Mark Franek has a professional journey has unfolded in three acts — first teaching, then law, and now back to teaching with renewed vigor.

After graduating from Duke, where he played varsity soccer and track, Mark taught high school English classes and coached varsity boys soccer at the Montgomery Academy (Alabama) and William Penn Charter School (Quaker school in Philadelphia). At Penn Charter he also served as the dean of students. During that 16-year teaching span, Mark played club soccer in Iceland (during the summer) and captained the Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals. He also taught English electives to undergraduates at Cabrini University and Philadelphia University, and writing pedagogy courses to mid-career teachers and administrators at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education.

For the second act, Mark entered law school at age 40, served on Temple’s Law Review and Moot Court Honor Society, clerked for a judge, and then litigated civil cases for nearly a decade at two of Philadelphia’s large firms, one on the defense side, the other on the plaintiffs’ side.

For the third act, Mark returns to the classroom and to his first professional love: teaching. Mark’s English classes require students write, design, and self-publish their work in mini-books called chapbooks. Mark also enjoys writing. For many years, Mark wrote articles and op-eds — mostly on school issues — for the Philadelphia Inquirer and other newspapers and magazines.

What makes YSC Academy special?

 “I really love teaching here because I enjoy participating positively in my students’ journeys to become better writers and student-athletes. Our classes are uniquely small. I get to know each boy personally through class discussions and their writing, which is often about the trials and tribulations of pursuing a dream within a caring, structured environment. During my own professional journey, I’ve taught at several independent schools. This one is special.” ~ Mark Franek