On the morning of October 18, 2021, a steel beam, painted white, sat near the construction on the Franklin Elementary School campus awaiting signatures. Students arrived in shifts by bus from Twain Elementary School and Highland Elementary School and took turns signing the beam. The students of Twain and Highland will be combining and attending the new elementary school on the Franklin campus in the fall of 2022. The Board of Education will be voting on a name for this new school at their November meeting.

The next day, district staff and construction stakeholders gathered to see the progress on the construction of the new school and to sign the beam. Once all the signatures were in place, a pine tree was mounted to one side of the beam and an American flag was mounted to the other side. These are traditional parts of a “topping out” ceremony; the pine tree symbolizes a new beginning, and the American flag represents patriotism and the American dream.

The beam was then lifted and placed in the structure, where it will be forever a part of the new school.

Check out the video slideshow of the whole event!