Dear Franklin Park Elementary School Families,

My name is Rebekah Solomon and I am an alumna of both Franklin Park Elementary School and a 1999 graduate of Franklin High School. I am so excited to introduce myself as the new principal of Franklin Park Elementary School. I am honored to have been selected to join your family, which is known far and wide for its dedication to excellence, but more importantly, to children. Over the past 17 years, I have worked as a teacher and administrator, but I consider my most important job to be that of a student advocate. I believe that each child is just one caring adult away from becoming a success story. I will spend a lot of time with your children, getting to know their personalities, learning styles and interests. I will celebrate their successes, small and large. I will encourage them every day and let them know they are valued and have a special place in our school community. 

Not only am I excited to begin working with your children, but I look forward to the work we will do together. As the old African Proverb states, “It takes a village to raise a child.”  I am excited to join your village and to be afforded the honor of seeing your children through your eyes. I cannot wait to share with you, all the great things they do throughout their days here at Franklin Park. I will be here to work with you should they need any help navigating any aspect of the school day.

My goal is to ensure that all children are healthy, happy and safe, so they may learn as much as they can. This has been my philosophy since I began my career teaching 7th and 8th grade at Sampson G. Smith School and Franklin Middle School in 2004. In 2008, I moved to Franklin High School where I was the academic advisor for student athletes for seven years at which time, I earned my dual master’s degrees in School and Professional Counseling.  Some of my many responsibilities included monitoring the academic progress of student athletes and prescribing appropriate intervention services.

In 2014, I became the District Supervisor of Health and Physical Education where I evaluated staff, continuously monitored and evaluated the delivery of programs and made recommendations for improvement. In 2018, I became a Vice Principal and had the honor and privilege to support hundreds of diverse learners each day. My greatest achievement comes not professionally, but personally, as I am the mother of two dynamic Franklin students:  Isiah (class of 2019), who is currently pursuing his undergraduate studies at Morgan State University and Nia (16), who is currently a Junior at Franklin High school. People often say to me, that I treat all children in my school as if they were my own. My commitment to each of you, is to make you feel safe and confident in sending your children to our school each day. I want you to know that I will work tirelessly to ensure all your children have the best possible experiences while at Franklin Park Elementary School.

Once again, I am so thankful to have the opportunity to bring all that I have experienced and learned with me to this wonderful school community. I look forward to getting to know you and your children. I will be working hard to ensure a smooth transition and hybrid opening in November.

I look forward to meeting you soon.

Warm Regards,

Rebekah Solomon, M.A, EdS