About Franklin High School

Franklin High School is a large, public urban high school respected for its traditions of student and community involvement and academic preparedness. The student body is a richly diverse balance of ethnicity and culture: 25% Asian and Pacific Islander, 26% Black/African American, 17% Caucasian, 24% Latino/Hispanic, and <1% American Indian; altogether 72+% students of color furthest from educational justice.

Franklin students spend their school years learning with and about students of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Thus our graduates, in addition to being high caliber academically, receive another enriching educational experience – that of community – learning to live and get along in a complex urban society.

Well done is better than well said.

~ Benjamin Franklin

Franklin’s Mission and Vision

Mission statement: To graduate students who have achieved academic excellence and who look forward to sharing their expertise, understanding, and compassion to create an increasingly peaceful and productive society.

Vision: Franklin High School provides an inclusive, safe, and academically challenging environment for all students.

Franklin’s History

Franklin opened in 1912 as Seattle’s second purpose-built high school, after Seattle High School. Expanded in 1925 and upgraded extensively between 1988 and 1990, Franklin has undergone many changes in its over 100-year history. To learn more about our school’s rich past, as well as the origins of other schools in the district, check out the online edition of Building for Learning, 1862-2022. This digitized book provides a brief history of each school that has operated within the Seattle School District since its origin, extending back to 1862, seven years before the city was incorporated.