Why Schools Need to Change

Franklin Middle School Is Getting Brave

1 Day

25 Franklin Middle School Community Members

9 Classroom Walkthroughs

4 Focus Groups

Earlier this month, our team, representing Franklin Middle School in Franklin, New Hampshire, launched a year-long effort to Bravely look for and try out opportunities to transform learning in our middle school. That launch took the shape of a Community Visit. We know we need to ground all of our work within our community and make sure we hear from students, parents, teachers, and others who care about our youth and our schools and our city. That’s why our very first step was to spend a day listening to our community and looking for the bright spots that we know make Franklin Middle School special.

Our team has drafted a Brave Question to guide our work with NGLC’s Bravely:

How can we get the Middle School community to care about the Portrait of a Graduate so that they will want to live it and achieve its outcomes?

Here is some of the feedback we got about the school culture, teaching and learning, and what might need to change, followed by our own reflections about what we saw, heard, and learned.

Quotes from the Franklin Middle School Community

on the Portrait of a Graduate… 

“I’ll say what I like about it. It gives kids the opportunity to learn and earn credits in a different way. I think kids respond well to that and it works well for the type of students we have. I also think it's morale, bringing teachers and community together. And I've seen that change at the high school. I have seen what it was four years ago and I am going to be honest with you, I wasn’t about it, but I’ve seen it kinda go from here to there and I see the progress.”

on their involvement in projects in the district and what works…

“A current project we are working on is putting in an inclusive playground. It’s been a ride, but I'm happy to announce that next week we are getting our first piece. We purchased a gaga pit and so that will be the first piece…. Our group is now closer to 20 members and that momentum is helping to push things forward. I didn’t seek out this private investor, they sought us out. The community has seen things getting done, so it's helped with the momentum.”

Watch a reel of quotes from our community!

Our Community Visit Takeaways

“The highlight of the day involved the innocent and introspective comments of fifth grade students. The fifth grader who articulated ‘kindness swirls around the [Franklin Middle School] building’ warmed my heart and brought so much joy to the morning. I often reflect at the close of a particularly hard day, ‘did I do what was best for children?’ The answer is usually ‘yes,’ but, having a student reflect back the kindness I try so hard to share and instill the need for in all of the adults in the building, come from the mouth of a child so precious. My hope is for all students to feel that way...every day.”

“It was such a joy to be able to hear the insights and thoughts of parents, students, and teachers on our Brave Question. We heard the good, the bad, and the ugly and it really made for stimulating conversation once we compared notes. I feel inspired and motivated to begin this process in Franklin Middle School and am so hopeful that we will be able to create sustainable, meaningful progress in the quality of our school district.”

“I'm excited to be working with the Bravely Team in a way that will allow us to bring large scale changes to our school. We were able to talk with students and get some unique perspectives about what they like about the school and what they would like to see moving forward. It was great to be able to sit down and brainstorm with coworkers from different places in the community.”

“Including community, staff, and students in this project will be crucial to its success. After experiencing FMS through a different lens, I have a better idea of the Portrait of a Graduate attributes that are already being practiced. I am looking forward to watching this team develop an answer to our Brave Question.”

“Classroom walkthroughs combined with focus groups and high quality, intentionally designed questions and data collection processes enabled us to gather a lot of information in a relatively short amount of time. Time is probably the most precious resource, and the day proved how when used wisely, we can get a lot accomplished including deep conversations to transform our thinking. Following up is equally important. Thank you notes to all participants, reaching out to parents of student participants, and reporting out our learning to the community was a part of the plan as well.”

“Working with Franklin Middle School and the Bravely Team has been inspiring. Engaging with community members, participating in focus walks, meeting with teachers and being involved in group activities showed me that we’re on the right path toward bringing the Portrait of a Graduate to life and answering our Bravely question. The day was filled with moments of optimism and insight, reminding me that we’re making real progress toward our goals. This is just the beginning, and I am excited for what's ahead!”

Graphic at top of Franklin Schools Portrait of a Graduate courtesy of Franklin Schools SAU #18.