A new school has opened in the red brick building that once housed the historic St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School in Bessemer, representing a dream fulfilled for many St. Francis parishioners and their pastor, Father Paul Asih, M.S.P.

Empower Community School (Lower Campus) recently welcomed its first students - kindergarten through third grade - for the fall semester. Empower Community School at the St. Aloysius Parish site, also in Bessemer, offers fourth through eighth grade classes.

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church parishioner Debra Pippen-Johnson, as a member of the St. Francis School Advisory Board, led the years-long pursuit of a charter school to occupy the school building, which sat vacant and in need of major repairs. The advisory board also included Father Asih, Gwen Swain, Yolanda Sullivan, Wanda Williams, and Stuart Dysart.

Pippen-Johnson, a St. Francis School graduate, said, “Our main goal was to see our dear St. Francis once again be used for its intended purpose. We wanted children to come to school each day, eager to learn, and excited about what the day would bring.”

The new charter school is the result of a collaboration involving the Diocese of Birmingham, Empower, New Schools for Alabama, the State of Alabama, Jefferson County, and the City of Bessemer. It is not a Catholic institution.

The advisory board said it looks forward to Empower Community School providing a high-quality education in the tradition of St. Francis.

The Empower Community School website states the organization is “committed to providing accessible education as a tuition-free, nonsectarian public charter school, fostering an inclusive and diverse learning environment for all students.”

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new school took place Aug.1, followed by a tour of the refurbished building.

“Today marks an exciting milestone,” Empower’s Dr. Meredith Davis told the gathering.

She continued: “This campus is extra special to me because I walked these halls as a small child. A heartfelt thank-you to all who made it possible!”

Dr. Anthony J. Oliver, chief schools officer at New Schools for Alabama and Empower’s founder, applauded the St. Francis advisory board’s hard work and tenacity which eventually paid off, noting that the group “met for many months trying to figure out how to make this plan work.”

State Sen. Merika Coleman, who represents Alabama’s 19th district, said: “Hats off to everyone here today and to everyone who has prayed for the opening of this school. This is a great school with a great teaching staff.”