Sister Jerome has earned community’s appreciation

If there’s a word that describes Sister Jerome Corcoran, it is “faith” — faith in her God, faith in her fellow human beings and faith in the ideal that all children can succeed if given the opportunity, nurturing and guidance.

For three and a half decades, Sister Jerome dedicated herself to the at-risk segment of our population, especially children from the inner city. She took on seemingly impossible tasks, moving forward boldly and taking along people of goodwill, many of whom had not been exposed to the reality of old, deteriorating, crime-ridden neighborhoods in the city of Youngstown.

The Millcreek Children’s Center, which started in 1976 when the city of Youngstown’s pre-school program was faltering and the mayor and council sought her help, and the Youngstown Community School, a charter school for children in kindergarten through sixth grade, are her legacy.

In the early days, when funds were low and debts were high, she sought out news reporters to sell the idea of a special school for young children of lower-income working parents.

She also knocked on the doors of corporations and businesses and corralled individuals whom she knew wanted to make a difference in the community.

And so today, her school board reads like a Who’s Who of the community.

“I do not want this to fade out,” Sister Jerome said recently in announcing that she will soon be stepping down as executive director of Millcreek Children’s Center and Youngstown Community School. Sister Mary Dunn is superintendent and principal of the school and has guided it from an “academic watch” rating two years ago on the Ohio Achievement Tests to “effective” this past school year.

Likewise, the children at Millcreek score above the national average on standardized academic tests and enter kindergarten well prepared.

“We’ve always had just marvelous boards,” Sister Jerome said.

Generous supporters

It should come as no surprise that many people in our region have been generous in their support, financially and otherwise, of the programs she has initiated. The executive director has special praise for Denise DeBartolo York, who has been a long-time advocate of the children, who through no fault of their own find themselves in difficult circumstances.

Sister Jerome’s successor will have big shoes to fill, but the foundation that has been laid will make the transition that much easier.

The retirement of this nun who has come to personify the very best of our community does not mean the abandonment of her life’s work. She has some projects she wants to complete, including a plan to follow-up on graduates of Millcreek and Youngstown Community school to see what they are doing, what they’ve achieved and what problems they’ve encountered.

Sister Jerome also wants to establish a program to continue assisting those families who are hurting the most financially.

Given her knowledge of the residents in the area who fall through the cracks, Sister Jerome would be a great resource for the Youngstown City School System, which has been rated the worse academic district in the state.