When Betty Bryan first walked into Franklin Academy as a student in 1951, one of her aunts was the principal and another was a third-grade teacher.
“It was just like being at home,” she told The Dispatch on Monday. “My family was here, and I loved every minute that I was here. It was a wonderful, wonderful school.”
Bryan, who taught at the school for 25 years, was one of several community members with ties to Franklin who returned Monday to end the final chapter in a long tradition of distributing books to students. For the last time before the school closes, volunteers from My Book of Lowndes County handed out books to first-graders.
Franklin was officially chartered by the Mississippi Legislature in 1821, making it the first public school in the state. Now after 204 years of serving students in Columbus, Franklin will close at the end of the school year.
Its closure marks the beginning of Columbus Municipal School District’s shift from the magnet school model to full grade-span consolidation, a downsizing effort that comes after years of dropping enrollment.
After Franklin and Fairview Elementary School close, the district’s three remaining schools will house kindergarten through fifth grade. Franklin and Fairview will be repurposed, though the district has not yet determined how.
“What I’m hoping is that there will be a really, really good and positive future for Franklin,” Bryan said. “It may not be a school, but I hope it will continue to be a force in Columbus.
During the final distribution at Franklin on Monday, Bryan and Edwina Williams, also known as Mother Goose, who also attended and taught at Franklin, led first-graders in songs and read stories to them. The program, which is a special project of the CREATE Foundation, aims to increase literacy levels by giving students their own books. My Book will continue to distribute books at other CMSD schools and West Lowndes Elementary.
“The reason that we’ve been coming all these years is we wanted to let you know how important reading is and just what it’s going to do for you as you go through your school career,” Glenn Lautzenhiser, My Book of Lowndes County president, told students. “Reading is fun. It’s one of the most fun things that you can do, and you need to make reading your good friend.”
When My Book first began its book distributions in Columbus, Lautzenhiser and Williams led the distributions at Franklin, and he has continued to do so since.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in this building,” he said. “… Other people have joined us along the way, but we were here from the very beginning.”
Ellen Bowles, who has been the librarian at Franklin for the last two years, isn’t sure whether her students understand the significance of the last distribution, but she was happy to share the experience with others who have connections to the school.
“It’s very bittersweet right now because this is a very loved building,” she said. “A lot of people in this community have grown up in this school. So it feels really special to have all these people here with us today.”
District 39 Rep. Dana McLean presented Bowles with a copy of a proclamation commemorating Franklin’s bicentennial celebration in 2021 before books were handed out Monday. McLean, who started school at Franklin in the first grade, agreed with Bowles.
While she understands the need to close the school, McLean acknowledged how special Franklin is to her, other alumni and the city.
“Back when I went to school, kindergarten was not part of the public school curriculum, so it was really my first time to actually go to school. I love the building,” she said. “It’s just such a landmark in our town. The fact that it’s continued to be in operation all these years … like I told the students, it’s part of the history of our whole state.”
McLean told students they should be proud of being a student at Franklin Academy. Echoing the sentiment, Mayor Keith Gaskin told first-graders they are part of a long history of excellence.
“There are so many people in Columbus that grew up that came to school here and … now they’re doing important things because they came to this great little school with wonderful teachers like y’all have today,” he said. “Y’all be thankful that you were able to come to Franklin. You’ll still have a good time in your next schools, and you’ll keep learning, but just remember y’all were here on a very special day.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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