Friends of St. Francis Childcare Center opened its doors in May 1976 to provide quality child-care and support for local families in need.  The center was formed by St. Francis Church, residents of Duboce Triangle, and Friends Outside, a social service agency serving ex-offender families with offices on Church Street.  The center served around 34 children, age 18 months to 5 years, out of space generously provided by St. Francis Church, free of charge.  The facilities consisted of two classrooms, a kitchen and an office. 

In 1982, Sally Large became the director of the center.  The center flourished, increasing and upgrading its space and opening a state-of-the-art outdoor play area – a garden classroom that is currently one of the best in the city for preschoolers.  The center honed its focus on early literacy and kindergarten success programming to arrive at its current educational philosophy:  FOSF maintains developmentally-appropriate practices while incorporating new research findings in a thoughtful curriculum promoting reading success by enhancing language skills through “breaking the code” activities and parent-coaching involvement.  Today, the center serves 38 children.  Approximately one-third of the students pay full tuition while two-thirds receive partial to full tuition support.

Family support principles and activities are firmly embedded in FOSF operations. The center constantly reaches out to the community for resources that benefit families and staff.  In the mid-80’s, the center joined forces with the Parent Services Project, Inc., strengthening the training of staff and parents related to parent participation and family support.  Through funding from the Walter Johnson Foundation, the center hired its first Parent Services Coordinator.  Junior League funding allowed the center to increase staff to cover parent conferences, assessments, and professional development, and to engage the services of a psychologist and an occupational therapist.  The center began offering no-cost mental health services through the Children’s Council 1994 and enjoys the support of nursing students from City College.  Intergenerational programming has become a critical part of the center’s offering – FOSF enjoys the support of elderly helpers from Family Service Agency and Self Help For the Elderly. 

Friends of St. Francis has a strong presence in early childhood education advocacy.  Sally Large is a member and previous Chairperson of the S.F. Child Care Planning and Advisory Council.  As a member of the Early Childhood Interagency Council (ECIC), Sally helped develop a citywide strategic plan for Family Support.  Currently, Sally is a representative to the citywide planning committee convened by the Children and Families Commission of Proposition 10 to establish a vision and plan for  Pre-School For All as it rolls out in San Francisco.  She is one of the founders and a co-chair of the San Francisco Provider Association, an advocacy organization for teachers and directors.

As reflected in its history and its current philosophy, Friends of St. Francis Childcare Center strives today to fulfill the goal under which it was formed:  to enrich San Francisco and the world by providing best practice childcare services to culturally and economically diverse families while serving parents through an enduring community of staff, peer parent and professional support.