This is How We Crew It FSI Fundraising Campaign
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Good morning Franklin families,
And just like that, we’re back to 80 degrees and sunshine. If you like all your seasons packed into one week, I highly recommend WNC as a great place to live! Despite some serious weather disruptions, we welcomed a team from EL Education into our school Tuesday and Wednesday. We kept an open mind, adapted and flexed our schedule, and in the end, I believe we will get the affirmation and the feedback for growth that we are seeking from this credentialing process.
A huge thank you to the teachers and leadership team members who were willing and able to come in on Tuesday for deep conversations with the team, to all the parents and students who participated in focus groups, and to all the faculty and staff members who worked hard this year pushing for deeper implementation of the EL Education model. We’ll share more about the visit after we receive the final report.
Meanwhile, this week we look forward to spring Student Led Conferences and the Senior Last Word! Remember that on Wednesday, students in grades 5, 6, 7, 9, and 11 will attend school only for their scheduled SLC. Students in grades 8 and 10 will have remote lessons and can spend time preparing for their Passage Presentations (coming up next Wednesday). And our seniors should be polishing up their presentations for the Senior Last Word! We are still looking for panelists to help honor and recognize our seniors’ journeys through high school and their plans for the future. Please join us if you are able!
| Volunteer Opportunity:
We are seeking panelists for our Senior Last Word presentations. It’s a great window into the world of young people! If you have an hour (or 3) to share, please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0944AAAF2BA0FFCF8-62306840-senior#/ |
When you come in for your students’ SLC or presentation, please take a little extra time to walk through the hallways and (quietly) see all the amazing student work on display! It’s a great window into what students are learning and doing throughout the school.
Our schedules for this week and next are a little wonky, so be sure to look at the Upcoming Events section below and make your plans. We know that SLCs and Passages are disruptive to your work schedules. We are offering a BtB day camp this Friday, March 27, for the teacher work day, to offset some of that disruption. Register here
A Little Good News – No Additional Make Up Days
We’ve carefully crunched all the numbers and as of right now – we do not need to make up any additional days. The extra time we built into our school calendar, along with the days we’ve already made up, will get us through the year. Fingers crossed for no further weather disruptions this year! I think we’ve had our share for a while.
Mark Your Calendars
On Saturday, April 18, Parent Crew and our Athletic Program are teaming up to offer a fun spring fair! There is something for everyone, from craft vendors, silent auction, food, music, and a pickleball tournament! We’re currently seeking craft vendors, musicians, and pickleball enthusiasts, along with volunteers to support our hard-working Parent Crew to plan and facilitate the day. We are also seeking donations for our Silent Auction! Do you own a business? Maybe you have a vacation home you would be willing to share? All donations will help support our school. More info is provided in the athletics and Parent Crew portions of the newsletter.
Call to Action
Keep up with the calls! It does matter and even though we’re deep into the school year, we still need a budget! Governor Stein has released a Critical Needs Budget. North Carolina has gone 2.5 years without adopting a full budget, leaving us with significant budget challenges. Governor Stein’s budget prioritizes raises for state employees, higher raises for teachers, and continued funding for the state’s Medicaid program. All of these funding priorities are important to our school.
Phone calls are the best and easiest way to tell our elected officials what you want. Most of the time – you will just be leaving a voicemail message. If you get a live person on the phone, they don’t have time for complicated messages. Keep your call professional, kind, and brief. I’ve provided two short messages below. You can choose just the first message if you want!
- Pass Governor Stein’s Critical Needs. Our state is the ONLY state in the nation that has not passed a budget and it is hurting our children and our communities.
- My child attends a public school, like most other children in our state. Our state ranks 50th in public school funding. Our elected officials should be embarrassed to put our children dead last. Invest in their futures!
I’ve included the three most important people to call. Our local elected officials already consistently vote to support public education. You can call them to just say thank you and encourage them to keep up the good work! But these three calls are critical:
House Speaker Destin Hall
Phone: 919-733-3451
Email: Destin.Hall@ncleg.gov
Senate President: Phil Berger
Phone: (919) 733-5708
Email: Phil.Berger@ncleg.gov
Michael Lee, NC Senate Majority Leader
Phone: 919-715-2525
Email: Michael.Lee@ncleg.gov
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
Monday, March 23
- 5:00 pm: HS GIrls Soccer @ Hendersonville High School
Wednesday, March 25 – Student Led Conferences. NO CLASSES AT SCHOOL
- Student Led Conferences: Students in grades 5, 6, 7, 9, and 11 attend school ONLY for their scheduled SLC. Please check with your student’s Crew leader for the scheduled time.
- 4:00 – 7:00 pm: Senior Last Word. Seniors attend only during their scheduled time. Please check with your student’s Crew leader if you have any questions. Panelists are still needed – sign up if you can help! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0944AAAF2BA0FFCF8-62306840-senior#/
- Remote Instruction for students in grades 8 and 10 – instructions will be sent by your grade level teachers
- 4:30 – 6:00 pm: HS Girls Soccer vs Veritas @ FSI
Thursday, March 26
- Last Day of Quarter 3
- 3:15 – 4:30 pm: MIddle School Student Council – all MS students welcome!
- 6:00 pm: HS Girls Soccer @ Mount Pisgah
Friday, March 27: NO SCHOOL – Teacher Work Day
- We are offering a Beyond the Bell camp day to help out. Register here
Mark Your Calendars
Wednesday, April 1
- 8th and 10th Grade Passages – Remote Learning Day for all other grades. Students in grades 8 and 10 will attend school only for their scheduled appointment.
- 6:30 – 8:00 pm: Multilingual College & Career Fair – see more info later in the newsletter for this exciting event
April 6 – 10: Spring Break! School will be closed all week
April 16: Next Blood Drive at FSI, 9:30 am to 2:30 pm.
- Register here: https://donate.thebloodconnection.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/295089
- Parent consent form (for donors aged 16 & 17): https://epcf.thebloodconnection.org/
April 18, 10 am – 3 pm: Spring Fair & Pickleball Tournament (pickleball is 11 am – 1 pm). You don’t want to miss this fun community event!
Keep up with all our school events!
FSI Community Calendar – add our events to your google calendar
2025-2026 Yearlong Calendar – updated
Bolts Athletics
Pickleball Tournament – Sat, April 18, 11 am – 1 pm
Adult & Student divisions, MS and HS. $25 per team. Register Now!
Sponsorship Banners to Support Bolts Athletics
Do you have a business or know of a business that would be interested in purchasing a sponsorship package that supports the Athletics Program? It is great advertisement for a business as the business name and logo will be displayed on banners in the gym and/or field depending on what package is purchased.
Sponsorship Levels:
Thunder ($500)
1 Banner displayed in either the gym or field area (your choice)
Lightning ($800)
2 Banners. One banner displayed in the gym and one in the field area.
Bolt ($1,000)
Includes everything in the Lightning package plus logo displayed on printed materials (game programs and possibly team gear (practice and travel gear).
Banners are 72×24 inches and will be displayed for one full year with an opportunity to renew. Please contact Coach Burke (Athletic Director) for more information or questions. kburke@thefsi.us
Parent Crew
We are in immediate need of items for our silent auction and raffle. If you can contribute, please drop off your donations at the front desk by March 20. Label your donation as “Micah Usher/Silent Auction” and include your name and email address so we can send you a donation form. All proceeds from this event will support school funds!
Can you dedicate three hours or more on Saturday, 04/18, to help raise funds for FSI? High School students are welcome to sign up and earn Service Hours! These funds support all the things we love about Franklin, including our amazing staff, fantastic arts programs, sports, county-wide transportation, and the lunch program.
If you can help the Parent Crew raise these essential funds during the 04/18 Spring Fair, please sign up here.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090848A5AA22ABFF2-62640459-spring
Next Parent Crew Meeting: Wednesday, April 15, 8:30 am. This will be a working meeting to finalize all preparation for the April 18 Spring Fair.
Spring Craft Fair: Call for Vendors!
The Parent Crew is organizing a spring craft fair and celebration to complement the upcoming pickleball tournament on April 18th, in collaboration with the FSI Athletics department. We would like to offer the opportunity to our enterprising kids and FSI family businesses to join this event and really make it a fun celebration of our community. This opportunity is being released first to our families before we open it to the wider community. There will be live music, food, inflatables and more, but this isn’t the official announcement! If you or your student are interested in a booth space to sell your crafts, artwork, wares or other self-made products please fill out this form – Spring 2026 Craft Fair & Festival FSI Community Vendor Interest Form
Spring Fair – Call for Musicians!
Calling all musicians! We are also seeking performers for the Spring Fair. Open to students, family members and community members: https://forms.gle/yDwjsRvZeJwRBH7j8
Breakfast & Lunch Menus
You can find our menus online: https://www.franklinschoolofinnovation.org/parents/nutrition/
Middle School Student Council Meeting This Thursday
All middle school students are invited to join us this Thursday, March 26, immediately after school. Parents, please pick up promptly at 4:30 pm! We will plan our fundraiser (we will have a table at the Spring Fair on April 18) and begin planning a Student Council “Lock In” for later this spring. Join us!
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:
Registration information coming soon!
Summer Driver Education Class
We are pleased to announce that we will host a summer driver education class at FSI. The class is provided by an instructor from Mountain Professionals Driving School. Our role is to provide the space and to share the information with our families.
The class is scheduled for the following days: July 9 and July 13-17, 9-3 pm The class is available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The following are requirements and rules from Mountain Professionals. There are no exceptions:
- Students must attend all 5 days for the full time (9 – 3 pm)
- Students must be aged 14 1/2 (and under age 18) to attend
- There are no refunds once you have registered – no exceptions for vacations or illness or change of plans
- This is the education portion of the class. Students will schedule the driving portion with Mountain Professionals after they have passed this portion of the class
Register here: https://www.mtnpro.com/fsiform.
FSI Junior/Senior Prom 2026: May 2, 7 – 10 pm
Step into the mystery of Midnight Masquerade and celebrate a magical evening of music, dancing, and unforgettable memories. Enjoy refreshments, snacks, and fun times with friends. Prom is Saturday, May 2nd from 7-10pm at The Venue in downtown Asheville. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased in person and online starting March 27th. Use this link to purchase tickets online. After April 26 tickets are $45 and available only in person. Tickets will be available at the door on prom night for $45. To invite a non-FSI guest you need to complete this form and return to Ms Gretchen before April 27th. Questions? Contact gkehrberg@thefsi.us.
Reminders
School Improvement Team Volunteers
We are re-organizing our School Improvement Team to meet a new state requirement. The School Improvement Team will meet monthly on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, from 5:00 – 5:45 pm, right before our scheduled Board of Directors meetings. We are seeking a few members to join the team and serve through the 2026-2027 school year.
Our first meeting will be Tuesday, April 14 at 5 pm. Please email mvruwink@thefsi.us directly if you are interested in serving.
Career Opportunities
We have a few immediate opportunities for this school year and we are beginning to recruit for some opportunities for next school year.
Immediate Openings
- Full Time Facility & Bus Driver: Includes all benefits, drivers must have or be eligible to receive a CDL. Email dbennett@thefsi.us
- Substitute Teachers: flexible schedule – work when you can! Cover letter and resume to jobs@thefsi.us
All positions for the 2026-2027 school year will be posted on our website. If you know an excellent teacher who would be a good fit for our school, let us know! We can reach out and invite them to apply if we have a position available.
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
Order Your Yearbooks & Ads
The 2025-2026 Yearbooks are on sale! Purchase via this link
Parents/Guardians of Seniors and 8th Grade Students can purchase ads to be featured in the back of the yearbook – just click this link to create your ad!
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…
