FDR Middle School To Close, Franklin Middle School To Open March 6 After $53.9 Million In Work

The Bristol Township School District’s new Benjamin Franklin Middle School is set to open its doors in March following a $53.9 million renovation and expansion.

The Franklin D. Roosevelt Middle School off Veterans Highway will close on Monday, March 6 when all students will move to the Franklin building on Mill Creek Road.

Principal Kevin Boles will release a transition plan to the school community detailing the planned move to the new building in the coming weeks.

Prior to the official opening on March 6, there will be a “soft opening” and a phased-in approach for teachers and students to familiarize themselves with the new school and its structure.

“Students and staff are excited for the transition to Ben Franklin and to start using all the new learning spaces,” said Boles. “Current FDR, and now future Ben Franklin students and parents will receive the transition plan in the coming weeks, and are encouraged to reach out to the administration if they have any questions or concerns.”

The Franklin building has been complete renovated and has capacity for up to 900 middle schoolers.

The previous Franklin building was overhauled and a 35,000-square-foot addition with 20 new classrooms was added. The total size of the new middle school is 156,000 square feet.

The school’s curriculum will be enhanced by the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) areas, which will offer project-based learning and implementation. The building also includes learning stairs, collaborative, large group instruction spaces for each grade, computer labs, and a media center and art rooms.

A new roof, improved wall insulation, and an energy-efficient system are other enhancements.

A gated vestibule at the entry, security cameras, and card access are among the safety elements at the middle school.

To enhance traffic flow, changes have also been made to the bus loop and student drop-off area.

“Above and beyond the educational needs of the community, Ben Franklin Middle School continually met the facility needs of the community such as attending sporting events or using athletic fields. To enhance physical education and athletic programs, the site includes a lighted softball field, a turfed multipurpose field with a track, a full-size multipurpose field, an auxiliary multipurpose field and a baseball field,” the district said in a statement.

Construction on the project began in 2021, and the district spent $53.9 million on the work.

Bristol Township School Board President Jim Morgan said: “The school board is proud of the adaptive reuse and modernization of the original building. We are very excited to see students learning there soon.”

Assistant Superintendent Chris Polzer thanked the engineering, design, and construction teams for their efforts.

“Thank you to everyone involved in the project and for all their hard work,” he said.

Last year, the district announced redistricting plans for the elementary and middle schools in anticipation of the move.

Neil A. Armstrong Middle School on Wistar Road will have approximately 672 students and FDR and then Franklin will have 754 students in the 2022-2023 school year.

Over the past decade, the Bristol Township School District has closed nine elementary schools and consolidated to three new buildings. Their plan called for improvements and updates, including the closure of the Roosevelt building, at the middle school level. Work on the high school could be an upcoming focus. The district moved their administration and bus depot to the former Clara Barton Elementary School building next to Harry S. Truman High School in 2019.

Plans for the future of the FDR building have not been announced.

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