Celebrating 30 years: Aurora Dominican Literacy Center hosts founder’s retirement open house June 2

After founding and directing the Dominican Literacy Center in Aurora for 30 years, Dominican Sister Kathleen M. Ryan, OP, will retire June 30.

An open house celebrating her mission of empowering the community through education will be held Sunday, June 2, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the center, 260 Vermont Ave. in Aurora. The center is on the grounds of St. Therese Catholic Church in Aurora. The public is invited.

Sister Kathleen said she will take a sabbatical starting on July 1 for a retreat in Tucson, Arizona, and finish her study of Spanish.

“By the end of my sabbatical, I hope to be fluent in Spanish. Then I am open and willing to explore other possibilities for work and ministry,” she said.

She started the center in September 1993 in the basement of Aurora’s St. Nicholas Church. In September 1994, the center moved to its present building on the site of St. Therese Parish in Aurora.

During its first year, the center served eight students with five tutors. Currently it serves 200 students receiving one-on-one tutoring by 200 trained female volunteers who meet weekly at the center.

Since its founding, the center's staff has grown from one person to seven and volunteer tutors who have served over 3,000 women since 1993.

In a separate evening program, female and male volunteers train women and men to take the U.S. citizenship test leading to naturalization.

During her tenure as director, Sister Kathleen developed an adult literacy curriculum, initiated and coordinated an advisory council, helped develop and implement an ESL curriculum for adult citizenship classes and wrote grant applications. Additionally, she is a founding member of the Greater Aurora Literacy Coalition and member of the area planning council for adult education of Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove.

Her career in Catholic education included teaching positions in Springfield, Aurora, Evergreen Park and Crystal Lake. She also served as principal in Algonquin and Evergreen Park.

Under her leadership, the Dominican Literacy Center recently received the Library of Congress Award in Washington, D.C. Carla Hayden, Head Librarian at the Library of Congress said, “This award recognizes Dominican Literacy Center’s successful practice of building one-on-one relationships and grassroots organizing that keeps humanity at the heart of literacy experiences.”

Call (630) 898-4636 for more information.