In her first year as principal of Franklin Elementary School in Madison, Deborah Mercier brought parents and staff together to create a strategic plan for restructuring the school, earning Franklin a Comprehensive School Reform grant. Through this grant, Ms. Mercier has not only transformed the school but improved student achievement as well. She has reduced class size, eliminated pullout programs, and supported the ethnic diversity of her student population by encouraging more teachers to receive certification in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL). She has led a pilot Summer Reading Academy and served on the district's Class Size Committee and the Leadership Academy Planning Committee.
