Benjamin Franklin High School is a

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

and a magnet high school in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, United States. Commonly nicknamed "Franklin" or "Ben Franklin", the school was founded in 1957 as a school for

gifted Intellectual giftedness is an intellectual ability significantly higher than average and is also known as high potential. It is a characteristic of children, variously defined, that motivates differences in school programming. It is thought to pe ...

children. Ben Franklin is consistently named the No. 1 school in the state of Louisiana and has been ranked by ''U.S. News & World Report'' as the No. 15 charter school in the nation. In 1990, it moved to its current location on the campus of the

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a Public university, public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. First opened in 1958 as Louisiana State University in New Orleans, it is the largest public university and one of t ...

(UNO) in the Lake Terrace/Lake Oaks neighborhood of

Orleans Parish Orleans Parish (; ) is a parish of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Since 1870, the parish has been coextensive with the city of New Orleans, and the parish and city are largely governed as a single consolidated city. History On April 10, 180 ...

, near

Lake Pontchartrain Lake Pontchartrain ( ; ) is an estuary located in southeastern Louisiana in the United States. It covers an area of with an average depth of . Some shipping channels are kept deeper through dredging. It is roughly oval in shape, about from w ...

. The school was damaged by several feet of flood water due to

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

in the fall of 2005, and efforts to reopen the school were covered by nationwide news agencies. The school is part of the

Orleans Parish School Board The Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB), branded as NOLA Public Schools, governs the public school system that serves New Orleans, Louisiana. It includes the entirety of Orleans Parish, coterminous with the city of New Orleans. In the 2024-25 ...

(OPSB), yet it operates as a charter school and is not administered directly by the agency. Ben Franklin has a selective admissions process, and according to

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...

is a "magnet for the city's smart and motivated students." Andrew Vanacore of ''

The Times Picayune ''The Times-Picayune , The New Orleans Advocate'' (commonly called ''The Times-Picayune'' or the ''T-P'') is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ancestral publications of other names date back to January 25, 1837. The cu ...

'' wrote in 2013 that Franklin was "top-notch". It has been named a

Blue Ribbon School The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

five times by the

U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a United States Cabinet, cabinet-level department of the federal government of the United States, United States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, havin ...

, and was ranked 16 on the 2009 "America's Best High Schools" list by '' U.S. News & World Report''. The class of 2008 produced 17 National Achievement Semifinalists, the most of any school in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 2021, ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranked the school as the best public high school in Louisiana and the 64th best in the United States. Ben Franklin is a member of the

Louisiana High School Athletic Association The Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) is the agency that regulates and promotes the interscholastic athletic competitions of all high schools in the state of Louisiana. Organization LHSAA was founded in Baton Rouge, Louisiana i ...

and offers a variety of sports programs. Extracurricular activities are also offered in the form of performing arts, school publications, and clubs. Notable alumni of the school include

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, and music instructor, who is currently the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has been active in promoting classical and jazz music, often to young ...

, a

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

winning

trumpeter The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

, actor

Wendell Pierce Wendell Edward Pierce (born December 8, 1962) is an American actor and businessman. Having trained at Juilliard School, Pierce rose to prominence as a character actor of stage and screen. He first Breakthrough role, gained recognition portraying ...

, and

Cedric Richmond Cedric Levan Richmond (born September 13, 1973) is an American attorney, politician, and political advisor who is serving as senior advisor to the Democratic National Committee. Richmond was previously a senior advisor to the president and direct ...

, former

congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

and Senior Advisor to U.S. President Joe Biden.

History

Benjamin Franklin High School opened as a school for

children in 1957 under the direction of School Superintendent James F. Redmond and Principal Naomi Gardberg. At the time, schools under the

were segregated. In 1960, Judge J. Skelly Wright of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana ordered the desegregation of New Orleans schools in ''Bush v. Orleans Parish School Board''. In response to the order, 2,000 youths surged through New Orleans streets in demonstrations against school integration on November 16, 1960. Only eight Franklin students were absent from class. A ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine article later stated that Redmond's "proudest memory of the first day of integration three weeks ago, when truancy was rife, is that 'my Franklin kids stuck with it.'" From its inception, Franklin was designed to be a public school for gifted students, and admissions requirements included having a 120 IQ. Following an appeal of ''Bush v. Orleans Parish School Board'', the

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is one of the 13 United States courts of appeals. It has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * ...

stated in 1962 that Franklin was "one of the finest schools in the country for superior students" and suggested that African American students who met the school's exacting admissions requirements be admitted. Under pressure from federal courts, Franklin became the first public high school in New Orleans to desegregate in 1963. For over 30 years the school was housed in the historic

Carrollton Courthouse The Carrollton Courthouse (also Carrollton Court House) is a historic building in the Carrollton neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States. Built in 1855, it originally served as a courthouse before being utilized by several ...

Carrollton Avenue Carrollton Avenue is a major thoroughfare stretching across the Uptown/ Carrollton and Mid-City districts of New Orleans. South Carrollton Avenue runs from St. Charles Avenue in the Riverbend in a northeast ''lake-bound'' direction through ...

Uptown New Orleans Uptown is a section of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, on the east bank of the Mississippi River, encompassing a number of neighborhoods (including the similarly named and smaller Uptown area) between the French Quarter and the Jeffer ...

. Built in 1855, the building had served as the

Jefferson Parish Jefferson Parish () is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 440,781. Its parish seat is Gretna, its largest community is Metairie, and its largest incorporated city is Kenner. Jefferson Parish i ...

Courthouse until the City of Carrollton was incorporated into New Orleans. By 1987, the building had fallen into disrepair and lacked basic air conditioning. Despite these conditions, Franklin maintained a reputation as a place of academic excellence. In the late 1980s, the Orleans Parish School Board leased land from the

(UNO) and built a larger and more modern campus for Ben Franklin. Ben Franklin moved to this current Lake Terrace/Lake Oaks campus during the 1989–1990 school year. The building was designed by the team of E. Eean McNaughton Architects, Billes Manning Architects, and Perez Architects and received an honor award from the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

Gulf States Region in 1994. Visitors to the school included President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

, who spoke with Franklin students on April 30, 1993 about his plans to create a National Service Initiative. Ben Franklin is located near the

London Avenue Canal The London Avenue Canal is a drainage canal in New Orleans, Louisiana, used for pumping rain water into Lake Pontchartrain. The canal runs through the 7th Ward of New Orleans from the Gentilly area to the Lakefront. It is one of the three main dra ...

. Like most other UNO buildings and New Orleans public schools, Ben Franklin was damaged by several feet of flood water due to

. The school was closed before the storm hit on August 29, 2005, and remained closed for several months. Over

US $ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

3 million in damage was caused by the storm. School administration, faculty, parents, students, alumni, and volunteers participated in a massive cleanup effort, without funding from and independent of the Orleans Parish School Board. The effort was chronicled by several nationwide news agencies. FranklinClay-SchuleTimken

After Katrina, Ben Franklin received support from across the nation and around the world. On December 8, 2005, the United States Ambassador to Germany, William R. Timken, Jr., accepted a "Band of Friendship" from the students of Clay Oberschule, Ben Franklin's official

GAPP GapP is a counting complexity class, consisting of all of the functions ''f'' such that there exists a polynomial-time non-deterministic Turing machine ''M'' where, for any input ''x'', ''f(x)'' is equal to the number of accepting paths of ''M' ...

partner school in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Germany. Monetary contributions included $10,000 from the government of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and a $70,000 grant from the Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries. The school re-opened as a charter school on January 17, 2006, the 300th birthday of its namesake

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

. The re-opening ceremony was held in the previously flooded-out gym. The gym had been the most severely damaged structure on campus; all of the floor tiles had to be removed and replaced, and the wind-damaged ceiling had to be repaired. In 2007, the school celebrated its 50th anniversary with a free reception.

Enrollment

An admissions test is required to apply to Ben Franklin. Enrollment is open to residents of Orleans Parish entering ninth, tenth, or eleventh grade. Students applying for tenth grade must have one credit in English, math, science, social studies, and foreign language. Students applying for 11th grade must have two credits in each of the listed courses. Admission is based on an applicant's

GPA Grading in education is the application of standardized measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentages, or as num ...

and performance on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills or the Iowa Tests of Educational Development for reading, language, and mathematics. The Iowa Tests are administered at Ben Franklin. All students meeting the criteria for entrance into 9th grade are also required to pass the LEAP 21 exam (Louisiana Educational Assessment Program for the 21st Century Exam taken in 8th grade). Ben Franklin had 995 students during the 2018–2019 school year. The demographics were 371 (37.3%)

Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Common meanings *Anything from the Caucasus region or related to it ** Ethnic groups in the Caucasus ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus re ...

, 296 (29.8%)

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 190 (19.1%) Asian, 55 (5,5%)

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

, 8 (0.8%) American Indian/Alaskan Native. and 74 (7.4%) multiracial.

Academics

Ben Franklin features a college-preparatory curriculum and an Advanced Placement (AP) Program. Students are required to complete a minimum of 24 academic units that includes 4 in English, 3 in foreign language, 4 in mathematics, 4 in science, 4 in social science, 2 in electives, 1.5 in physical education, .5 in health, and starting with the class of 2012, 1 credit in the arts. As of 2008, the school offers 20 AP courses for students to earn college credit. A selection of elective courses are offered, including studio art, creative writing, music appreciation, and theater. The foreign language offerings are French, German, Spanish, Mandarin, and Latin. Students may also enroll concurrently at local universities and the

New Orleans Center for Creative Arts New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, or NOCCA, is the regional, pre-professional arts training center for high school students in Louisiana. NOCCA opened in 1973 as a professional arts training center for secondary education, secondary schoo ...

(NOCCA). The school is within walking distance of the UNO library, and students can obtain library cards through a "special borrowers" program. I am Ben Franklin2

According to

, Ben Franklin is "one of the best public high schools in the country — a magnet for the city's smart and motivated students." Approximately 99.5% of each graduating class enters a four-year college. Of the 162 students in the class of 2006, 28 were National Merit Semifinalists, 7 were National Achievement Finalists, and 3 were Hispanic Scholars. The class of 2008 produced 17 National Achievement Semifinalists, the most of any school in the United States. For the class of 2005, the mean

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

Verbal score was 645, and the mean SAT Math score was 636. The mean ACT composite score was 27.2. One hundred percent of Franklin students passed the Louisiana Graduate Exit Examination (GEE) in Spring 2006, with a significant number achieving Advanced and Mastery level. In recent years, Ben Franklin has produced a Morehead-Cain Scholar, a Jefferson Scholar, and many Questbridge Scholars. In the fall of 2005, Ben Franklin was one of three high schools given a five star rating (the highest possible) by the Louisiana Department of Education, based on its School Performance Score (SPS). The SPS is based on test scores from LEAP/GEE subject area tests in addition to "The Iowa Tests" results and attendance/dropout data. The following table displays the three schools, along with their respective SPS in 2005. US Blue Ribbon School 2003

In the fall of 2008, the Louisiana Department of Education rated schools in Orleans Parish for the first time since Hurricane Katrina. With an SPS of 165.2, Ben Franklin again had the highest performance score in the state. Benjamin Franklin High School was named a

National Blue Ribbon School The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

by the

in 1989, 2003, 2009, 2015, and 2021. It has been ranked by ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' and '' U.S. News & World Report'' as one of the top 50 public schools in the U.S. with regards to student test scores and advanced placement programs. Ben Franklin was listed as one of the elite public schools in the country by ''Newsweek'' in 2006 and 2007. In 2008 and 2009, Franklin was no longer listed as a "public elite" and instead ranked numbers 35 and 52, respectively, on the complete Newsweek lists of "America's Top Public High Schools." Ben Franklin was also ranked 16 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report on its 2009 "America's Best High Schools" list and was one of its featured stories. Additionally, two art and 12 academic Presidential Scholars had been selected from the school as of 2007. The class of 2014 produced 25 National Merit semi-finalists, 15 National Achievement semi-finalists, three National Hispanic Scholars and fifteen National Merit Commended Scholars. 17 Benjamin Franklin seniors were named finalists in the 2014 competition for National Merit Scholarships.

Extracurricular activities

Performing arts

The music program at Ben Franklin was founded by Peter Dombourian, who served as part-time band director and music teacher from 1974 until 1991. His students included

, who enrolled concurrently at Ben Franklin and NOCCA. In 2005, the band room and music lockers at Ben Franklin were flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, destroying the school's collection of instruments, privately owned instruments left behind by students, and approximately $100,000 of sheet music. The

Tipitina's Foundation Tipitina's Foundation is a not-for-profit charity organization that grew out of the New Orleans music venue, Tipitina's. Based in New Orleans, Louisiana, the foundation's mission is to protect and preserve the musical culture of New Orleans and ...

, New Orleans Music Exchange, Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, and P.S. 54 Charles W Leng School were among the contributors who helped the music program continue. Student musicians in the

concert band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind instrument, woodwind, brass ...

and

string orchestra A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first a ...

participate annually in the Louisiana Music Educator's Association (LMEA) State Festivals, where they often collect "Superior" ratings.. Franklin also has a theater program. In March 2008, Franklin theater students were able to conduct a mixed-media performance of James Still's "And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank" with

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivor/author

Eva Schloss Eva Schloss (née Geiringer; born 11 May 1929) is an Austrian-English Holocaust survivor, memoirist and stepdaughter of Otto Frank, the father of Margot and diarist Anne Frank. Schloss speaks widely of her family's experiences during the Holoca ...

in attendance. The play was co-sponsored by the

National World War II Museum The National WWII Museum, formerly known as The National D-Day Museum, is a military history museum located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., on Andrew Higgins Drive between Camp Street and Magazine Street. The ...

and coincided with Schloss' lecture at the museum.

Publications

Franklin also has a TV station for students known as FTV. Ben Franklin publications include ''The Riverbend Review '' (literary magazine), and ''The Franklin Falcon'' (yearbook). The ''Riverbend Review'', published since 1987, has received numerous awards from the

Columbia Scholastic Press Association The Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) is a student journalist program of the School of Professional Studies at Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a ...

and the American Scholastic Press Association, winning a Silver Crown and First Place classification in 2008 and a Gold Crown and First Place with Special Merit classification in 2009. The Spring 2008 volume featured student poetry, short stories, original art, and an interview with writer

Andrei Codrescu Andrei Codrescu (; born December 20, 1946) is a Romanian-born American poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and commentator for National Public Radio. He is the winner of the Peabody Award for his film ''Road Scholar'' and the Ovid Prize for ...

Athletics

Ben Franklin teams are known as the "Falcons" with school colors green, white, and orange. The Falcons are in District 11-4A (Div. II) of the

and features the following athletic programs: * Girls:

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense Physical exercise, physical activity. It can be performed to motivate s ...

, cross country,

dance team A dance squad or dance team, sometimes called a pom squad or song team, is a team that participates in competitive dance. A dance squad can also include: a jazz squad, ballet squad, or any kind of religion dance squad. Dance squads are a type of ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

, track,

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

* Boys:

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, cross country,

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, track

Championships

The Ben Franklin girls' soccer team was the Class 4A State Champion in 1998, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. The volleyball team won state titles in 1996, 2002, and 2003. In 16 years as Ben Franklin's head volleyball coach, Jodee Pulizzano led Franklin teams to six Division II state championships and two runner-up trophies. Accomplishments since 1996 include: * swimming-girls (AAAA Champion 1997; Runner-up 1996, 1999) * swimming-boys (AAAA Champion 2001; Runner-up 1999, 2000) * volleyball (AAAA Champion 1996,2002,2003; Runner-up 1997, 2004) * girls' soccer (AAAA Champion 1998, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) * boys' soccer (AAAA Champion 2004; AAAA Runner-up 2005; AAA Runner-up 2011) * girls' tennis (AAAA Runner-up 1997) * boys' tennis (AAA Champion 2008, 2009; AAAA Runner-up 2004, 2006, 2007; AAA Runner-up 2010) *Cheerleaders (First place at the Spirit Blast Cheer and Dance Championship 2010 against two other schools) In 2007, the Ben Franklin football team made the Class 3A playoffs for the first time in school history. However, the team lost in the first round to Amite High School.

''Yearbook 2006''

The class of 2006 was the subject of an online documentary called ''Yearbook 2006'', created by bluecadet interactive and produced by Josh Goldblum, Josh Cogan, and David Lee. The non-profit, Web-based project features 140 minutes of raw interviews as well as photographs and other multimedia designed to capture the lives of about 30 Franklin seniors after Katrina. The project, featured in the

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA; pronounced ) is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). SAMHSA is charged with improving the quality and availability of treatment and rehabilitati ...

's Spirit of Recovery conference and ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'', was designed to "give a cohesive and layered forum to the fractured voices of those seniors who were displaced and those who remained in New Orleans, aiming to, above all, nurture and heal the vibrant social fabric that Katrina threatened to destroy."

Accusations of bias in admissions

The school's selective admissions policies have led to accusations of bias. Before Hurricane Katrina, it was estimated that 450 of 800 applicants on average were not accepted because of insufficient grades and test scores. Compared to the rest of the city, as of 2007, the school has a disproportionately low percentage of African Americans. Carl Galmon, a local activist, claimed in 1996 that Franklin's admissions tests are culturally biased against black students. Following Katrina, the school converted to a charter school and preserved its selective admissions system. The school has received praise for traditionally producing some of the "highest-performing students in the entire state of Louisiana," including an exceptional number of students awarded by the National Achievement Scholarship Program of the

National Merit Scholarship Corporation The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships. The program is managed by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded not-for-profit ...

, a program open only to African Americans.

Notable alumni

* Barry Ashe: Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana *

Gilda Barabino Gilda A. Barabino is the president of the Olin College of Engineering, where she is also a professor of biomedical and chemical engineering. Previously, she served as the dean of The Grove School of Engineering at the City College of New York, a ...

: president-elect of the American Association for the Advancement of Science *

Hong Chau Hong Chau (born June 25, 1979) is an American actress. She has received several award nominations for her film roles as Ngoc Lan Tran in '' Downsizing'' (2017) and as Liz, a nurse, in '' The Whale'' (2022), including a nomination for the Academ ...

: actress * David "Dee-1" Augustine: rapper *

Lolis Eric Elie Lolis Eric Elie (born April 10, 1963) is an American writer, journalist, documentary filmmaker, and food historian best known for his work as story editor of the HBO drama '' Treme'' and story editor of AMC's '' Hell on Wheels''. Early life an ...

: former columnist at ''

The Times-Picayune ''The Times-Picayune , The New Orleans Advocate'' (commonly called ''The Times-Picayune'' or the ''T-P'') is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ancestral publications of other names date back to January 25, 1837. The cu ...

'', TV writer for ''Treme'' and ''Hell on Wheels'', author, award-winning documentary filmmaker, author of ''Smokestack Lightning: Adventures in the Heart of Barbecue Country'' *

Ted Frank Theodore Harold Frank (born December 14, 1968) is an American lawyer, activist, and legal writer based in Washington, D.C. He is the counsel of record and petitioner in '' Frank v. Gaos'', the first Supreme Court case to deal with the issue of '' ...

: director of the

AEI Legal Center for the Public Interest AEI Legal Center for the Public Interest (LCPI) was formed when the National Legal Center for the Public Interest (NLCPI) was merged into the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in September 2007. Its stated mission is to "f ...

* Jalila Jefferson-Bullock:

Louisiana State Legislature The Louisiana State Legislature (; ) is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is a bicameral legislature, body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 ...

- Representative, District 91: 2003-2007 *

Anya Kamenetz Anya Kamenetz (born September 15, 1980) is an American writer living in Brooklyn, New York City. She has been an education correspondent for NPR, a senior writer for ''Fast Company'' magazine, and a columnist for Tribune Media Services, and the ...

: freelance writer and columnist, author of ''Generation Debt'' * David Kinch: chef and owner of

Manresa Manresa () is the capital of Bages county, located in the central region of Catalonia, Spain. Crossed by the river Cardener, it is an industrial area with textile, metallurgical, and glass industries. The houses of Manresa are arranged aro ...

restaurant in Los Gatos, California *

Delfeayo Marsalis Delfeayo Marsalis (; born July 28, 1965) is an American jazz trombonist, record producer and educator. Life and career Marsalis was born in New Orleans, the son of Dolores (née Ferdinand) and Ellis Louis Marsalis, Jr., a pianist and music pro ...

: jazz trombonist, attended Ben Franklin/NOCCA *

-, nine-time

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

-winning musician, attended Ben Franklin/NOCCA * Jeffery Miller: jazz trombonist, attended Ben Franklin/NOCCA * James Nolan: poet, fiction writer, essayist, and translator *

: actor, star of the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

dramas ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...

'' and '' Treme'' *

Wade Rathke Stephen Wade Rathke (born 1948) is a community and labor activist who founded the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) in 1970 and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 100 in 1980 (now United Labor Unions Loc ...

: co-founder of the

Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) is a left-wing community-based organization that advocates for low- and moderate-income families by working on neighborhood safety, voter registration, health care, affordable hou ...

(ACORN) *

senior advisor to the president Senior Advisor to the President is a title used by high-ranking political advisors to the president of the United States. Senior advisors to the president do not have formal government decision making authority, but they can have significant infl ...

and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement in the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...

; former

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

, Louisiana's 2nd district: 2011-2021 *

Clint Smith Clinton James "Snuffy" Smith (December 12, 1913 – May 19, 2009) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and head coach best known for his time spent in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a player with the New York Rangers and the Chica ...

: author and poet, known for his work in education, incarceration, and inequality *

Chris Smither William Christopher Smither (born November 11, 1944) is an American folk/blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter. His music draws deeply from the blues, American folk music, and modern poets and philosophers. Early life, influences and educat ...

: folk/blues singer/songwriter * Richard (Dick) Talens: entrepreneur, celebrity trainer, and co-founder of Fitocracy *

Tania Tetlow Tania Christina Tetlow is an American lawyer and law professor who is president of Fordham University since July 1, 2022. Previously, she was president of Loyola University New Orleans. She is the first woman and the first layperson to hold each ...

: president of Loyola University New Orleans, Fordham University * Rosie Tran: stand-up comedian, actress, model, and podcast host * Walter Williams: ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' writer, creator of Mr. Bill

In popular culture

Benjamin Franklin High School has appeared in film, books, and other media. In a short play that appears in Louisiana novelist

Walker Percy Walker Percy, Oblate of Saint Benedict, OblSB (May 28, 1916 – May 10, 1990) was an American writer whose interests included philosophy and semiotics. Percy is noted for his philosophical novels set in and around New Orleans; his first, ''Th ...

's '' Lost in the Cosmos'', the lead character attends Franklin. Portions of the school's atrium and front entrance were used in the 2004

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

movie ''

Stuck in the Suburbs ''Stuck in the Suburbs'' is a 2004 American comedy film that premiered as a Disney Channel Original Movie. It was released on July 16, 2004, and stars Danielle Panabaker as Brittany Aarons and Brenda Song as Natasha Kwon-Schwartz. Brittany, a ...

''. The school was also used for portions of the 2005

Lifetime Television Lifetime is an American basic cable channel that is part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a subsidiary of A&E Networks, which is jointly owned by Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company. It features programming that is geared toward ...

movie ''

Odd Girl Out ''Odd Girl Out'' is a 2005 drama telefilm starring Alexa Vega, Lisa Vidal, Elizabeth Rice, Alicia Morton, Leah Pipes, Shari Dyon Perry, Joey Nappo, and Chad Biagini. First aired April 4, 2005 on Lifetime, the film is based on the book ''Odd ...

''. In Julie Smith's mystery novel ''Louisiana Hotshot'', murder victim Rhonda Bergeron is said to have graduated from Ben Franklin High School in New Orleans. In Ronald Everett Capps' novel ''Off Magazine Street'' (loosely adapted into the film ''

A Love Song for Bobby Long ''A Love Song for Bobby Long'' is a 2004 American psychological drama film directed and written by Shainee Gabel, based on the novel ''Off Magazine Street'' by Ronald Everett Capps. It stars John Travolta as the title character, an aging alcoho ...

''), Byron Burns decides to send Hanna to Benjamin Franklin High School, a school "he had heard had a fair reputation".

References

External links

Benjamin Franklin High School official website
*
Archives of older website
*
Archives of older website
(hosted on Greater New Orleans Free Net, GNOFN, Inc.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Benjamin High School Charter schools in New Orleans Magnet schools in Louisiana Public high schools in New Orleans Educational institutions established in 1957 1957 establishments in Louisiana