Technology & Innovation

We are committed to ensuring that students receive an education that prepares them to succeed in our rapidly changing world and encourages them to effect positive change through technology and innovation.

We are a one-to-one laptop school, and place a heavy emphasis on using technology as a tool for invention and exploration. Students will take courses and work on projects where they will learn computer programming, digital design and fabrication, robotics, physical computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Technology is also integrated into the classroom via design and engineering challenges, augmented and virtual reality, game design, app and web design, and more. In our Makerspace and Franklin Student Ventures — our  incubator program — students can apply these skills to projects that reflect their interests and support their passions.

A School Grounded in Design Thinking

Students focus on solving problems and acquiring knowledge in tangible ways at Franklin. Through the Design Thinking cycle — including stages of inquiry and empathy, idea development, creation, and evaluation — they apply their skills toward practical challenges in a variety of disciplines. It's through this process that students will take risks and learn a host of innovation skills, simultaneously gaining flexibility and resilience, enabling them to meet whatever challenges they may face in our ever-changing world.

Our Makerspace

The Design Thinking cycle takes shape in our impressive Makerspace, where students apply what they learn using their own ideas to explore, build, tinker, and make things that are not only beautifully designed, but also envisioned with a purpose to help others — to provide creative solutions to everyday problems. Students, who take a suite of mandatory design and technology courses, enter our Makerspace with the mindset of a designer, and through a host of materials, digital fabrication tools, 3D printers, laser cutters, vinyl cutters — and tried-and-true pen and paper — they take hands-on and project-based learning to exciting new heights.

The Franklin Incubator: Student Ventures

All Franklin students are encouraged to immerse themselves in a one-of-a-kind learning experience designed to foster innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership skills: Franklin Student Ventures.

Through a series of micro-courses, students receive support and the time to imagine, pitch, launch, and develop their own passion project — ranging from new products, businesses, and services, to nonprofits and civic organizations — from start to finish. Participants in Franklin Student Ventures conceive of an idea, test, and improve upon it by moving through the Incubator’s proven processes, and will receive the support that they need to ultimately bring their vision to fruition. Along the way, they may face challenges or discover that they have to rethink, pivot, and go in a new direction, building adaptability and resilience, which will help them throughout life.

These incubator projects are as unique as the students who develop them, born from their passions  and issues they care about or impact them personally. While working on these projects, students will hone their problem-solving, effective presentation, and confident public speaking skills. Franklin is proud to be on the forefront of education by offering this unique experience — a testament to our deeply held beliefs about the power of young people to bring about change and drive progress.