Stephen Franklin named new M-House principal

M-House has welcomed Stephen Franklin as its new M-House principal, taking over the job from long-time House Principal Larry Boone.According to Franklin, this year is his 21st year in education. Prior to moving to California in 2000, Franklin was a history teacher at a middle school in Washington D.C. for 11 years and moved to California in the year 2000. Franklin's first year at Samo marks his tenth year as a high school administrator.After moving to California, Franklin said he sought a degree to teach history. Franklin attended Ball State University, Trinity University and California State University, Los Angeles. Franklin received his credential to be a teacher in elementary secondary education at Trinity University and his credential in history and  his credential to be an administrator  at California State University, Los Angeles. Franklin said he is attempting to increase the efficiency of M-House."I'm trying to put in a few things here in M-House that deal with accountability and following through," Franklin said.Franklin said he believes that college attendance is important and that students should go to college after high school, and said he will be seen every Thursday wearing a different college shirt to encourage all students to seek higher education. According to Franklin, he has already received positive feedback from students."He's great – he came to my first period class a couple of times [and] observed," sophmore Kaitlyn Plukas said. "It's always hard to make adjustments to high school students but once he gets the hang of it, [he] will be good."Franklin said he wants to be more involved in the atmosphere of M-House teachers. He has visited all M-House classrooms and intends on visiting all of the English classes."I like the idea of being a more unified house especially with our staff," English teacher Megan Walker said. "[Franklin] has been very open and receptive to any ideas or questions or concerns that we have. He has an open door policy which is fantastic and I think that he would do a really great job of making M-House an even stronger house."According to Walker, Franklin sat down with her and asked her about her peer tutoring program. Walker said that it was a welcome change having an administrator approach her and not the other way around. According to M-House adviser Maribel Pulido, Franklin is already improving the way M-House functions."[Franklin] is a great addition to M-House and I look forward to working with him and finding out his style,"  Pulido said.Walker said that Franklin has risen to the challenge of his new position."Mr. Franklin has done a great job, he came in with a lot on his plate," Walker said. "He's been efficient and effective in getting things done in a timely manner. Coming into a school as large and diverse as Samo would be a challenge for anyone, and I feel that Mr. Franklin has done a seamless job."mytarr@thesamohi.com