The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
By John Felix.
Friday, June 16th 2017 was a bitter-sweet day for me and my family!
The day was a culmination of 12 years of active engagement with the Franklin Township schools, and particularly during the past four years as a parent of a Franklin High School student. Like many families, FHS was a place of reckoning for my daughter. Her educational pursuit represented of an era of maturation, intellectual curiosity, social growth and transformation and the genesis of meaningful friendship.
Throughout her high school career, many adults other than her parents contributed to her learning experience. Her incredible teachers, guidance counselors and administrators played a significant role in the well-rounded and successfully education she received at FHS. I’m indebted to these educators for being collaborative partners with me in providing and sustaining a nurturing and educationally rich environment at FHS during the past four years.
PTSO leadership parents, by their tireless advocacy for students, parents and teachers, also contributed mightily to my daughter’s (and other students’) success FHS. Specifically, Mrs. Linda Darby, who had a long and productive involvement with our public schools, has always been a consistent and strong supporter to all students and has successfully advocated for appropriate resources to ensure academic growth. Her contributions and advocacy have yielded positive results, and it can be argued these outcomes have established a basis for the successes of the class of 2017. Mrs. Darby has also organized yearly teacher appreciation breakfasts during ‘Teacher Appreciation Week’ and has raised thousands of dollars during her 12-year involvement with PTOs/PTSOs. I, like many other parents, owe her gratitude and apperception for her volunteerism and leadership. On behalf of my family and countless others, thank you Linda!
Although my daughter arrived at FHS was a strong sense of worth and was keenly aware of taking partial ownership of her education, her freshman teachers reinforced her interest in learning and her desire to attain academic excellence. They did not settle for mediocrity; instead, they demanded in her, as they did for other students, consistency in maintaining strong academic growth. Likewise, the Freshman advisor, Mr. Frank Chimel, adequately complemented the classroom work by strongly encouraging his students to get involved with after-school activities of their interest. His efforts prompted my daughter to start a cooking club which was advised by her Child Development teacher, Mr. Letinski, who is a licensed nutritionist. The cooking club was one of many clubs which was initiated by students under the guidance, support and encouragement of Mr. Chimel. Thanks Frank for your innovation, leadership and genuine interest in having our children succeed. The acknowledgment of your contributions by the class of 2017 during Friday’s Graduation ceremonies demonstrated your appreciative services to them and their parents.
Like Mr. Chimel, Ms. Dana Karas and her guidance counselors epitomized dedication and commitment to students and parents. This past year, parents of seniors were inundated with daily emails about scholarship opportunities and college related information via Naviance. We appreciated these notifications since our teen-aged children are not always forthcoming with pertinent information. My sincerest wish is that that Mrs. Karas and her team are given support and adequate resources from central office administrators and the BOE to find ways of reaching ALL FHS families, and to do so as early possible in the career of all high schoolers.
In addition to the teaching staff, vice principals and guidance counselors, the important roles of Deans, the Child Study Team, Coordinators & Specialists and Campus Security also contributed to the collective success of the class of 2017. I’m grateful to entire FHS staff for providing a safe, nurturing and learning environment for my daughter and her class mates during the past four years.
Thank you, and please continue to stay focus on educating the future graduating classes and leaders of our community, state and country.
Publication of this letter was delayed due to technical difficulties.
