Franklin School is designated a National Visitation Site by the Core Knowledge Foundation. As such, it features a comprehensive K-8 instructional program through which students experience the complete Core Knowledge Curriculum. Franklin is the only model school in the state of Oregon. Teacher created units are often presented at the National Conferences.

Core Knowledge is based on the belief that all children deserve a solid, specific, shared curriculum. In each grade students are exposed to a broad range of historical, scientific, and cultural topics that build on one another.

This K-8 sequence contains six "strands" or content areas organized so that topics integrate in meaningful ways. These areas include: Language Arts, History and Geography, Science, Mathematics, Visual Arts, and Music. Music and art are frequently integrated into history and literature topics. A strong focus on vocabulary in all content areas benefits the students' reading, writing, and content comprehension skills.

Students in grades 6 - 8 receive daily instruction in both Literature and Language Arts. This scheduling allows for 100 minutes of daily literacy instruction. Middle school students also receive math instruction for a full 60 minutes a day, which means there is time for instruction, practice and feedback everyday.

A common curriculum benefits teachers, students and parents. Teachers are free to teach the subject matter as creatively as they like, but content is specified and builds from year to year. A sequenced curriculum promotes teamwork and a school-wide focus for staff development, resources, and cross-grade connections. For students, it eliminates gaps and repetition. Students experience a sense of achievement as knowledge and skills are mastered. Another benefit to this curriculum is that it helps students meet or exceed state standards. Core Knowledge encourages parent and community participation through clear guidelines. This offers an exciting content-rich learning experience for everyone involved!