North Mpls. School Sees Success With Diverse Staff, STEAM Structure
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A new middle school in north Minneapolis promoted its first 8th graders to high school.
Franklin Middle School opened this past year with hundreds of students from eight different schools.
Franklin has a new look, a new mascot and a new school song. Most importantly, it has a new way of teaching students to be the best they can be.
On Tuesday, Franklin Middle School 8th-graders were called to the stage one-by-one to be promoted to high school.
It was the first time in nearly 10 years that students walked the auditorium stage.
Principal Karon Cunningham had the task of building Franklin from scratch.
"We have the most diverse staff in the district," she said. "I have 19 licensed staff of color."
Cunningham handpicked her staff -- a staff she calls the best she's had as a principal for Minneapolis Public Schools.
"I wanted to make sure that I hired a staff that really were committed to the work and really committed to our students, but would also understand that it would be a challenge," Cunningham said.
Franklin sits in a part of north Minneapolis plagued with crime.
While 96 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, the student test scores are among the best in the district.
"Students had the opportunity to identify what type of classes that they wanted to take, and with that I gave them the framework of us being a STEAM school," Cunningham said.
Franklin students can now focus on science, technology, engineering, arts and math courses -- something parents say has made a difference for their children.
"It's just amazing to see her, you know, transition into such a beautiful young lady," parent Aquella Williams said. "She made honor roll."
She says teachers and staff at Franklin have made it possible for her daughter Jakiah to focus on her future.
"Compared to where she came from and where she is now, it's helped her," Williams said. "As far as academics...she never liked to read, she was the type to stay in her room, and Franklin has brung her out."
Cunningham is one of the principals from Minneapolis who have been selected to be part of President Barack Obama's My Brother's Keeper Initiative, one that focuses on mentoring young people.
