As part of a federal Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education in 2017, Franklin is a magnet school with a focus in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math). This program is designed to provide students with innovative instructional opportunities that will propel them to succeed in their educational careers and in the workplace.

The core middle school subject areas of math, reading, language arts, science, and social science are offered through the regular day. Additional opportunities in art, music, drama, and a STEM lab experience are available to all students through Encore classes. Level I world language opportunities specific to French and Spanish are also offered. Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) is a class intended to accelerate students and prepare them for more advanced course work in high school, as well as prepare them for post-secondary opportunities. Additional support or enrichment is provided daily through a Flex period.

Champaign-Urbana One-to-One Mentoring is an esteem-building program that unites one mentor with one student. They meet for approximately 40 minutes a week during the school day on the school campus. This partnership allows students and mentors to talk, read together, play games, work out in the gym, and participate in other activities to build and increase self esteem. Other mentoring programs include the TALKS Mentoring Program, Sankofa Pride, Man-Up, YWA (Young Women Aware), and Lead 4 Life.

Our STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) classroom partners with WOLFRAM Research to provide authentic learning and problem-solving when it comes to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math! Students learn how to code, create, and collaborate.

Our Literacy, Music & Performing Arts teams are top notch and have engaged or exposed our students with professional musicians such as: "Black Violin" members, Will Baptiste and Kevin Sylvester, composer Todd Stalter, author visits by Rick Riordan and Sharon Flake, partnered with the Krannert Center in various ways, arranged for student artists to participate in the Boneyard Arts Festival, among other enriching experiences.

We are a classroom 1:1 Technology school - every student in every classroom receives a Chromebook to enhance the instruction and rigor of our curriculum. It is our goal for students to be able to globally compete in a tech-rich world.

We are an AVID National Demonstration School. AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) is a rigorous college preparatory elective course, in which goal-setting and college preparation skills are taught to students in order ot provide a system of supports to historically underrepresented students in colleges and universities.