First free public school in Mississippi closing after over 200 years
Franklin Academy closing as part of a Columbus Municipal School District restructuring plan to address low enrollment and resource shortages.
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Mississippi public school enrollment has dropped by more than 10% since 2011 according to the nonprofit Mississippi First.
And districts like Columbus Municipal School District are feeling the impact.
To address the decline, and a statewide teacher shortage, the district is restructuring some schools.
The first free public school in Mississippi, Franklin Academy, is shuttering its doors after more than 200 years of serving the community.
To address low enrollment and teacher shortages, this Fall, Columbus Municipal School District is initiating its first phase of school restructuring.
The plan will send Franklin students to one of three schools in the area.
Pre-K through first grade will go to Stokes-Beard Elementary.
Third and fourth grade will be at Cook Elementary.
And fifth grade will move to Hunt, which will also host sixth graders from Columbus Middle School.
Stanley Ellis, the Columbus Municipal School District superintendent said the move will be positive for the district.
“It allows us to maximize the resources that we have with our teachers,” Ellis said. “So all of the grades will be there together. And so it’s going to, I think it’s going to be a game changer for us.”
The restructuring aims to create stronger support networks for teachers while addressing resource challenges.
Ellis said they are working to ensure classes won’t be interrupted by the transition.
“The numbers of the classes are not going to change,” Ellis said. “The teachers, we still will need the teachers. But the students will all be in one place.”
Ellis said putting all of these teachers in one place enables the veteran teachers to assist newer teachers.
Franklin was established the same year that Columbus was chartered as a town in 1821.
Allowing those who could not afford tuition a free education was revolutionary for the 1800’s said Rufus Ward, a local historian.
“Franklin, at its time, was groundbreaking for the innovations that it did,” Ward said. “It is extremely important. And it’s one of the foundational pieces of history of the city of Columbus.”
Franklin’s first students were local Choctaw Indians and the white population of Columbus.
The first president of the trustees for Franklin even sought input from President Thomas Jefferson.
“I’m sad we’re losing a bit of our heritage there,” Ward said. “You’re looking at American history. You’re looking at Thomas Jefferson’s input. You’re looking at Choctaw Indians going there. It was a phenomenal educational institution.”
While franklin’s role in the district is ending, Ellis said they are looking to the local philanthropic community and businesses for ideas on how Franklin may continue to serve Columbus.
“We’re looking to keep it and to see how it could still benefit the district,” Ellis said. “But more, especially how it can benefit this entire community.”
The second phase of the restructuring will close Fairview Elementary and other schools with low enrollment.
Columbus High School will be unaffected by this plan.
