At Franklin Center, the word "holistic" isn't a buzzword; it’s a lived commitment.
“For me,” shares Franklin Academy Program Manager Sarah Makarem, “it’s about meeting kids where they’re at—physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. It’s checking all the boxes.”
We recognize that for a student to succeed academically, we must address all the components of their well-being.
Every child is complex, and we can’t make big decisions about their future without honoring their past. Many students come to us having experienced challenges in traditional educational settings, years of being misunderstood or labeled in systems that weren't built for them.
When creating a roadmap for each student, we consider a variety of factors: We look at what has worked—and what hasn't—in previous schools and therapeutic environments. We listen when students tell us, “I don’t trust people because of how they reacted to me at my old school.” We collaborate with parents and previous support providers to understand how behavior shifts between home and school. And, we spend the first month of the school year collecting observations and assessments to inform our goals moving forward.
Each student is supported by a team that can include:
• Teachers
• Classroom Behavior Therapists (CBTs)
• Mental Health Therapists
• Occupational Therapists
• Speech Therapists
• Student Support Specialists
• 1:1 Registered Behavioral Therapists
• And more!
Together, this team manages a student’s 5 Core Goals: a reading goal, a writing goal, a math goal, and two big-picture behavioral goals. These goals are monitored monthly and discussed in team meetings to ensure the plan evolves as the student does.
One of the most unique aspects of Franklin Academy is the Classroom Behavior Therapist (CBT). A CBT is present in every classroom, and works alongside the academic instructor to support students’ social, emotional, and behavioral learning.
This extra staff presence allows us to avoid making quick assumptions. Where a traditional school setting might label a student’s behavior as simple task avoidance, our CBTs have the capacity to dive deeper, taking the time to identify the function of the behavior they’re seeing and address the underlying issue head-on.
Our daily schedule is designed to build academic and emotional stamina through a mix of routine and flexibility.
Students also benefit from having essential services—like occupational, speech, and talk therapy—integrated directly into their school day. For many families, this is a game-changer. Without the need to rush from appointment to appointment, evenings are freed up for family time and fun.
In addition to the teams and routines that support each student, we provide a sensory-rich environment where students are given the autonomy to figure out what works best for them. Our classrooms are equipped with a unique toolkit of accommodations designed to meet specific sensory and motor needs:
Staff have seen that over time, small steps amount to major transformations, and we celebrate every small victory. By the time fall conferences come around, new families tell us they’ve seen and felt the difference.
They’ll share things like, “My child is jumping out of bed instead of refusing to get up…." "They are going to their first-ever birthday party…." "They finally feel heard by the adults around them."
Sometimes, the process is hard. We are often rewiring negative habits and holding firm boundaries that may feel uncomfortable at first. But the result is a student who no longer feels the need to hide. They can finally be their authentic self—a child who likes school, talks about friends, and knows that at Franklin Academy, every day is a fresh start.
Ultimately, the goal of this holistic approach is to move beyond the narrow metrics of traditional schooling and look at the snapshot of the child as a whole. By integrating therapy, behavior support, and academic instruction into one collaborative lens, we ensure that every student is set up to be their best selves.