Franklin High School (Portland, Oregon)

Franklin High School (FHS, formally Benjamin Franklin High School) is a public high school in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is located in central southeast Portland in the South Tabor neighborhood. It is the largest high school in the Portland Public School District. Its attendance boundary is expansive, with six middle schools feeding into it[5] and covering the neighborhoods of Southeast Portland, Mt. Tabor, Lents, and Belmont.[6]

Benjamin Franklin High School
Address
Map
5405 SE Woodward Street

,
97206

United States
Coordinates45°30′08″N 122°36′25″W / 45.502136°N 122.606896°W / 45.502136; -122.606896
Information
TypePublic
Opened1914
School districtPortland Public Schools
PrincipalZulema Naegele[1]
Number of students1,966
Color(s)Maroon and grey   [2]
Athletics conferenceOSAA Portland Interscholastic League 6A-1[2]
MascotLightning[3][2]
RivalCleveland High School[4]
NewspaperThe Franklin Post
Feeder schools
  • Bridger School
  • Harrison Park Middle School
  • Hosford Middle School
  • Kellogg Middle School
  • Lane Middle School
  • Mt. Tabor Middle School
  • Sunnyside School
Websitewww.pps.net/Domain/116
Franklin High School, main south entry in 2021
Franklin High School, athletic wing from the north portico in 2021
Franklin High School, performing arts wing in 2021
Franklin High School, new library in former auditorium

History

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Founded in 1914, Franklin is Portland's fourth high school. The city's high schools were filled to capacity at the time, and the population in southeast Portland was rapidly growing. It was initially founded in part of the Creston Elementary School, with nine instructors and 115 students in the spring 1914 semester.[7] The current building, designed by Floyd Naramore,[8] opened in September 1917.[9]

In 1942, a statue of Benjamin Franklin, after whom the school was named, was installed outside of Franklin High School.

Due to the baby boom and the passing of a $25 million building levy by the school district in 1947, a new addition for arts, industrial arts, and home economics departments was slated.[9]

In October 2010 the school decided to discontinue its competitive robotics team due to the lack of any school official sanctioning the team, allegedly by locking the team out of their workspace without access to their tools, or the more than $7000 the team had raised to sustain the program. The team had been a part of the school for seven years.[10]

Between 2015 and 2017, the school was modernized and expanded, with funding from a $482 million bond measure in 2012. The modernization included a new arts center, a new gym, biomedical, and culinary arts building, seismic retrofitting, and a new entrance.[11]

Student profile

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In the 2017–2018 school year, Franklin's student population was 48.9% White, 20.5% Hispanic, 16.4% Asian, 5.6% African American, 0.6% Pacific Islander, 0.6% Native American, and 7.4% mixed race.[12]

In 2008, 80% of the school's seniors received a high school diploma. Of 354 students, 282 graduated, 52 dropped out, five received a modified diploma, and 15 were still in high school the following year.[13][14] In 2009, 31% of the students were transfers into the school.[15]

Notable alumni

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References

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  1. ^ "Announcing the New Principal of Franklin High School, Dr. Zulema Naegele" (PDF). Portland Public Schools. July 2023. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Franklin High School". Oregon School Activities Association. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  3. ^ "Franklin High School's new mascot will be Lightning after Board approves selection". PPS. June 12, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  4. ^ "Franklin qualifies for playoffs with flawed win over rival Cleveland". OregonLive. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  5. ^ "School Progression Patterns, Cleveland and Franklin HS" (PDF).
  6. ^ "School Finder". pdxschools.maps.arcgis.com. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  7. ^ "Franklin to Be First High School with Parent-Teacher Association". The Sunday Oregonian. June 14, 1914. Sec. 3, p. 5.
  8. ^ Ritz, Richard Ellison (2002). "Naramore, Floyd". Architects of Oregon: A Biographical Dictionary of Architects Deceased – 19th and 20th Centuries. Portland, Oregon: Lair Hill Publishing. pp. 293–294. ISBN 0-9726200-2-8.
  9. ^ a b Polich, Edward L. (1950). A history of Portland's secondary school system with emphasis on the superintendents and the curriculum (PDF) (M.A.). University of Portland. pp. 80, 160. OCLC 232551057.
  10. ^ "Franklin High banishes its robotics club; may keep its cash". thebeenews.com. Archived from the original on November 29, 2010.
  11. ^ "Franklin Modernization" (PDF). Portland Public Schools. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  12. ^ "School Profiles & Enrollment Data 2017–2018" (PDF). Portland Public Schools. p. 199. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  13. ^ "State releases high school graduation rates". The Oregonian. June 30, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
  14. ^ "Oregon dropout rates for 2008". The Oregonian. June 30, 2009. Archived from the original on September 16, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
  15. ^ Melton, Kimberly (February 4, 2010). "How many transfer, and where do they go?". The Oregonian. Retrieved February 12, 2010.
  16. ^ Wood, Carlyle (1956). TV Personalities: Biographical Sketch Book. Vol. 2. TV Personalities. p. 152.
  17. ^ "Oregon Stater". correction to previous article. Oregon State University Alumni Association. July 2002. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2010. Correction: An article about Douglas Engelbart in the April 2002 issue of the Stater incorrectly stated that Engelbart grew up near Salem. He grew up in southeast Portland and attended Franklin High School.
  18. ^ "Reception ball planned for Miss Oregon". The Oregonian. August 6, 1987. p. B03.
  19. ^ "Rep. Gilliam, diagnosed with ALS in 2015, resigns from House". Portland Tribune. January 30, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  20. ^ "Oregon Secretary of State: Candidate Information". Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  21. ^ "Howard Hobson; Basketball Pioneer And Coach Was 87". Obituary. The New York Times. June 10, 1991. Retrieved November 29, 2010. Mr. Hobson, who was born in Portland, began his basketball career as a player at Franklin High School.
  22. ^ "Meet Blazers Broadcaster Steve Jones". Portland Trail Blazers. Retrieved November 29, 2010. One of the most respected and watched NBA analysts, Steve "Snapper" Jones returns for a 21st year as courtside analyst for Blazers games on KGW-TV 8 and Fox Sports Net ... ones is a Portland native who led Franklin High School to the state basketball championship in 1959.
  23. ^ "Legedu Naanee". biographical and statistical sketch. National Football League. 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2010. High School: Franklin HS [Portland, OR]
  24. ^ Libby, Brian (January 14, 2011). "Manila Mata Hari". Portland Monthly. In a Franklin High School photo, young Claire looks out from beneath a tangle of youthful curls with a half-smile and a subtly mischievous gleam in her eye.
  25. ^ "Mother, Daughter Prove Themselves 'Off The Rez'". NPR. May 14, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  26. ^ "Memorial Service Honors Pearl Harbor Raid Victim". The Oregonian. December 22, 1941.
  27. ^ "Richard Unis, former Oregon Supreme Court justice, 'ideal' trial judge, dead at 87". OregonLive. February 20, 2016. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  28. ^ Basalyga, Stephanie (November 14, 2000). "Architect shaped Pacific Northwest style • Daily Journal of Commerce". Daily Journal of Commerce. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
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