Community Builder Spotlight: Ken Darsney

“I was interested in coming to work in Franklin because this is a community that really needs good people. We have a lot of economic challenges here, and I wanted to come to someplace where I could make a difference.” — Ken Darsney

Darsney, FMS Principal for the past four years is retiring this May (March 2022)

Ken Darsney has been the Franklin Middle School (FMS) Principal for the past four years. Having worked in education for more than two decades, serving 16 of those years as an administrator, Darsney is set to retire at the end of the 2021–2022 school year. Before he departs, we were fortunate to talk with him about the challenges he’s faced and the changes that he’s seen in the Franklin community as FMS principal.

Downtown Franklin from the Stevens Mill (March 2022)

Darsney has weathered a few storms during his time at the helm at FMS, but none more dramatic than the first days of the Covid-19 Pandemic. In talking with us, it became clear that Darsney is proud of the resilience and spirit that he witnessed at FMS starting right from the beginning, in March of 2020.

“On Monday, we took [our Chromebooks] out of their carts. On Tuesday, we had every single family drive to our building and we dropped their work in their cars. And by Thursday, we were teaching kids and delivering food to many of their houses. We mobilized this school district. That was the kind of spirit that we had established district-wide during the couple of years that we had been together as the administrative team.” — Ken Darsney

The Light and Power Mill from Franklin Public Library stacks (March 2022)

Darsney is quick to credit much of the positive change that he has seen in the Franklin school system over the past four years to this administrative team.

“I serve on the team, which is made up of all the principals and all the folks at the district office (SAU #18). And [we] work together to develop common goals for all of the schools. So that, literally, from the superintendent on down, the community knows that when [their children] are being prepared at the elementary school for the middle school, prepared at the middle school for the high school, and prepared at the high school for life, that we are all pulling in the same direction.” — Ken Darsney

Darsney talks to Proctor’s Telling True Stories group outside Franklin Middle School (March 2022).

While he is quick to credit the administrative team for improvements in the school system, he is also proud of overseeing a number of FMS-specific changes during his tenure at Franklin. During our interview, he made the point that the most important change he has personally overseen in his time as FMS Principal is the reconfiguration of the middle school building and grade groupings.

Another important personal aspect of his policies at FMS has been his emphasis on transparency and communication, which are indispensable to his educational vision. To this end, Darsney gives out his personal cell phone number on his emails and business cards and wears an earpiece in school so he is always available for FMS families.

“Our families know, when they get emails from me, that my cell phone number is on it, and they know that they can reach me that way. Wherever I am in the [school] building, I will take the call. I don’t believe in returned calls. I want to hear about [parent questions or concerns] right away. [At FMS] we all try to be as accessible and transparent as we can.” — Ken Darnsey

Franklin Middle School (March 2022)

Darsney feels that there have been clear improvements in the Franklin school system during his time here. The biggest challenge, long-term, that he identifies as facing Franklin schools is going to be finding dedicated teachers. For example, the school has received a lot of funds and was even able to put a woodshop inside the school, but because they cannot find any full-time woodshop teachers the classroom has been closed during the normal school day. Despite the hiring challenges to come, Darsney believes that with the foundation that he was able to build with his team, FMS will only continue to improve under new leadership this next school year.

“This reason I feel I can leave [FMS] is that I feel like I have made the wood pile higher than when I came here.” — Ken Darsney

We wish Darsney all the best at the New Hampshire Department of Education next year!

This article was written Josh Hou, Thomas Berger, and Tom Morgan with help from Kirstin Bass.