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Facilities

Ben Franklin Academy operates in two converted former residences that preserve their home-like character. The gardens of both houses are extensive (Our rose garden, in particular, is a traffic stopper on Clifton Road.) Students are free to sit outside to read or to discuss their assignments with faculty members. As long as students are working on their daily plans and completing their assignments responsibly, they are welcome to study where they wish, to take a break for coffee or fruit juice, fix a bagel or mug of soup or cocoa, in other words, to make themselves at home.

We believe that learning takes place best in an informal, non-stressful environment where students are encouraged to ask questions and to explore avenues of thought well beyond the confines of a textbook or a particular assignment. We want our students to become self-directed learners who are actively engaged in the learning process, not passive recipients of a classroom lecture. At BFA, learning is the student's responsibility, as well as the teacher's. Our faculty are here to assist and encourage students in their learning, to serve as mentors, coaches, and role models, and to help students master each subject.

Unlike conventional schools, BFA conducts its teaching on an individualized, one-on-one basis in order to meet the unique instructional needs of each student. Accordingly, the school does not have classrooms, per se. Rather, teachers work with individual students or small groups of students around a table. Many instructional areas consist of a single round table and two chairs. This informal, home-like arrangement works well for students who may have been intimidated by large classroom settings or whose learning needs could not be addressed or accommodated by a teacher responsible for a classroom of twenty or thirty students.

The original school facility at 1585 Clifton Road currently serves as our Senior House, where those students in their final year of study work to complete their graduation requirements.

The new school facility at 752 Houston Mill Road serves junior-level and younger students and houses most of the school's administrative staff. Included in this facility are Admissions office, the College Counselor's office, as well as the Headmaster's suite. More recently, BFA added a Carriage House, which provided a much needed multipurpose room, teleconferencing room, dark room, an additional classroom on the main level, and conference offices on the top floor.

Both houses have LAN cabling and are tied to Emory University's ethernet, giving BFA superior access to the research resources of both the university and the internet.