Two of my children go to Franklin Elementary school in Bakersfield, California. I personally feel that it is one of the better elementary schools in Bakersfield. It’s not as big as some of the other elementary schools so the children get more attention then larger schools. It’s located in a good area downtown and is right across the street from a hospital.
Franklin Elementary School is for children in Kindergarten through 6th grade. Almost one of the only things that I don’t like about Franklin, is that it doesn’t go up to 8th grade. There were some rumors in the past that they were going to try to go up to 8th grade, but nothing concrete has come from the rumors.
The Kindergartner’s have their own playground that is kept separate from the bigger kids. I think that this is very important because the children just entering school are allowed to have a chance to get used to playing with others and being at school before they’re tossed in with the older kids. Kindergartens only go to school half of the day, as opposed to full day for older children.
During Summer 2007, the older kids playground was replaced with new playground equipment. The school also has a swing set, track field, and basketball hoops. When Franklin has a School Carnival, they hold it in the school yard.
At the beginning of their school year, Franklin has an Open House event that allows parents to learn more about the school and meet their child’s teacher. During that time, they have a book fair that you can go to with your child. They have other various events during the school year, such as a Math and Reading Night, a Fiesta Dinner Night, School Carnival and more.
Franklin is always looking for parent volunteers. You don’t have to volunteer in your child’s classroom, they also need volunteers for the school library due to the mass volume of books that are being checked out and returned each week. If you do decide to volunteer in your child’s classroom, ask the teacher when they need you. The teachers are very willing to work with your schedule.
Polices for class parties has changed and teachers are only allowed to have two parties a year. You are no longer allowed to bring candy and cupcakes to school due to all the worry about childhood obesity. They will give you a paper if requested on what kind of stuff you’re allowed to bring to parities. Since they schools don’t have class parties that often, I don’t personally agree with the new policy. I think it’s taking out some of the fun of school. Last year when they had the school carnival, they did allow parents to bring home made cupcakes and cakes for the cake walk.
Your child can eat breakfast and lunch in the cafeteria. They may be qualify for free or reduced price lunches. I have to be honest, I don’t always like the breakfasts that are being offered. One of the recent breakfasts was an oatmeal breakfast bar, honey nut cheerios, canned pears and grapes, plus choice of white or chocolate milk. To me, that seems a bit to sugary to offer the kids before they start their school day. What I do, is feed my kids something like a half a meat sandwich or a couple of chicken nuggets before they go have breakfast at school. sometimes I will take my youngest child and sit with my kids as they have breakfast. It costs one dollar if you want to buy breakfast for someone that is not a student of the school.
The school does have an after school program, but you’ll need to sign up for that right away when school starts because spaces are limited. They also have a Booster club that you can pay $5 dollars to be a member of. You can help make decisions regarding fundraiser’s for the school. Don’t forget to save Box Tops For Education as the school does collect these and offers a pizza party to the class who collected the most. They hold award assemblies for outstanding students. One of my children won an award for reading and he was thrilled with his certificate.
Franklin Elementary School in Bakersfield, California is located at 2400 Truxtun Ave. Out of five stars, I would give them the full five because I truly feel that my kids are getting a good education at the school.
