PAST

In 1976, Sr. Lorraine Young, a Franciscan nun in Joliet, Illinois, was one of the first educators to recognize the need for a supplemental facility to assist individuals in meeting the challenges posed by their unique learning styles. Sister Lorraine envisioned a center, outside the framework of the normal educational structure, devoted to helping students learn how to learn. The center's mission was to help students who were experiencing difficulty in school, learn - within the parameters of their own talents, abiltities and individual ways of processing information - how to assimilate material presented in the classroom. The guiding principle for this new and unique "learning center" was that each child who entered was a special individual who deserved to experience respect and acceptance for who they were, while receiving maximum positive reinforcement for effort put forth. Support grew, and in 1977 FranCenter officially opened its doors.

PRESENT

Under the guidance of Executive Director Dr. Robert E .Marciante, FranCenter continues to excel in fostering self-actualization among its clients through psychological and educational testing, tutoring and individual and family counseling. FranCenter's array of non-profit quality services and programs for schools, community groups and corporations include workshops, inservice training programs and anti-drug assemblies. By contract with schools, FranCenter also provides teachers, instructional materials, and curriculum for Special Education, Art, Band, Classroom Music, Computer Education and Physical Education.

FUTURE

Living may be thought of as learning how to unlock a series of closed portals through which we progress - gaining new experiences, sensations, skills, knowledge, feelings - moving inexorably toward the next stage of life, the next door to the future. Each time a person learns how to use innate abilities and talents to assimilate something new, it opens a door into a brighter future and the light streaming in through that open portal brings a glow to today. At FranCenter, we help people learn to use the keys of their abilities and talents to unlock the doors to their future.