landmarks Preservation Board designated the school as an official landmark which prevented its demolition.[3][4]

As part of a major renovation by Bassetti Architects in 1988–90, the 1958 addition was demolished, the school was seismically upgraded and historically restored. New additions and renovations included a new student commons, classrooms and science labs, art studios, vocational tech labs, an auditorium and stage, and a media center. Awards for this renovation included the 2001 Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, Award of Merit; 1991 AIA Seattle, Award of Commendation; and 1991 Association of King County Historical Organization, Project Award.[5]

The school is noted for its diversity, including having a plurality of Asian descent in its student body.[6]

Academies

Franklin High School's curriculum is divided into 5 academies, the 9th Grade Academy and four Small Learning Communities for the 10–12th Grade students: Academy of Finance (AOF), and John Stanford Public Service Academy (PSA), Humanities, and CREATE Academy. Each academy specializes in a particular study with their own mission statement and required classes.[7]

Academy of Finance

The Academy of Finance is an integrated social studies and language arts program supported by the nationally recognized and represented National Academy Foundation. Students study world history and literature from the point of view of trade and economic development. By combining accounting, social studies, and language arts, the Academy of Finance develops skills needed in the business environment. Mastery of technology, knowledge of available resources, and good communication are prioritized.

John Stanford Public Service and Political Science Academy

The John Stanford Public Service and Political Science Academy (PSA), founded in 2000, is a college preparatory small learning community (SLC) that offers students a rigorous 3 year academic program that meets and exceeds state standards for Language Arts and Social Studies. State standards in LA and Social Studies are overlaid with an emphasis on the role of the public sector in societies, past and present. PSA students are challenged to develop their critical thinking skills and to develop their own vision of the role that they and their government should take in confronting the opportunities and problems of their local, national, and international communities. The PSA combines Public Service and Political Science (the study of law, government and NGOs, history, political systems, etc.).

Humanities

The Humanities is also a college preparatory academy. This academy is considered the best academy in Franklin High School's history. The classes consist of integrated Language Arts and Social Studies classes with special emphasis on project-based learning, the history of art and culture, and rigorous skills and content development. The Humanities program covers history through the lens of humanism starting in the Italian Renaissance and following through to modern times.

CREATE Academy

The CREATE Academy focuses on three subject: math, language arts, and woodshop. The approach is to relate these subjects to the different aspects of the building trades to prepare students for both university studies and work in the trades.

National recognition

Franklin won the National High School Mock Trial Championship in 2000 and again in 2018. It is one of only five schools in the country to have won the championship twice, and the only school to do so with more than a year between victories.[8]

Notable alumni

Athletics

Performing arts
  • Kenny G - Jazz musician, 25th-highest selling artist in America by the RIAA (as of 2003) and the 1994 recipient of a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition for "Forever in Love". He jokes that it was in Franklin that he had his first sax solo and his first kiss and it is hard to decide which was more important.[10]
  • Ari Glass - Painter
  • Amy Hill - Actress
  • John Keister - Comedian, writer, commentator and motivational speaker
  • Michael Leavitt (artist) - visual artist, sculptor and toy designer.
  • Dave Lewis - Key figure in the creation of the Northwest sound in the rock'n'roll years; popularized Louie Louie and played a key role in desegregating the Seattle music scene.
  • Keye Luke[11] - Actor known for playing Lee Chan in the Charlie Chan films, the original Kato in the 1939-1941 The Green Hornet film serials, and Master Po in the television series Kung Fu.
  • Mark Morris - Modern American dancer, choreographer and director, founder of the Mark Morris Dance Group; Director of Dance at Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Belgium's national opera house; co-founder of the White Oak Dance Project. A Fellow of the MacArthur Foundation (1991), 2010 recipient of the Leonard Bernstein Lifetime Achievement Award for the Elevation of Music in Society, recipient of eleven honorary doctorates.

Others
Larry Gossett addressing a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day rally at the Franklin High School gymnasium (2006).

See also

References
  1. "Search for Public Schools - Franklin High School (530771001168)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  2. School athletics webpage, retrieved 2012-04-09
  3. Seattle Schools historybook Archived 2012-03-24 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Landmarks List". cityofseattle.net. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. Bassetti Architects, Franklin High School Archived 2010-09-17 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "About Franklin". Franklin High School. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  7. School Academies webpage, retrieved 2012-04-09
  8. Morton, Neal. "Seattle’s Franklin High claims top honor in national mock-trial competition", The Seattle Times, May 16, 2018.
  9. "Fritz Greenlee". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  10. FHS Alumni Association Archived 2014-06-22 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2014-06-16
  11. Flint, Peter B. (January 16, 1991). "Keye Luke, Actor, Is Dead at 86; 'No. 1 Son' and 'Kung Fu' Master". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
  12. Alan J. Stein, College and high school students sit-in at Seattle's Franklin High on March 29, 1968, HistoryLink, June 14, 1999. Accessed online 27 April 2008.
  13. "A DISTINGUISHED COLLECTION OF FRANKLIN ALUMNI". The Seattle Times. March 29, 1987. p. K2.
  14. "UTPhysicsHistorySite". web2.ph.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
  15. Bell Masayuki Shimada (1922-1958), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Accessed January 4, 2017. "Born in Seattle, WA of Japanese immigrant parents, Bell Shimada excelled as a student at mathematics and science and graduated from Franklin High School in June 1939."
  16. Mcomber, J. Martin. "He's Seattle's `Law-And-Order Guy' -- Sidran Is OK With Being Hailed As Hero, Condemned As Heartless", The Seattle Times, July 30, 1999. Accessed January 4, 2017. "That's not far off the mark: Sidran was senior class president at Franklin High School in 1969."
  17. Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl. Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects, Second Edition, p. 302. University of Washington Press, 2017. ISBN 9780295806891. Accessed January 4, 2017. "Victor Eugene Steinbrueck (1911-1985) was born December 15, 1911, in Mandan, North Dakota, and moved with his family to Seattle in 1913. He grew up in Seattle and graduated from Franklin High School."
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