FAQ

A BFHS student must come to school with the necessary materials. Backpacks or book bags may be used to carry books, binders and notebooks to and from school. Each student should be prepared with several pencils and blue or black ink ballpoint pens and white, blue-lined, loose-leaf notebook paper. Spiral-bound notebooks are used for note taking, journaling, or other coursework as directed by the teacher.  

Individual teachers may require additional specific tools for school use, such as rulers, compass, calculator, sketchbook, subject notebooks, binders, and the like. Students should wait to purchase such items until their teacher has specified them.

A set of consumable books is the responsibility of the parent(s). A list of books and ISBN numbers are provided to parent(s). 

We are proud to offer our students a wide range of Athletic and Fine Arts extracurricular activities.

We offer a full range of athletic team opportunities for students. Please see the Athletics page for a full list of sports.

In our Fine Arts program, there are  also extracurricular opportunities such as our annual musical. Click here to learn more about Fine Arts. 

We also offer a variety of student-initiated clubs. Clubs options vary by year depending on student interest. 

Yes, our dress code ensures an atmosphere conducive to student learning and free from unnecessary distractions. Pride in student dress is one of the most observable differences at Benjamin Franklin High School. Our Dress Code Policy can be found in our Family Handbooks, or you can visit our Dress Code Policy page for more information.

We do not accept teacher requests. This allows us to maintain balanced classrooms.

Class sizes may vary, but on average range between 26-28 students. The maximum class size is 32 students.

We love to have parents (and prospective parents) visit our campuses. Current BFHS parents are asked to notify teachers when visits are planned. For prospective parents, you are welcome to drop in anytime. However, to ensure a staff member is available to answer all of your questions, please schedule a tour here!

We are dedicated to helping each child learn and achieve their highest potential. Our program is very structured, which allows students to stay organized. A variety of student academic support programs are offered to qualified students at BFHS, including tutoring offered by every classroom teacher. Parents with concerns about their child's academic progress may reach out to the classroom teacher or the campus student support liaison listed below for more direction. 

Campus Student Support Liaison: Michael Norzagaray, Academic Advisor - mnorzagaray@bfcsaz.com

Homework is a vital part of the curriculum and philosophy of BFHS and reserves class time for instruction, discussion, dialogue and interaction between teacher and students in the pursuit of clarity and truth. Homework is also a time of quiet concentration in which the student takes ownership over the subject matter and demonstrates the ability to master concepts. 

Students should expect to do homework nightly and on weekends. Success with homework depends on a student’s study strategies, such as planning, goal-setting, time-management, self-monitoring and the like. At least two “R & R” weekends per semester are calendared as no homework weekends.

We offer limited busing for students at select campuses. We also offer free shuttle services both before and after school between all three elementary campuses and BFHS for our junior high and high school students. For more information or to sign up, visit our Transportation Page.

Benjamin Franklin Charter School has been serving children in the East Valley since 1995. Our schools are top-rated and accredited. Our time-proven, effective, and reliable curriculum continues to be successful in shaping the hearts and minds of our students.

Evolving curricula theories and methodologies are not new to public education. Something unique to Benjamin Franklin Charter School is that we rarely deviate from our core curriculum. By staying true to our exceptional curriculum, we have provided generations of students with stability and reinforced our high-achieving academic deliverables year after year. We have research-based evidence to support the effectiveness of both what we teach and what we do not teach. Typically, any changes in curriculum are limited to refinements rather than sweeping changes, and any refinements to the curriculum are researched and carefully implemented with the support and knowledge of our school community.

As a publicly-funded charter school, BFCS is mandated to participate in the various standardized tests that are given each year in the state of Arizona. At BFCS, we do not “teach to the test.” We use time-proven methods to educate students rather than focus on the narrow strand of knowledge contained in standardized tests. 

No, we do not teach sex education to our K-12 students. In the state of Arizona, sex education is not required as part of a school's curriculum.

Benjamin Franklin Charter School has found the 7th – 12th grade model to be the preferred program for our classical, college preparatory junior high/high school. This integration allows for seamless transitions between grades and a curriculum scope and sequence that builds upon prior learning in the previous grade. The various departments work together across the spectrum of grades in order to facilitate cohesion and cooperation which results in superior curriculum and instruction, and thus learning. Additionally, a 7th – 12th grade model allows for a great dynamic between younger and older students and teachers. Older students can have the experience of mentoring younger students, while younger students have great role models, helping them to mature, educationally, at a faster rate.

It is common practice for classical schools with a college prep focus to assign summer work in order to prevent a slip in student achievement during their time away from campus and to better prepare them for the upcoming academic school year. 

To view this year's summer assignments, visit this webpage: BFHS Summer Assignments

There are many reasons to study Latin, including:

1. Studying Latin serves as an in depth study of the English language. Over 50% of our language can be traced to Latin, and the precise nature of Latin lends to a deeper understanding of English grammar.
2. Latin is the scholarly language of the sciences, law, history, etc. 
3. Those with a foundation in Latin score significantly higher on the SAT and ACT test. 
4. By studying Latin and the Romans, students enter a new and different world which can broaden their understanding of the past as it applies to today. By observing Roman values, attitudes, and behavior and by comparing them to their own, students can come to know another way of seeing reality and can broaden their experience.

For more information on the importance of Latin, please see our Latin Page