FITCHBURG — Fitchburg Public Schools Director of Enrollment & Family Engagement Luisa Fernandez was thrilled to show off the new Fitchburg Public Schools Welcome Center last week.
Many community members stopped by on March 23 to get check out the space at 815 Main St. in the heart of downtown that was officially opened with a recent ribbon-cutting. Refreshments catered by city business Finicky Fork were offered, and Fernandez gave tours of the center that is designed to be warm and welcoming.
“The welcome center is a new central space where families can enroll their children in school, get information about transportation, and receive support and information about available resources in the area,” she shared in an email sent to community members and partners and inviting them to tour the facility. “This center reflects our commitment to serving all families with dignity, respect, and compassion.
“If all staff, families, and community partners work collaboratively to identify and remove barriers to personal growth and achievement, every student will be ready to learn and access high-quality core instruction and social-emotional supports,” Fernandez said. “The welcome center demonstrates how our mission aligns with our actions, and it exists to make family engagement easier, more welcoming, and more accessible for everyone.”
The main area of the welcome center features a row of desktop computers purchased with grant funding, a private section in the back for students and families to meet with staff, a cozy seating area with a large TV with the FPS school calendar and city events scrolling on the screen, and Chromebooks, tablets with reading apps, and books for youngsters.
In addition, there is a food pantry on the main level and the clothing pantry on the lower level has boxes and shelves overflowing with new shoes, clothing, socks, toys, hygiene kits and other items including five-gallon plastic buckets filled with cleaning supplies and such for homeless people transitioning to housing.
There is also a spacious conference room downstairs — “the superintendent has been having meetings there,” Fernandez said — along with a staff kitchen, and the ramp leading into the center from that level and an elevator ensures the entire building is ADA-accessible.
“We now have the space to have everything under one roof,” Fernandez conveyed.
The Fitchburg Public Schools Welcome Center was launched after a lot of coordinating and planning thanks to a partnership with Fitchburg State University and Workers Credit Union.
“The center physically solidifies the partnership between Fitchburg Public Schools and Fitchburg State University, which last fall announced a direct admissions program, The Fitchburg Promise,” a press release announcing the March 18 ribbon cutting stated. “Starting this fall, the program guarantees any Fitchburg high school student who maintains a 2.25 GPA and resides in Fitchburg will be guaranteed admission to Fitchburg State and may attend tuition and fee-free, so long as they remain in good standing. Workers Credit Union’s repurposing of the Main Street building, previously the WCU headquarters located next to its current Fitchburg branch, honors its deep commitment to Fitchburg, where it was founded more than 110 years ago. WCU’s strong relationships with its community partners, Fitchburg Public Schools and Fitchburg State University, reflect the credit union’s core purpose of enabling strong financial futures, with education serving as a powerful pathway to make that possible.”
Fernandez said she has been working at the welcome center since the holidays after relocating her office there from the district central office at the South Street Early Learning Center.
“It wasn’t representing us. People were doing enrollment in the lobby with computers on their laps,” Fernandez said of the upgrade that is beneficial for the entire school community. “I have been dreaming about this for a while. We have the people, we have the building, we have the love. Everyone is so impressed.”
She went on to praise the FPS maintenance team, who helped the transition go smoothly.
“[They] worked really hard. They become like family,” Fernandez shared, adding that everyone got moved in just after one of the big storms in January. “This team is amazing and motivated. We moved in on a Tuesday and were all set up by Thursday.”
There is still a bank safe downstairs, a nod to WCU whose headquarters were in the building before being relocated to Littleton. While chatting with two Fitchburg Public Library staff members who came by for a tour, Fernandez said they would like to collaborate with them and welcome them to hold programs there.
“We want to bring the community in,” she said to them.
The woman who greets people with a friendly smile as they walk in the front door of the welcome center — FPS Transportation Secretary Janet Nealy — has a nice setup with photos and art around her desk. When asked what she thinks of their new digs, she said “we love it.”
Fernandez is well respected in the region and was honored with the 2023 Fitchburg Access Television Boulder Award for her tireless dedication and unwavering commitment to the greater community. She said during the tours that she was going to bring any food leftover “to the people who live under the bridge,” a thoughtful gesture that exemplifies her caring and kind nature — making her a perfect fit for her role as an FPS community ambassador
Fernandez shared that she initially applied to be a custodian in the district years ago. She ended up being a paraprofessional for four years instead, applied for the FPS family and community engagement coordinator position in 2021, and the rest is history.
With a revamped title to her name, she said the response to the welcome center has been nothing short of positive — and that she and the school district staff members who call it their professional home are grateful to be able to utilize it to even better serve families and students.
“Everyone says the same thing, it’s just so beautiful,” Fernandez said.
She expressed that as a team, they “want to do more things” for the school community in general at the center, including celebrations like the recent baby shower held there for two high school students who are expecting.
“Those things matter.”
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