Insights from Director of Curriculum and Assessment Chris Barnes

Subject Selection 2026-27: Designing Your Pathway

We are excited to officially begin the Subject Selection process for the 2026-27 school year — one of the most important and empowering moments in each student’s academic journey.

This week, I had the privilege of sitting in on our AP Seminar (10th grade) and AP Research (11th grade) presentations — an experience that was both inspiring and affirming of the work our students are doing across the school.

What stood out most was not just the quality of the presentations, but how naturally students were engaging in a process we value deeply at Franklin: problem finding, problem framing, and problem solving.

Next week marks one of the most exciting and defining moments of the Franklin academic year: TD Week #3 — the culmination of everything students have explored throughout the year in Transdisciplinary Learning.

Building on the foundations of TD Week #1 (Problem Finding) and TD Week #2 (Problem Framing), TD Week #3 represents the moment where students truly step into their roles as independent thinkers, researchers, and innovators. It is here that our core Transdisciplinary Competencies — especially Agency and Adaptability — come fully to life.

At Franklin, learning does not stop at understanding the world — it extends to changing it.

These are the opening lines from one CAP 450 Group Project submission: 

“This project aims to explore the influence that insurance coverage structure has on access and admission to mental health rehabilitation services, and to identify leverage points that can help mitigate inequities in access to, and continuity of, treatment ...

At Franklin, learning is designed to extend far beyond textbooks. During TD Week #3, students will take the next major step in their journey as transdisciplinary problem solvers, leaving the classroom to investigate real-world issues across New York and New Jersey. They’ll turn the data they find into insight, and share their observations through a Gallery Style Pitch Session.

Over the past several weeks, students have been developing problem statements centered on the theme of Power, Politics, and Policy.