Accreditation group. Back row, from left: Sister Carleen Maly, OP, director; Joan Verheyden, board president; Grace Garno, board member; Jim Urness, of the review team; Marcia Cole, computer coordinator; Pat Stafford-Sturk, board member; and Sister Marie Schoenlein, OP, administrator. Front row, from left: Sister Sarah Cavanaugh, OP, administrative assistant; Sister Mary Ellen Youngblood, OP, board member; Dorothy Sorlie, of the review team; and Hazel Leonard, board member.

Adrian Dominicans
Adrian Rea Literacy Center receives accreditation

Adrian Rea Literacy Center, located on the campus of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, formally received accreditation on Dec. 14 by ProLiteracy worldwide. Adrian Rea is one of only six adult literacy providers in Michigan to have that distinction.

“We are proud to add theAdrian Rea Literacy Center to our growing list of accredited organizations,” said Jane Hugo, vice president of programs and services for ProLiteracy. “They have demonstrated that their program meets the highest national standards for volunteer literacy programs and that their services to the community are effective.”

The accreditation was the result of a complex eight-month process undertaken by the literacy center staff and led by Sister Marie Schoenlein, OP, administrator, and Marcia Cole, computer coordinator. During that time, they documented the literacy center’s compliance to 16 national standards in such areas as fiscal management; student recruitment, intake, progress, and support; tutor instruction, support, and supervision; and organizational planning.

During their mid-November site visit, the review team of Dorothy Sorlie and Jim Urness observed tutoring sessions and spoke to staff and board members, tutors, volunteers and adult learners. At the end of their visit, the review team praised Adrian Rea as “a young organization, but a mature organization,” Sister Marie said.

Sister Carleen Maly, OP, director of Adrian Rea, sees the accreditation as an affirmation of the accomplishments of the staff, board, tutors, and learners. The accreditation raises the credibility and enhances the visibility of Adrian Rea Literacy Center, which is dedicated to the memory of Adrian Dominican Sister Richard Mary Rea, OP, an educator for 47 years.

Opened in 2008, Adrian Rea offers both English as a Second Language (ESL) tutoring and literacy tutoring to those whose first language is English. The center is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Services are free and open to adults most in need of literacy, ages 18 and over, who wish to improve their reading and writing skills.

Adrian Rea is always in need of volunteer tutors to serve the growing number of adult learners who seek their services. The next free tutor training session will be Jan. 28–29. For information or to register, call 517-266-4260.

Adrian Rea is one of six literacy centers sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters and organized under the umbrella of the Dominican Rea Literacy Corporation. The others are Dominican Literacy Center and Siena Literacy Center, both in Detroit; Aquinas Literacy Center, in Chicago; De Porres Place, in Riviera Beach, Florida; and N.E.W. Life, in Flint, Michigan.

The Adrian Dominican Sisters are a Congregation of Catholic women religious in the Dominican Order. The Motherhouse is located in Adrian, Michigan. The congregation has more than 950 sisters and associates in 32 states and five countries, who minister in such areas as health, education, pastoral care, and peace and justice issues. To learn more, visit www.adriandominicans.org