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Research | Publications

Ben Franklin Academy is unusual among secondary schools in that its faculty are actively engaged in research and writing projects that contribute to a body of knowledge that informs their curriculum and pedagogical methods, as well as the work of others.

Dean of Studies Dr. Martha Burdette, for example, was awarded a prestigious two-year Postdoctoral Fellowship in 1995 by the National Academy of Education and the Spencer Foundation to continue her research on narrative development in students. Few of these awards are ever given to secondary school teachers. Her initial research on narrative thought is being published by Brookline Books, Cambridge, MA. The research on adolescent narrative development that results from her Spencer Fellowship will also be published by Brookline Books. She and Dr. Smethurst served as consultants for the series of readers for Continental Press called Performance Reading (2000). This series was based on Burdette's research on narrative.

Headmaster Wood Smethurst, a specialist in teaching young children how to read, has a long history of publications. The recently published Teaching a Young Child to Read is the product of over thirty years of clinical teaching and provides guidance for parents, other caregivers and teachers in helping young children become fluent in reading. Study Power: Study Skills to Improve Your Learning & Your Grades, co-authored by Drs. Ron Luckie and Wood Smethurst, provides students with techniques to enhance the learning process and to maximize their study time. A companion book, Study Power Workbook, offers detailed guidance in developing these skills. These books may be ordered through your local bookstore or through internet sites such as Brookline Books, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com. The Reading Pilgrimage by Dr. Smethurst is scheduled for publication in 2010 by Brookline Books.

The school has also inaugurated its own monograph series. Two publications are currently available. Senryu by Shadow is a collection of 27 haiku poems by Shadow, one of the school's cats-in-residence. This monograph presents a meditative look at the world outside through a feline point of view and is suitable as a gift.

The second monograph, "Academic Success: The Ben Franklin Academy Approach," is adapted from an article that appeared in Readings on Language and Literacy: A Tribute to Jeanne Chall. This article summarizes the BFA approach to mastery learning and how it can be effective in motivating students.

Both monographs are available upon request from our BFA Information Request form.

Other BFA faculty members are engaged in academic and/or creative writing projects. For example, Dr. Pamela Turner is an accomplished playwright whose works have been produced and given readings internationally. One of her plays, Me Own Personal Hero, was selected for presentation at the 5th International Woman Playwrights Festival in Greece in October, 2000.