Franklin High School’s legacy is found in the stories of its graduates
Benjamin Franklin High School in Rochester graduated its first senior class in 1931.
On June 29, 2024, it will graduate its last.
Starting this coming school year, Franklin will become Padilla High School at the Franklin Campus. The new name recognizes Ramon Padilla, a pillar of Rochester’s Hispanic community who died in 2007, as well as honoring the extended Padilla family.
The change makes sense, certainly the Padillas are worthy of the honor, but Franklin deserves to depart with fanfare, just as it arrived.
Given its sprawling size – it’s the largest building in the district – as well as other factors, the high school at 950 Norton St. has been the subject of concern for decades.
However, it has done the heavy lifting of educating thousands of young people, some of them first-generation high school students, some of them new to this country, many of them growing up in challenging circumstances.
And a survey of our list of Remarkable Rochesterians shows many Franklin graduates, some of them barrier breakers, all of them leaders. Here’s a few:
Dr. Edwin A. Robinson (1917-1972), graduated from Franklin in 1935 and went on to become the first Black graduate of the University of Rochester’s Medical school.
Michael Telesca (1929-2020), the son of Italian immigrants and a 1948 Franklin graduate, was a federal judge who oversaw hundreds of cases.
“(Franklin) was inspiring,” Telesca told me in 1998 for a story I wrote on the 50th reunion of his class. “It was more than just a school. The teachers identified in us certain qualifications we didn’t know we had. They were like talent scouts.”
Betty Kalmn Perkins-Carpenter (1931-2018), also in the class of 1948, was a diving champion at Franklin who later coached hundreds of divers, including Olympians, and served on the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
Like many other members of her class, she had a job all the time she was in high school. “I worked at the old General Hospital, as a ward helper,” she told me in 1998. “I would just get on a bus and go to work. I don’t think anybody had a car.”
Irv Weinstein (1930-2017), another Remarkable, was also in Franklin’s class of 1948. A longtime news anchor at WKBW-TV in Buffalo, he was the son of immigrant parents from Lithuania.
Chuck Mangione (1940- ), a renowned flugelhorn player and composer, he was a member of Franklin’s class of 1958, who, when he was in high school, played in a jazz combo with his pianist brother, Gap. He graduated from the Eastman School of Music and has sold millions of records and received numerous awards.
David Gantt (1941-2020), a 1960 graduate of Franklin, was a power in the New York State Assembly, serving from 1980 until his death.
Trent Jackson (1942-2007) was a football and track star at Franklin who graduated in 1961 and went on to compete in the 1964 Olympic games and then played in the NFL before returning to Rochester to coach.
Rosa E. Johnson (1956-2018), a 1973 Franklin graduate, was diagnosed with scleroderma, a progressive disease that causes skin and connective tissues to harden and became a tireless advocate for people with the illness, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for research.
Deana Lawson (1979-) was in the Global Studies Honors Program at Franklin and a 1996 graduate. She’s now a celebrated photographer/educator. Her honors include the 2020 Hugo Boss Prize from Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
Dr. Puthiery Va (1980-), was the valedictorian of Franklin’s class of 1998, and now she’s a physician and the director of Maine’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Born in a refugee camp to parents who had fled violence in Cambodia, Va went to Monroe Community College while still in high school.
“My father drove me around,” Va told me earlier this year. “He would take me back and forth from classes in between his work breaks. He would show up in his truck, trying to scarf down his lunch. He brought me something to eat, too, and then he will take me to classes.”
In addition to the Franklin graduates who are on the Remarkables list, there are thousands of people who made Franklin a better place. Students are remembered; teachers are remembered
Dr. Calvin O. Dash (1924- 2005) was just one of those teachers. He had degrees from the Julliard School of Music and the Eastman School of Music and was one of the few Black teachers at Franklin in the 1960s. He was strict. He knew his stuff. He had a wonderful voice. He inspired students, helped make music part of their lives.
Perhaps this is how schools carry on even after they are closed or renamed. The lessons learned are passed along, memories endure. Even though it’s gone, Franklin thus lives on.
This year’s graduation
The ceremonies for Franklin High School will be at 11 a.m. on June 29, in the auditorium of the school at 950 Norton St., Rochester.
From his home in Geneseo, Livingston County, retired senior editor Jim Memmott writes Remarkable Rochester about who we were, who we are. He can be reached at jmemmott@gannett.com or write Box 274, Geneseo, NY 14454.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Remarkable Rochesterians: Franklin High School graduates make the list
