Overcomers Series Episode 4 – Against All Odds

I’m not usually particularly cause driven, but if there is one cause I’m all in on, it’s spreading positivity in these rather tough times.  So, so many folks are adversely affected by the constant onslaught of bad news we are exposed to on a regular basis.  I spend a lot of time looking for inspiration among the shards of brokenness that we hear about every day so that I can share it with anyone who cares to listen (or read in this case). 

My son-in-law may want to hurt me for sharing this story because he’s a pretty humble guy and doesn’t enjoy the spotlight.  But what he has accomplished in his short thirty-some-year life keeps shining a light on him.  And because I’m incredibly proud of him and find him inspiring, I think maybe his story will inspire you as well. 

Meet Travis Franklin.  He began hanging around with our daughter at the ripe age of 14.  To make a long story short, the two of them managed to date all through high school and university and after graduation, they got married.  Whitney landed a job at Gonzaga University as an event planner, and Travis became an elementary teacher.  After a few years in the public school system, Travis and some colleagues began to have conversations about what would make the ideal school.  Travis began to ask the question, “If you could dream about the best school you could imagine, what would it look like?”  He dreamed of creating a school that he would want his own children to attend. 

Charter schools were not a thing in the state of Washington, but there was interest.  Travis began to explore if opening one could ever become reality.  The road was not paved – in fact it wasn’t even a dirt trail.  The uphill battles seemed like mountain ranges.  The people of Washington voted to allow charter schools, but the political powers that be basically ignored the will of the people.  It finally ended up in the Washington Supreme Court.  First there were defeats and then finally small victories and charters were approved as a viable alternative for parental choice in education.  There were still so many obstacles!  Funding was a problem and even finding a location was practically impossible.  But Travis didn’t give up.  Making this dream come to life was a battle from day one.  For every door that opened, ten closed.  There was a lot of determination, communication, innovation, collaboration….and prayer!  All of this just followed on the heels of his graduation from the Master’s Program in Organizational Leadership at Gonzaga.  As part of that program, his GU class climbed Mount Adams and summited as a group.  Let’s just say Travis is very good at summiting mountains. 

The dream became Spokane International Academy, one of two first ever charter schools in Spokane.  Teachers, parents, community members, and even some well-known entrepreneurs bought into the dream.  There were countless grant requests, building searches, appeals for authorizations, and hoops to jump through…. oh so many hoops.  But this little engine that could, with Travis as the engineer, came to life.  At first it was an elementary school that found a home in a historic (can you say VERY old and not well maintained) Catholic School building.  Next came renting a space in a former Christian school for a middle school.  Then FINALLY the school board found a fantastic vacant building where all the grades could be together and allow for a high school.  What started with a question about what a great school could look like, became a highly successful realization of a dream.

I’m very impressed with this next generation of dreamers who want to make the world a better place.  They are passionate, involved, and determined.  They make things happen for the good of all and they are willing to climb mountains to make them happen.  If that’s not positive news, I’m not sure what is.  Travis Franklin is one of those climbers who drags people up the mountain if necessary so they can reach the top with him. And all in the name of the next generation after him. He inspires the people around him and a whole lot of students to dream, too.  And Travis inspires me. 

Here's the link to a recent article from Gonzaga University about Travis and SIA:

https://www.gonzaga.edu/news-events/stories/2021/11/2/franklins-spokane-international-academy?fbclid=IwAR2Fi_GM0P1cgeQSurXAWO1afOksD-TeJAGFiCvzQpiSbwvfZNyyidzwFec