Benjamin Franklin High School (New Orleans)
in New Orleans, United StatesCategory: Attraction
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2035-2067 Leon C Simon Dr, New Orleans, LA 70122, USA Print route »
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Benjamin Franklin High School is a Selective Admissions Public Charter high school in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Commonly nicknamed "Franklin" or "Ben Franklin", this school should not be confused with Franklin High School in Franklin, Louisiana. Ben Franklin was founded in 1957 as a school for gifted children. In 1990, it moved to its current location on the campus of the University of New Orleans (UNO) in the Lake Terrace/Lake Oaks neighborhood of Orleans Parish, near Lake Pontchartrain. The school was damaged by several feet of flood water due to Hurricane Katrina in the fall of 2005, and efforts to reopen the school were covered by nationwide news agencies. Although the school is part of the Orleans Parish School District, it operates as a charter school .Ben Franklin has a selective admissions process, and according to CBS News is a "magnet for the city's smart and motivated students." It has been named a Blue Ribbon School four times by the U.S. Department of Education, and was ranked 16 on the 2009 "America's Best High Schools" list by U.S. News & World Report. The class of 2008 produced 17 National Achievement Semifinalists, the most of any school in the United States.
Ben Franklin is a member of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association and offers a variety of sports programs. Extracurricular activities are also offered in the form of performing arts, school publications, and clubs. Because of its selective admissions policies, the school was accused in 1996 of an admissions bias against African Americans. Notable alumni of the school include Wynton Marsalis, a Pulitzer Prize winning trumpeter.
