Franklin Elementary features new mosaic

The stairs leading up to Benjamin Franklin Magnet Elementary School now feature an ocean-themed, glass art piece welcoming visitors and students in the foreign languages taught at the school: German, Italian, French and Spanish.

The concept was created by parent Hannah Maximova, whose 8-year-old son, Linus Hartigan, learns French at the school.

Maximova also got help from her creative partner, Caroline Sieux, with whom she’s installed several stained-glass mosaic artworks, including one at Glendale’s Monterey Road Eco-Community Garden.

For Franklin’s mosaic, the two enlisted the help of parent volunteers who, over the course of three weeks, cut “a million tiny squares” out of large sheets of glass.

“On every volunteer day, we had Band-Aids available,” Maximova said.

Parents glued the pieces to 24 panels, attached to create one continuous image. Franklin parent Alfredo Lopez, a professional tiler of more than 30 years, offered his expertise during the final installation.

Maximova is hopeful that the mosaic stairway will bring students joy and the experience of beauty, two aspects of education that are just as valuable as academics, she said.

In another sense, the project speaks to her gratitude for a school that has created the impression that her son has two parents who speak fluent French, although neither do.

In recent years, school officials had considered closing Franklin because of low enrollment. But flourishing dual-language immersion classes have created a high demand school, with parents showing increasing interest in enrolling their children there.

“This is a way we can tangibly say, ‘Thank you’ for making a school we’re so proud of,” Maximova said.