BFCCPS hold Groundbreaking Ceremony - June 27

The Benjamin Franklin Educational Foundation on behalf of the Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School (BFCCPS) is pleased to announce that construction has begun in preparation for the school’s upcoming move to 500 Financial Park Drive in Franklin.

The Foundation hosted a Groundbreaking Ceremony at the new site on the morning of June 27th. Special guests included Massachusetts State Representative Jeffrey Roy and Franklin Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting.

Donald Tappin, President of the Benjamin Franklin Educational Foundation greeted attendees to the ceremony stating “We are very excited for the Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School, after almost a quarter century as one of the best performing schools in the state, to finally have a home of its own. We look forward to having the capacity to bring our academic success and most importantly, the culture of character development and community service to even more students and their families. This project of ours has been a long-time in the making and would not have been possible without the steadfast commitment of many individuals.”

Massachusetts State Representative Jeffrey Roy presented the school with a special citation on behalf of the House of Representatives in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts offering the Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School a sincere congratulations in recognition of the next chapter in the school’s educational journey.

Head of School Heather Zolnowski closed the ceremony sharing “I am honored to be able to speak on behalf of the students, faculty, staff and parents of BFCCPS to thank everyone who worked so hard over the past 6 years to make this dream a reality. This is an exciting time in the history of the Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School. The new facility and grounds will provide the administration and faculty with the opportunity to enhance an already very successful academic program, provide a comfortable and safe environment for students, faculty and staff and secure the schools future for decades to come. Our expanded school facility will allow us to address our historically long waiting list for enrollment and welcome more students into our school community than ever before. These opportunities would not be possible without the collaboration, hard work and dedication of the people standing before us today.”

Following the ”turning of the soil” invited guests received a tour to highlight progress at the site. The building’s foundation has been poured, and steel delivery for the building’s frame has commenced. The new 72,000 square foot facility will open for the 2019-2020 school year. Event photography and aerial photography of the site are available here.

The Benjamin Franklin Educational Foundation secured funding for the new school primarily through a $24,550,000 tax-exempt bond issued by MassDevelopment and purchased by Citizens Bank with participation by HarborOne Bank, Websterfive Bank and Radius Bank. The bond financing was supplemented with a $2,000,000 loan provided by The Property and Casualty Initiative.

The Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School opened in 1995 and is one of the original 13 Charter Schools in the state of Massachusetts. Priority in the schools annual enrollment lottery is given first to siblings of current students, then to residents of Bellingham, Blackstone, Franklin, Holliston, Hopedale, Medway, Mendon, Milford, Millis, Milville, Norfolk, Plainville, Upton, Walpole, and Wrentham.

The educational program at BFCCPS offers a strategic partnership with parents, rigorous academic program, foreign language instruction, commitment to arts education, character education, and community service activities.

For the 2019-2020 academic year, BFCCPS will increase enrollment from 50 students to 92 students per grade in Grades Kindergarten through Grade Five resulting in a total of 290 new spaces. Applications for the 2019-2020 school year will go live on November 1, 2018.

Over the next ten years, enrollment will expand from the current cap of 450 students to a total of 900 students. Families that are interested in enrollment at BFCCPS can learn more at www.bfccps.org/about/enrollment and candidates for employment are encouraged to follow http://bfccps.org/about/employment for ongoing information.

BFCCPS hold Groundbreaking Ceremony - June 27

Farmers Market alternatives for this week

With the Franklin 4th of July Celebration beginning today, there will NOT be a Farmers Market on the Town Common. The Mass Grow web page has an interactive map to enable finding other markets near Franklin

https://massnrc.org/farmlocator/map.aspx

There are 15 places within 15 miles of Franklin with many of them on Saturday or Sunday. 

Farmers Market alternatives for this week

"upgrade gives our customers an additional, convenient way to pay fares"

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"Beginning this fall, all commuter-rail passengers will be able to pay their fares on-board with a credit or debit card, according to Keolis Commuter Services, the MBTA’s operating partner. 

In a press release, Keolis and MBTA officials said a new mobile point of sale (POS) system has been tested and refined since February, and over the next two months will be expanded to include all conductors. 

“This upgrade gives our customers an additional, convenient way to pay fares, and gives conductors another way to sell on-board tickets that is easier and simpler than using cash and counting change,” MBTA General Manager Luis Manuel Ramírez said in a prepared statement. “As we plan for the future of fare collection that is fully integrated across all modes, this new technology shows that we’ll continue to look for improvements under the existing system.”

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20180627/all-commuter-rail-trains-to-accept-on-board-credit-card-payments-this-fall

"upgrade gives our customers an additional, convenient way to pay fares"

In the News: Charter School breaks ground; active shooter drill for Franklin Police

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"From the day the Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School moved into the Archdiocese of Boston-owned St. Mary’s building on 201 Main St. in 1995, they did not expect to stay in that building forever.

“We are very tied to how many students we can have in that building,” said Heather Zolnowski, current head of school at BFCCPS. Zolnowski will be executive director of the school for the upcoming academic year. 

Wednesday’s groundbreaking ceremony at 500 Financial Park Drive signifies many years of hard work to expand the regional charter school in hopes that it can become a more flexible learning space that can accommodate more students."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20180627/benjamin-franklin-classical-charter-breaks-ground

screen capture of Charter School webpage

“Active shooter, Tri-County High School! White male, green jacket!” the voice boomed over the police radio on Wednesday morning. 

Adrenaline spiked. 

Franklin Police Officer Jack Flynn grabbed a rifle mounted between two seats, while I ran to the back of the cruiser and slipped on my body armor. We quickly advanced toward the building with weapons drawn, using the cruisers and a dumpster for cover. 

While one officer advanced, the other kept an eye out for the active shooter." 

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20180627/active-shooter-reporter-gets-inside-look-at-franklin-police-drill

Via the Twitterverse

Thank you @jessicamreyes @boston25 for joining us today! https://t.co/N2N8tKLHrx

— Franklin Police (@franklinpolice) June 28, 2018

.@franklinpolice active shooter training today at @TriCountyRVTSD see more photos and video read @ScottCaz first person account in @milforddaily @metrowestdaily pic.twitter.com/0jCOSj6Fkk

— Art Illman (@illmanMWphoto) June 27, 2018

Panther Magazine - Episode 2 (video)

Produced by Ms. Moreau's TV2 class, Spring 2018

MassBudget: Undercount of Massachusetts Children Could Affect Federally Funded Supports

KIDS COUNT 2018 Data Book released

June 27, 2018 Undercount of Massachusetts Children Could Affect Federally Funded Supports 2018 KIDS COUNT® Data Book shows how a 2020 census undercount could harm childhood health, education, economic well-being, and family stability. As the nation heads toward the 2020 census, new estimates show that 104,000 (29 percent) of the state's youngest children live in neighborhoods where the census has historically had difficulty achieving an accurate count. Counting all people in the state accurately plays an important role in determining federal funding for communities. While Massachusetts is ranked second in the nation on child well-being, according to the 2018 KIDS COUNT® Data Book released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, an undercount of Massachusetts children could adversely impact the programs and supports that have aided the state's progress and allowed children to thrive. MassBudget is the KIDS COUNT®  organization for Massachusetts. An undercount could affect the services that help the families make ends meet. In Fiscal Year 2015, the federal government supported Massachusetts children in a variety of ways, such as through $280.9 million for special education services, $146.9 for the Head Start program, and $76.3 million for affordable child care. The annual KIDS COUNT® Data Book uses 16 indicators to rank each state across four domains - health, education, economic well-being, and family and community - as an assessment of child well-being. Massachusetts ranks second overall. According to the Data Book, Massachusetts leads the nation in health measures, reading levels and mathematic achievement, but the share of children living in poverty is the same as it was in 2010 - 14 percent. Within each domain, Massachusetts ranks: 11th in economic well-being. The share of Massachusetts children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment decreased by 10 percent since 2010. Second in education. Massachusetts children remain first in mathematic achievement (with 50 percent of eighth-graders scoring at or above proficient level) and reading level (with 51 percent of fourth-graders scoring at or above proficient level). The number of 3- and 4-year olds attending school has stayed essentially the same since 2009-2011. First in health. The state remains first in the nation in ensuring children have health insurance and has seen a slight decrease since 2010 in the percent of babies born with a low birthweight. Ninth in family and community domain. The state has seen a 47 percent drop in teen birth rates since 2010, and has seen a slight decrease in the number of children living in high-poverty neighborhoods. In 2016, about 8 percent of children lived in high-poverty neighborhoods. Massachusetts' rankings on economic well-being and in the family and community domain indicate that raising the incomes of low- to middle-income families and improving employment opportunities remain important challenges for the Commonwealth. Getting an accurate scope of the challenges, however, requires an accurate census count. The 2018 KIDS COUNT® Data Book is available at www.aecf.org/databook, See also the Kids Count Data Center for national, state, and local data on hundreds of indicators of child well-being. Readers may also be interested in a discussion of policies affecting child well-being as well as state and local data in MassBudget's recent report Obstacles on the Road to Opportunity: Finding a Way Forward. The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts. MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER 15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700 BOSTON, MA 02108

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, 15 Court Square, Suite 700, Boston, MA 02108 Sent by nberger@massbudget.org in collaboration with Try it free today

Franklin 4th of July - Schedule of Events - 2018

The schedule of the 4th of July celebration for Franklin begins Friday, June 29 and runs through Wednesday, July 4, 2018.

View the full schedule or download a copy (PDF) here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ruYRILk6bmkiq32hDsndMPOiQSA6vJbL/view?usp=sharing

Visit the 4th of July website for updates  https://www.franklin4th.com/

Magic Maze set up on Town Common in 2017