Franklin Road Academy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Ideal: Scholars with Integrity and Balance | |
| Nickname | Big Blue |
| Head of School | Margaret "Sissy" Wade |
| School type | Private |
| Religious affiliation | Christian |
| Founded | 1971 |
| Location | Nashville, Tennessee United States |
| Campus surroundings | Suburban |
| School Colors | Blue and White |
| Mascot | Panther |
| Student Newspaper | Panther Tales |
Franklin Road Academy is a Pre-K-12 private, non-denominational Christian school located in Oak Hill, a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee, with approximately 1,000 students. It was established in 1971. Its Head of School is Margaret W. ("Sissy") Wade.
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[edit] History
[edit] Beginnings
In 1971, Franklin Road Academy was created in coordination with First Christian Church. In order to build the school, over $300,000 in mortgage bonds were sold to church members, parents, and the community at large.
With construction still ongoing, Bill Bradshaw, Head of Franklin Road Academy, tested students in the office of Howell Hardware Store on Twelfth Avenue. Soon after completion of the new building, students began classes on September 7, 1971.
The next school year, many more students applied for enrollment at FRA. In order to meet the demand, Sunday School rooms at a nearby church, First Presbyterian Church, were leased. Students were ferried between the two buildings, First Christian Church and First Presbyterian Church, in an old six door limousine.
In 1973, FRA added additional classrooms and Lower School library. This addition was built not only through monetary donations, but also through gifts in-kind, such as labor, materials, and "know how" (such as plumbing, brick laying, electrical, etc). In that same year, FRA also received approval from the Tennessee Department of Education and became accredited by the now non-existent Mid-South Association of Independent Schools.
In 1975, FRA decided to establish a high school. The first class of 9th graders were housed in a building known as the Burke House. The following year, additional land was purchased in order to construct a formal high school building. In the Fall of 1976, both 9th and 10th graders began in the new building despite the lack of a fully completed roof. Each year, an additional grade was added until, in 1979, a class of 40 12th graders graduated from Franklin Road Academy.[1]
[edit] The 1980's
In 1981, Bill Bradshaw retired and was replaced as Head of School by William L. Campbell.
On June 3, 1982, Franklin Road Academy became its own separate organization incorporated under the name Franklin Road Academy, Inc. Thereby achieving its goal to become an independent, non-denominational, Christian , co-educational, college-preparatory school. Following its incorporation, FRA received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
In 1983, an anonymous donor provided funds to add a second floor to the high school for the creation of a middle school. Four years later, FRA raised $3 million through a capital campaign for the construction of a separate lower school (conventionally known as an elementary school). In 1988, the new lower school was dedicated as Danner Hall.[2]
[edit] The 1990's
In 1994, the George A. Volkert Athletic Complex was completed. Referred to as "The Hill" by students and faculty, the complex houses a Football stadium, Baseball stadium, Tennis courts, a track, and a Softball field.
During the 1990s FRA's middle school partnered with IBM to give students laptop computers. This was a ground breaking project, as laptops were relatively new at the time, and were very rarely used outside of the business sector. However, the project became a burden on IBM and the school, so it was ended several years later.
In 1999, FRA completed a $7 million middle school and fine arts building. The 3 story building houses approximately 300 students grades 5th through 8th in one building. The same building also features a state-of-the-art theatre as well as 2 art rooms, a drama room, a band room, a choir room, 4 practice rooms with pianos, and a dance studio.[3]
[edit] The 2000's
In order to bolster its image as a diverse school, Franklin Road Academy decided in 2000 to change the school mascot to a Panther. Its previous mascot, the Rebels, was decided to be politically incorrect and insensitive to African-Americans due to its connotations to the Civil War and slavery. Although many students initially disliked the change, the panther has become accepted by the majority of students.
In 2001 in an effort to create a friendly rivalry among students, FRA instituted a high school-wide competition dubbed Alpha-Omega whereby the high school students were split into two teams, the Alphas and the Omegas. The two teams compete in a year long competition with events ranging from Basketball and Powderpuff Football to Lip-Sync and Homecoming skits. Points are awarded to the wining team for each event. The year-end competition, called May Day, is an all day event with Soccer, Ultimate Frisbee, Three-Legged races, and many other games. The event culminates in the awarding of the trophy to team with the most points. Currently, the Alphas are the reigning champions.[4]
Starting in 2005, Franklin Road Academy began an unprecedented roll out of Tablet PCs to every high school student. The tablets, which are purchased by the students, allow for classes such as Math, Science, English, and Music (Band and Choir) to conduct classes with greater ease.
Ed Zabarowski says his Advanced Placement Calculus class finished its curriculum weeks ahead of schedule because of the computers, giving him more time to review for the Advanced Placement exam.
"When you can expose (students) to material much quicker because you have better access to it and can get immediate feedback, you can take them much further than if you're using a paper and pencil and textbook," he says.
...For example, students in Zabarowski's class don't fall behind if they miss a day of school, because the class' Web site has links to the downloadable homework, worksheets and lesson explanations from that day. [1]
In Fall of 2006 FRA expanded its Tablet PC Program to include 7th and 8th graders as well.
[edit] Campus Expansion
In January 2006, FRA broke ground on its new South campus expansion. The expansion was made possible through the unexpected purchase of the First Christian Church property. The purchase of the land increased FRA's campus to a total of 55 acres.[2]
The plan for the property was to construct a Math and Science building with state-of-the-art science labs and classrooms, a new Library and Technology center, the renovation of the original high school, and the renovation of the classrooms in the First Christian Church building. The plan separates the 5 major disciplines (English, History, Math, Science, and Foreign Language) into three separate buildings. The English and History departments are housed in the Humanities Building (the original high school). The Math and Science departments are housed in the aforementioned Math and Science Building. The Foreign Language department is housed in the South Campus building (the First Christian Church building). These three buildings, along with the Library and Technology center open onto a central "quad" (short for quadrangle).
The total cost of the expansion, including the purchase of the First Christian Church property, is approximately $12 million.[3]
[edit] Technology Upgrade
The renovation and expansion of the high school facilities allowed FRA to dramatically upgrade its technological capabilities. With the expansion came campus-wide Wi-Fi, an intercom system in the high school, the implementation of a campus-wide VoIP system, networked projectors in every room, and keypad enabled exterior doors for greater security. [4]
The Wi-Fi expansion, which had already been implemented in both the high school and middle school buildings, expanded connection to the lower school and outdoor areas such as the new quad and the cafeteria patio.
The intercom system was a necessary addition since the high school hadn't been updated since its original completion in 1975. The beginning and end of classes were marked by the ringing of an actual bell and not electronic buzzers as were available in the lower and middle schools. The new high school system allows for quick, efficient communication between administrators, faculty, and students on a day to day basis, and in the event of an emergency.
The networked projectors allowed for every teacher to have a projector in their room, as well as eliminate the need for televisions carts that were wheeled to classrooms as needed, since each room is equipped with DVD and VCR players connected to the the projectors. Teachers are able to wirelessly connect to the projector in order to display notes, PowerPoints, or anything else to the entire class.
The keypad-enabled exterior doors provide greater security by limiting the avenues of access to the buildings for visitors. The doors are accessible by students and faculty alike through the use of special codes entered into the keypads. Doors that are not secured with keypads remain locked at all times however.
[edit] Trivia
- Moving the books into the new Library and Technology Center, took a total of 4 days and the involvement of approximately 600 students. [5]
- Country Music star Alan Jackson donated his 2005 Ford GT for a raffle to raise money for the new high school.
- Students began class in the original high school building in 1973 without a fully finished roof.
- The classrooms now housing all Foreign Language classes ironically used to house FRA students over 30 years ago before FRA moved to a new campus.
- Cal Turner, Jr. former CEO of Dollar General Corporation, has become one of FRA' largest contributors, having the middle school, Turner Hall, named after him, as well as the new South Campus.
- 32,000 feet of networking cable was used in the renovation/expansion of the high school. [6]
[edit] Important Links
Franklin Road Academy Official Website
Panther Tales: FRA Student Newspaper
Greatschools.net review of FRA
