Dear Franklin families,

I wasn’t planning to send an update so soon but the situation in our world just keeps shifting. I am so proud of how our team has rallied to support one another and our community and I’m excited to share some of the work and updates from this week. Please note that we are still not in a position to share an opening date. We are continuing to provide support to our families, students, staff and the broader community while also planning for a re-opening date. 

First I want to alert everyone to an update on the City’s water situation. The City plans to begin restoring non-potable water on a rolling basis, starting with locations on the East side (closest to North Fork reservoir). You can watch today’s briefing on Buncombe County’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/buncombeGov/videos/1836101953801175/

We have a need for daily volunteer support at the school every day next week and continuing until we have full City water restored. Until City water is restored our fire suppression system (sprinklers) is not operational. We are required to maintain a Fire Watch. This means that a designated individual must walk the interior and exterior of our building to watch for any sign of fire or other life safety threat. We will need volunteers to help staff the Fire Watch at all times that our building is open. Please fill out this Sign Up Genius if you are able to cover a shift on our Fire Watch. You will need to be able to walk (including stairs) for the duration of the shift and you will need a working cell phone. The Sign Up Genius is only for the coming week; additional shifts will be added next week. 

Even when City water is restored, there will be a need for non-potable water for the foreseeable future. The County is working on securing bottled water. Schools are encouraged to help secure supplies of potable water independently if we are able to do so. We will receive another briefing from the County on Monday morning and should have more information, if not a timeline, for the restoration of City water to schools. 

Because there is still no specific timeline for restoration of water at our school, we are continuing efforts to secure our own source of water. Please note that we will continue to adapt as the situation evolves: 

• We secured 5 portable toilets and 1 handwashing station that are scheduled for delivery on Monday, Oct 14. 
• We obtained our well permit and currently plan to proceed with installation of a well beginning next week. The well will be considered non-potable water, not safe for drinking but safe for flushing toilets, handwashing, and use in food preparation. The intent is to use the well until City water service is restored. The well would then be a backup for any future water disruption. It’s possible that City water could be restored as quickly as we can get the well online, but with no set date we are proceeding. 

Our staff working teams have been busy this week! More information and details will follow but here’s an outline of what to expect this coming week. 

Care Management/Counseling Team

Our care management team has the following message for our community:

Although we are not all together in person, we are still here for you all! We know that the needs of our community vary greatly, and we want to be able to support families during this time in any way that we can. FSI staff are busy pulling together resources, brainstorming ideas, and putting things together to keep our community connected and supported during this time of uncertainty. The following survey is an optional survey for you to fill out. It asks some questions about support you might need right now–please fill it out if there are ways that we can help you. When you fill out this survey, a staff member from our case management team will reach out to you to help you get whatever you have requested in the survey. We might not be able to provide you with what you need, but if we can’t provide it ourselves, we can help connect you to services in the area. We know that this is ever-changing, so we will be checking it daily to make sure we are staying up to date.  Needs Survey

Our counseling team, including our school-based therapist and our new virtual therapy provider have already been contacting students and offering services. Please complete the needs survey to let us know if your student is in need of counseling services.   

The care management group has been working hard to contact all families and have connected with all but three students. All families are safe though many have experienced significant loss or damage to their homes and businesses. 

Academic Team

• On Monday a whole school assignment will be shared. Students will be asked to document and reflect on their experience through the hurricane and after. This will be the start of what we hope will become an oral/written history of this experience that we can share with the broader community. We will share the assignment via email, social media, on Canvas, and on our website in order to reach as many students as possible. 
• Resources for math practice will be forthcoming next week.
• We will offer onsite academic support from 1 – 3 pm, M – F next week. This is not 1:1 tutoring; we will have limited teachers on site to provide support. 

Social Events Teams (aka the Fun Team)

We want to see our students ! We are excited to host two events on campus next week:

• Middle School Outdoor Social from 1 – 3 on Tuesday
• High School Outdoor Social from 1 – 3 Thursday

We will have some outdoor games and art activities but our primary purpose is to give students a chance to connect and have some fun.  

Service Team

• This week we will continue and expand our onsite supply distributions from 1 – 3 pm daily, Monday – Friday. Students and families are invited to help maintain and organize our supplies and assist with distribution of supplies to families and areas in need. 
• We will conduct soil testing by the creek to determine safety of that area before we begin clean up efforts – stay tuned for this service opportunity! 
• The working group is researching service opportunities for youth and will share out more next week. 

Post-Grad Support Team

The Postgrad Support Team will be kicking off our services for seniors next Wednesday and Thursday, Oct 16 and 17, from 1 – 3 pm. Come on by if you need help with college essays and applications, coordinating service hours, or credit recovery. We want to make sure our students are on track for graduation and beyond! 

Please know that we continue to think of each and every one of you and hope you are finding ways to stay strong and connected through this period of time. We appreciate the ongoing support and encouragement! 

With appreciation, 

 

Michelle Vruwink

Executive Director