Francis Center moving to new location, adding more students

By Benjamin Joe

Francis Center, which runs an after-school program for children in grades K-2, has moved its location to a former elementary school at 6040 Lindbergh Ave., Niagara Falls, following the sale of the downtown building it rented from the Buffalo Diocese.

The center was started in 1997 by an ambitious member of the Sisters of St. Francis named Sister Betty Neumeister, who saw a need for academic instruction in local disadvantaged children. She took students into her home after school to help them learn how to read and become proficient with math.

This year, the program will be instructing 30 students: three classrooms of 10 for students at Bloneva Bond Primary School, close to Francis Center’s former location; and also Cataract Elementary School, a first for the program.

“We’re full-time, so every day there’s school, there’s after-school,” said Mary Beth Smith, executive director of Francis Center. “We serve the youngest of students because we’re trying to keep them from falling behind in the first place. Our goal is to give them a strong foundation in those early literacy and math skills.”

Smith noted many of these children come from homes where the tools for academic success are lacking. She said some students may have parents who are incarcerated or otherwise unavailable. And because of this, the afterschool program offered at Francis Center is not the same as a “recreational after-school program.” The students are taught by qualified elementary teachers to supplement what they learned at school with additional instruction and focus.”

Smith also said Francis Center is in contact with the student’s regular classroom teacher with an eye to target the needs of each child.

“What I’m really proud of is that we communicate with the student’s teacher at the school they’re at,” Smith said. “Their classroom teacher might say, ‘If I only had 20 minutes to sit down with Michael and go over the ‘CH’ and ‘TH’ sounds. He just can’t get it.’

“She tells us that and lets us do it. We do it after school. So, the teacher tells us very precisely what the child needs and then we have the ability to sit down and individualize that child’s help so we’re giving them what they need.”

While it was hard to relocate, the move comes with some relief and new opportunities.

Superintendent of the Niagara Falls City School District Mark Laurrie confirmed Francis Center is welcome at its new location, and resides there rent free, giving students time and expertise for better academic outcomes. Transportation from each school is also being provided by the district.

“This is another after-school intervention that works directly with our kids and is an extension of our curriculum. It’s a perfect match,” Laurrie said. “They worked very well in the past; unfortunately, they lost their space, so we provided them space, free of charge, to work with some kids in Cataract and hopefully some other kids here.

“It’s been very, very successful.”

The vote of confidence and the building to continue teaching is “very much appreciated,” Smith said, but noted, financially, the biggest challenge is maintaining the heart of the program itself: having staff who are highly proficient in instruction.

“To hire qualified teachers, we need to pay qualified teachers’ salaries,” she said. “Our teachers ARE our program. It’s not an incidental. If we don’t have these teachers, we become like every other after-school program.

“That’s what we try to explain to foundations and grantors. That, without being able to pay these teachers, we’re not Francis Center. … Many say, flat out, ‘We don’t pay for salaries.’ ”

So, the program depends on donations from the community, but not only monetary contributions. Volunteers willing to spend an afternoon in any of the three classrooms are also welcome.

In the end, Smith said she adheres to Neumeister’s legacy: to love the child; show them respect; teach them strong habits, like managing frustration, perseverance and problem solving; and give them the skills that will hold with them through the years into adulthood.

Smith also said the teachers and staff at Francis Center do remember these are children who have had a long day away from home and in their first years of school.

“We’re not expecting them to sit and stay perfect. It’s a different atmosphere than the regular school day. Smaller groups. A focus on experience learning,” she said.

“Instead of a paper and pencil task, they’ll play a game that strengthens a skill. Where, instead of writing their vocabulary words with a pencil on a piece of paper, they might have a cookie sheet of shaving cream and they’re writing the words in the shaving cream.”

Smith also took out a piece of stock paper and showed it to this reporter. She said it was the most important thing she had from Francis Center.

“The last day of the program, we asked the kids to draw something that would remind them of Francis Center, and this sweet little first grader drew this hand with a heart coming out of it that says, ‘We luv ea chuther.’

“It’s spelled wrong and I love that … because it shows she needs us; but what she also shows us is she was loved. That’s huge for us because she didn’t even realize we were working. She didn’t realize we were helping her to read and build her skills – that part just felt fun. What she’s remembering was she went to Francis Center and they loved her there.”

More information on how to donate is on the Francis Center website: https://www.franciscenter.com/.

The scene from the former building, which held Francis Center for many years before this year's move to Lindbergh Avenue.