Franklin At Alma Elementary

I had my girls at a different Mesa Public School and my youngest daughter was struggling extremely hard. It made no sense because she's SUPER smart. When I realized that the school had no structure, no leadership and the kids had pretty much taken over. I was told by the principal that this is how all third grade classrooms are and a few choice words that I'll not embarrass her by posting. When I visited Franklin at Alma and started the enrollment process, I was impressed to sit in the classrooms and see that there was respect, kindness, LEARNING, and appropriate expectations set that the students understood and obeyed. Once my kids started school EVERYTHING turned around. My youngest (who I held back to second grade due to the lack of education she was getting and her maturity level and the fact that Franklin has advanced learning) THRIVED. She went from so so grades and low marks in behavior to ALMOST straight As and a teacher that raved about her behavior and how she's become more sweet and interactive since they started. (I cried when I heard this at the parent teacher conference) My oldest had culture shock. She was a straight A student at her previous school but didn't really have to devote herself and wasn't challenged. At Franklin (starting the middle of 5th grade) we both learned that the prior school was not preparing her for Jr. or High School. We worked with her teacher and got extra information/study guides, she did tutoring, and generally worked hard to get caught up. I realized my daughter had been sliding through school because she would do the basics at the old school when most weren't doing that. So I'm sincerely grateful to Franklin for holding the kids to a higher standard. In the first semester with Franklin my kids learned to REALLY study, learned that with hard work and perseverance that can do anything, learned that following structure in the classroom makes it easier for them to learn and in turn the rest of the class, they made amazing friends on the first day because Franklin is a transfer school, and finally enjoy learning in their classroom with their friends. I'm really grateful we found this school and my 2 year old will be attending Franklin at Alma when it's time for her to go to kindergarten!

I am forever grateful to Ms. Kelly and all teachers/staff. My 3 kids, now in 6th, 5th, and 1st, are all academically, well-rounded persons. There curriculum is an accelerated program but my kids are well-supported by teachers. They are so proud everytime they get a praise note from teachers, including from the principal, Ms Kelly. Communication with the teachers, again including Ms Kelly, is open and easy. You can easily bring concerns and issues to them without feeling intimidated. All the staff, including aids, knows the name of all students and shows that they truly care. You can see Ms Kelly busy roaming the campus with her walky-talky making sure everything is fine. I want to mention that the school has a 1 time fee per school year contribution of $20 to replace those fundraising programs, which in my opinion is very expensive. Parents are given the options of volunteer committees or to opt-out for those parents whose work schedule are tight. Lastly, I want to share that my eldest, 6th grader, asked Ms Kelly if she could open middle school at Franklin at Alma... that's how my kids genuinely love that school. Oh by the way, I found this school at greatschools.org :) So thank you also. I now want to pay this forward and hopefully parents looking for an elementary school in this area would find this helpful.

Great education. Superior curriculum. Excellent communication between teacher, principal and parent. My kids are excelling. I would not send them anywhere else. The principal is the best.

I wish I could give an honest review but terms of service forbids "slander" aka saying anything negative about the school and/or it's staff. So this apparently isn't a site that will give a full perspective of schools. However, surely I can at least say my daughter was at this school for nearly two years and I don't recommend it to anyone. Children and parents are treated horribly.