This is How We Crew It FSI Fundraising Campaign
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Good morning Franklin families,
Who joined us for our Spring Concert last week? What a joyful celebration of our students’ talent and hard work! A big thank you as always to our Parent Crew for showing up everywhere, all the time! And congratulations to Mrs. Wilson and all our student musicians for wonderful performances. It’s so fun to see our music program grow! We closed out the week with the annual “Anything that Rolls” parade, a celebration of community and silliness. Not a bad way to end a week in May!
Continuing with our celebration of the arts – join us tomorrow evening at 6 pm for our Senior Showcase Concert. This is a chance for seniors to showcase their musical skills individually and/or with their bands. We are so excited to have the seniors perform one final time and would love to have you all join us. This concert is free and open to the public. Thank you for supporting the amazing musicians of the Class of 2026.
You may have heard some stories this week about a state budget deal and “historic” raises for teachers. Count me a skeptic on this one! While any budget deal will be better than none, the only thing historic about the budget framework is that it continues to underfund our public schools. Our House and Senate leaders have made their priorities very clear – and kids and teachers aren’t the winners. Here are a few facts to counter all the publicity around this deal:
- It’s not a deal. First – it’s not even a budget yet. It’s just a “framework”. There are very few details available beyond the misleading press releases.
- It does not raise teacher salaries to the highest in the South. The draft teacher salary scale shows beginning teacher salaries at $48,500 – a significant increase from the current salary of $41,000 but still below the $50,000 minimum salary in Tennessee and below the minimum salary for most districts in South Carolina as well.
- It’s not a budget for this year. They aren’t even talking about a budget for this year. The framework is for NEXT year with no retroactive funding. Schools received no increases in funding this year – yet we passed along small raises to staff, absorbed a major increase in costs for health insurance, and are facing significant inflation across all of our operations. ($8,000 diesel bill anyone?)
- These are not “historic” raises. The average “raise” is 8%, with beginning teachers receiving nearly 18% increases and teachers with 15 or more years of experience receiving 5% increases. Increases for beginning teachers are much needed and barely bring us to being competitive in the South. However, since there was no budget this year, 8% over two years is barely above the cost of living and 5% is equivalent to a salary cut.
Meanwhile, they want to restrict counties from raising property taxes, continue spending on private school tuition, and limit corporate and individual taxes. We all love low taxes, but when you cut your sources of revenue – future spending cuts must follow. Public schools are at a breaking point. We can’t survive future funding cuts.
The only way to change this is by keeping up the pressure! Keep contacting Senate leader Phil Berger, House speaker Destin Hall, and Senator Michael Lee. Talk to your neighbors, employers, and everyone else. Let them know that strong communities are built around strong schools. Let’s invest in North Carolina’s future!
Thanks to everyone who helped with our Blood Drive on Thursday – we donated 28 units of blood, providing a great service to the community and generating a grant for our Student Habitat for Humanity home build. We’ll continue these next year!
As always, thank you for choosing Franklin and for partnering with us to prepare students for the futures they create. Our school is stronger with your participation.
Upcoming Events
Mon, May 18
- 6:00 pm: Senior Showcase Concert
Tues, May 19
- 8:15 pm: Senior Sunset (seniors only)
Thurs, May 21
- 8:30 am: Parent Crew Meeting in person – HS Focus Room
Mon, May 25: Memorial Day – No School
End of Year Exam Schedule
- Wed, May 27: Grades 5 – 8 Math and Math 1
- Thurs, May 28: Math 3
- Fri, May 29: Grades 5 – 8 Reading & Eng 2
- Mon, June 1: Grades 5 and 8 Science and Biology
- Tues, June 2 and Wed June 3 – Test Make Up Days
Students cannot take the exams ahead of this schedule. Students who miss the scheduled test day can take the exams on the test make up dates – June 2 and 3. Students who receive a score of “not proficient” will be invited to retake the test on the makeup days.
Keep up with all our school events!
FSI Community Calendar – add our events to your google calendar
2025-2026 Yearlong Calendar – updated
Bolts Athletics
A belated congratulations to HS girls soccer team for a great season! HS girls played in the first round of the CAASC State Tournament vs ICI. The Bolts were down 1-0 at the half and then rallied after falling behind 2-0. C. McBrayer scored on a one on one opportunity with about 15minutes to play to make the score 1-2. Bolts dominated the last few minutes, but just couldn’t find the back of the net. They ended their season with a few milestones…finished 2nd in the BRAC conference and finished the regular season with a 5-5-2 record. The team is young and the future is bright. Shout out to the coaching staff and team for a successful season!
MS Soccer went 3-0 on the week to finish their season! They defeated Mountain Community, PEAK Academy and Fern Leaf. Congrats on a great season!
HS Ultimate went 1-1. Lost a competitive game to AC Reynolds 9-15 and defeated Fern Leaf in a close game 15-12! The Bolts finished the regular season with a 5-2 record.
The team participated in the end of season tournament in Brevard yesterday. The Bolts went 1-3 on the day and finished in 4th place.
A new Bolts Team Store is now open through May 13th. Lots of great options for Bolts gear and some soccer logo specific items. Place your order and it ships directly to you. Orders usually arrive within a week. It’s easy and fast!
Use this link to order: https://bsnteamsports.com/shop/fe6UjqHUNZ
Parent Crew
We have our final Parent Crew meeting of the year scheduled on Thursday, 05/21, at 8:30 am. We will elect leadership for the next school year and brainstorm fundraising ideas for next year.
Every school year, we start a new mailing and interest list for the Parent Crew. Please sign up to receive emails directly from the Parent Crew, and let us know about what type of things you would like to be involved with. https://forms.gle/5sBhybJqYYdY32yU6
Save the Date: July 19 is the date for our annual summer meetup in the park. More information to come as we plan!
Breakfast & Lunch Menus
You can find our menus online: https://www.franklinschoolofinnovation.org/parents/nutrition/
Lost & Found “Purge” May 22
It’s time for the lost and found purge again. The last day to claim lost and found items will be May 22nd. Please have your students check the lost and found by the front office as well as the lost and found in their classrooms. All remaining items will be donated.
Please Wear Proper Shoes
With this beautiful spring weather, our students are outdoors a lot! We’re seeing an increase in preventable student injuries. Like nearly all natural spaces in WNC, our creek and other outdoor spaces host flora (including poison ivy) and fauna (including snakes) that pose a risk to bare feet and ankles. Help us minimize injuries with appropriate clothing and shoes.
Update: Canvas/Instructure Breach
Well that was exciting…Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, experienced a significant security breach. Canvas is used by many universities and schools, including our high school. As a result, Canvas was shut down for several days. The issue has been resolved and we have been told that Canvas is safe. No FSI student or family “personally-identifiable information” was stolen. This breach and the Canvas shut-down definitely created some extra stress for students and teachers. We’re glad it wasn’t worse.
We are Hiring!
We are currently hiring Bus Drivers and a facility position. We are also hiring for the 2026-2027 school year. For the bus driver and facility position, contact Deeana Bennett via jobs@thefsi.us
Teaching opportunities are posted on our school website. If you know a fantastic teacher, please help us spread the word!
Reminders
We Have a Few Spots for 5th Grade!
Do you know a wonderful family with a rising 5th grader? We have a few spots available for the 2026-2027 school year. Filling these spots helps us offset the terrible state budget situation. We also love bringing students in for our 5th grade year – our team does a terrific job of onboarding students and helping them learn what it means to be an FSI Bolt. Help us serve as many students as we can! We can also accept a few more students for 11th and 12th grade. This can be a great opportunity for students who are looking for more support as they begin planning for college. With a full-time College & Career Counselor and support through Crew and our teachers, our students have access to strong post-secondary support. We are full with wait lists for all other grades at this time.
Host an International Student
NC 4-H International Is seeking host families for summer month-long or year-long high school exchange students.
They have 16 youth delegates from Japan (and one from Taiwan), ages 12-17, who need host families for 3.5 weeks this summer! They are also seeking families for year-long high school exchange students! Find out more by joining an information session on Zoom:
Summer Inbound Month-Long Program Information Session – Thursday, April 30, 7:00pm (rescheduled from April 23)- Register here: https://ncsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/ZveOkEB_RCWGJ-o4LhUKEg
Academic Year-Long Program Information Session – Tuesday, April 28, 7:00pm – Register here: https://ncsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/9BD8-iJsSjG_5tlZfPLNug
Contact for questions: Caitlin Clineff, NC4-Hinternationalprogram@ncsu.edu, or contact FSI parent and host Tara Shields, 615-500-3370,shields.tara@gmail.com
Bolts Summer Sports Camps
We are excited to announce our summer sports camps! Featuring multi-sports training with amazing facilities and coaches. Learn and experience a variety of sports and have fun! Directed by Coach Burke and Coach Ron Scott
5th-8th grades
- June 15-19 and/or June 22-26
- 9:00am-1:00pm
- $125 per week
Email for more information:
Register Here: Bolts Summer Sports Camps
FSI Business Directory – submit your business to be included
We are compiling a directory of our family owned businesses. If you would like to be included in the directory, submit your business information here. The directory will be available on our website and in the newsletter. Let’s keep it local!
Free Resources for Resilience Community Events
Passing this along from our friends at Resources for Resilience!
Resources For Resilience is an Asheville-based nonprofit sharing practical tools and educational trainings to help individuals and teams manage stress and prevent burnout in themselves and others. They are currently offering FREE programming for WNC residents and professionals, now through June. Many of our offerings also include CEU professional credit through Area L AHEC! Space is limited for these no-cost opportunities, so interested participants are encouraged to register early to secure their spot. Learn more here: https://conta.cc/3NBqYiU
Who Do I Go To When….
Whether you are new to FSI or returning, we know you have questions and want to help you find the best answers! This handy guide can help you connect. We do our best to respond to questions within 24 hours. We do not expect school staff to respond outside of school hours. Click here to access the guide: Who do I go to when…
