Franklin High School (Franklin, Tennessee)

History

Franklin High School was established in 1910, with 2 teachers and 20 students in an upstairs room in the Franklin Institute, an old Elementary School, located in the center of Franklin, Tennessee. The first graduating class, the class of 1912, consisted of 3 students. The first principal was Nell Shea. Franklin High School received its own building in 1926, and was located just outside the downtown area. G.E. Craddock was the principal during the move, and brought 10 teachers and a senior class of 33 to the new building.

In 1936, W.C. Yates became principal of Franklin High School. Franklin was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1941, and increased the number of teachers to 13, and the graduating senior class to 53. Daly Thompson became principal in the early 1950s. Barry Sutton became principal in 1955.

In January 1956, the Franklin High School building burned down, leaving only the gym and basement standing. The school moved to local churches while a new building was constructed. The new location, still used today, was on the opposite side of Franklin, and had 19 classrooms. This new building was designed by William Thomas Black, a famous architect in the area. The new location the staff increased again to 19 teachers, and taught a graduating class of 72. The senior class grew to 184 by 1967, and had 42 staff members. Carl Owen became principal in 1967, but only served for one year. During this year, Franklin High School was combined with Natchez High School. D.W.Sanders became principal in 1968, and was replaced in 1971 by Carl Pike.

Brentwood High School was opened in 1982, pulling students from Franklin High school. Bob Lawson became principal in 1987, but only served for a year. In 1988, Doug Crosier was named principal, and the school building was renovated. Centennial High School was opened in 1996 to support the growing Franklin area.

Dr. John Calton was principal for the 2000-01 school year, and after he resigned, Dr. Linda Miller was principal for a year. In 2002, Willie Dickerson was appointed principal, and is still serving today.

A new two story Franklin High School was built between 2004 and 2006, costing 21 million dollars, and was built on the site of the previous building.

Mascot

The school's mascot was a tribute originally meant to honor the confederacy of the civil war. Although Franklin has kept its mascot as the "Rebels" , the original cartoon of a confederate rebel is banned on school apparel. A big white "F" on incased on a maroon circle is used to symbolize Franklin High School instead. This is said to be the "Power F" that distracts from the taboo that the Confederacy is in modern time.

Academics

Franklin High School is widely known as the first high school in Tennessee to offer the International Baccalaureate program. There are currently 69 seniors at Franklin High School in the International Baccalaureate program. The school also offers AP and Honors courses to students to promote academic rigor.

Marching Band

State Championships (CoC): 1980, 1981, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016

BOA Regional Championships: 2012 (Jacksonville State, AL), 2013 (Powder Springs, GA)

Highest BOA Grand Nationals Finish: 13th (2015)

The Franklin High School Band has made appearances over the years in the Orange Bowl Parade, The Tournament of Roses Parade, The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, The St. Louis St. Patrick's Day Parade, The Hollywood Christmas Parade, and The Tangerine Bowl. The Band also appeared in the Academy Award winning movie "Nashville," a Madonna music video, and the 2014 film "The Secret Handshake." The Band has consistently been a finalist at Middle Tennessee State University's Contest of Champions and, in 1980 and 1981, won the Governor's Cup, identifying them as the Tennessee State Marching Band Champion. As evidence of what has been called a "come-back," the Band was Reserve Grand Champion (2nd Place) in 2010 at the Contest of Champions, their highest placement since the championship victory in 1981. In 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016, the Band again won the Governor's Cup, was named the TN State Champion, and Grand Champion at the contest. On a regional level, the Band was Grand Champion of the 2012 and 2013 Bands of America (BOA) Regional Championships in Jacksonville, AL., and Power Springs, GA.

The Band has competed at America's largest and most prestigious marching-band event, the Bands of America (BOA) Grand National Championships in Indianapolis, IN, every year since 2011 and have not missed semi-finals since 2012. In 2015, they placed 13th overall and were named 2nd in class (3A), with the highest score at a BOA competition in school history with an 89.05 in semi-finals. Franklin's improvement year-to-year is one of the most notable phenomena in the modern BOA era, as seen in the meteoric rise from 44th to 13th at BOA Grand Nationals in just five seasons.

In 2015, Franklin competed in the BOA Clarksville Regional, where they were named class 3A Champion and finished 3rd overall; they won the class 3A Outstanding Visual Performance award, and in the Finals won Outstanding Music Performance honors and also finished 2nd in the visual-performance caption. The Franklin High School Marching Band was again named Grand Champion of Middle Tennessee State University's Contest of Champions, winning the Governor's Cup and being declared TN State Champion for the 3rd time in 4 years. At the BOA Super Regional in Indianapolis, Franklin placed second among Class 3A and also won Outstanding Music Performance for the class. They received 11th place overall with a finals score of 78.80. Franklin attended the 2015 BOA Grand National Championships to finish their 2015 marching season. They were selected as one of 30 semi-finalist bands and received an 89.05, a 10.25 point increase in score since their BOA Indianapolis Super Regional score, placing them 13th and .6 points out of a finals position. They also were named the second place band in the National Class 3A, their third second place title in four years.

In 2016, Franklin competed in the BOA Clarksville Regional, placing second in class AAA and overall, and won the 3A Outstanding Music Performance. In Finals, they won Outstanding Music Performance and Outstanding Visual Performance. The Band made its first appearance at the Atlanta Super Regional, placing third in 3A and 7th overall. They also won the Middle Tennessee State University's Contest of Champions for the second year running and sixth time overall; beating Siegel High School by 6 points (the largest gap in Contest of Champions history), effectively winning the Governor's Cup and being named the Tennessee State Champion. At the Grand Nationals Championship in Indianapolis, they finished their season 5th in class with a total score of 87.25 points, a 2.20 drop from last year's Grand Nationals Championship. However, if their meteoric rise in BOA scores continues, they should become a national finalist within the next few years.

Franklin's Shows with participation in any BOA events:

2008: "Capture the Flag"

2009: "An American Life-The Legacy of Jimmy Gentry"

2010: "Fearful Symmetries"

2011: "Tango Nuevo"

2012: "Incantation"

2013: "Out of Darkness"

2014: "FX: A Cinematic Xperience"

2015: "...but now I see"

2016: "Mastermind"

Athletics

Basketball
In 1989 the Franklin Boys' Basketball team won the TSSAA State Championship.
Wrestling
In 1985 and 2005 Franklin High School won the State Tournament as a dual team.
Soccer
The Franklin High Lady Rebels Soccer Team won State Championships in 1984 and 1985 under the TN Independent Lady Soccer League.. TSSAA sanctioned high school soccer as a sport in 1986, and the Lady Rebels have claimed the State Championship Title 13 times. During this time three national records were set: 1) most state championships(9), 2) most consecutive wins (83), 3) most consecutive games without a defeat (96). The team was also ranked in the top twenty in the USA for 5 consecutive years.

The boys' soccer team won state championships in 2013 and 2014.

Notable alumni