Franklin Academy selects Tecton Architects to lead comprehensive campus master plan
Franklin Academy has selected Tecton Architects to lead the development of a comprehensive Campus Master Plan, launching a collaborative process that will help shape the long-term future of the school’s East Haddam campus.
Made possible through a generous anonymous philanthropic gift, the initiative represents an important investment in Franklin Academy’s future and will establish a long-term framework for how the school’s physical environment can continue to evolve alongside its students, programs, and mission.
The launch comes at a pivotal moment for Franklin Academy. As the school prepares to celebrate its 25th year serving neurodivergent learners, Franklin is also experiencing significant institutional momentum.
Recently named Connecticut’s best private school in the 2026 Best of Connecticut Awards, the school enters the 2026–2027 academic year with record new-student enrollment, strong returning-student retention, expanding programs, and continued investment in the student experience. The Campus Master Plan represents another step forward: ensuring Franklin’s physical campus evolves alongside the community it serves.
“Being recognized as Connecticut’s Best Private School was an extraordinary affirmation of the work happening at Franklin, but we have never viewed recognition as a finish line,” said Dr. Alexander Morris-Wood, Head of School. “It creates a responsibility to keep asking what our students will need next. This master planning process gives us the opportunity to ask that question of our campus — to imagine how the spaces where students live, learn, connect, and grow can evolve alongside the school we are becoming.”
The Campus Master Plan will serve as a roadmap for Franklin Academy’s future for generations to come. Grounded in the school’s values, mission, and vision, the process will balance foundational campus needs with aspirational goals, combining data-driven planning with creative problem-solving to develop a cohesive long-term vision. The resulting plan will provide Franklin with tools to guide future implementation, institutional decision-making, and philanthropic investment.
Franklin selected Hartford-based Tecton Architects following a review of potential planning partners. Founded in 1979, Tecton brings extensive experience in architecture, interior design, and master planning and has worked with educational institutions and independent schools throughout the Northeast.
Of particular importance to Franklin was Tecton’s approach to creating environments responsive to the needs of neurodiverse learners. The firm’s work will consider elements such as sensory comfort, clarity of movement, and access to both social and quiet spaces, recognizing that students experience and interact with their physical environments in different ways.
“Tecton’s understanding that students experience their environments differently strongly resonated with us,” Morris-Wood said. “At Franklin, student-centered education means considering the whole student. Our campus should reflect that same philosophy — not only in what spaces allow students to do, but in how those spaces allow students to feel.”
Community engagement will be central to the master planning process. Students, faculty and staff, school leadership, trustees, families, and alumni will all have opportunities to contribute to the vision through workshops, think tanks, interviews, surveys, campus conversations, and other engagement opportunities. Focused meetings with Franklin’s leadership and core working group will continue throughout the process.
“We are honored to collaborate with the students and staff at Franklin Academy to build upon their nearly 25 years of innovation, growth and inclusivity — to envision alongside their caring and dedicated campus family a future that continues their mission and gives every student the space to excel,” said Jeff Wyszynski, principal and chief operating officer at Tecton Architects.
The process will ultimately result in a comprehensive Campus Master Plan Report that will include an executive summary, mission and guiding principles, documentation of the planning and community-engagement process, key findings, campus opportunities, and implementation and long-term planning strategies. Visual materials developed through the planning process may also support future fundraising and advancement efforts.
“As we prepare to celebrate Franklin Academy’s 25th year serving neurodivergent learners, we are excited about what has been accomplished and filled with anticipation for what is yet to come,” said Belinda Brennan, Chair of the Franklin Academy Board of Trustees. “With a vision to evolve our ability to serve the expanding needs of our community, we begin this work dedicated to creating a campus that will bring that vision to fruition.”
The final Campus Master Plan is expected to be unveiled to the broader Franklin Academy community at the school’s gala on April 3, 2027.
“This is about stewardship as much as it is about possibility,” Morris-Wood said. “We have a remarkable campus and a responsibility to think carefully about how it serves Franklin today and how it can serve generations of students to come. We are incredibly grateful for the generosity that has made this important work possible and excited to begin imagining Franklin’s future together.”
Additional information about the Campus Master Plan and opportunities for community participation will be shared as the process moves forward.
About Franklin Academy
Franklin Academy is a college-preparatory boarding and day school in East Haddam, serving students in grades 8–12 and post-graduate programming. Founded on the belief that students who learn differently thrive when their strengths are understood and their individuality is valued, Franklin combines rigorous academics with individualized support, intentional community, and opportunities for students to develop greater confidence, independence, and self-awareness. Franklin’s highly relational approach extends beyond the classroom, creating a school experience where students are known, challenged, supported, and empowered to discover what they are capable of achieving.
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