Franklin El School

My wife and I are both former teachers, and we have done extensive research on schools in the Pittsburgh area. Franklin Elementary School has been rated the number one elementary school the past two years for several reasons (Great Schools results are outdated with 2016 data; check Niche.com for better data and analysis). The faculty is second to none, the principal is the best in the district with a great administrative and support staff, and the community has been very positively engaged in the development of the students and the school as a whole. We moved to Pittsburgh from cities where we had previously been in private schools, and we have found Franklin to outperform all of those private schools! Great for housing value as well. As parents and former teachers, we highly recommend this school!

Our son transferred into the 5th grade mid-year and we found the office staff, teachers and students very welcoming. The academics were not as rigorous as at his previous school but they were still solid. I really liked how they had focus groups and the right amount of homework. Our son in particular really loved the social studies class. I think the biggest academic disappointments were that science is treated as more of an elective, and there was not a computer course. I also felt during standardize testing preparation that the test was too much the focus at times while other aspects were over shadowed. However, the teachers have high expectations and the children consistently meet and master these goals. It was obvious to me that the teachers he had definitely had a love for teaching and an in-depth understanding of children. Mrs. Penberthy in particular was always open to suggestions and would use anything she thought added value to her class. My son really enjoyed all three 5th grade teachers and took away something unique from each of them. We were not at the school for long, but I do think your child will definitely get a solid education in a friendly environment.

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