Mercy Center Sisters Academy.
Sisters Academy is a program of Mercy Center, sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy. Its goal is to educate girls from economically challenged families and to provide them access to private high schools and colleges. It is an 11-month, extended day program providing two balanced meals and small classes to ensure maximum individual attention to each student. The after-school program is designed to provide the students with a safe environment where they are given the opportunity for tutoring or participation in extra-curricular activities such as fine arts, fencing, gardening, swimming, dance, yoga, basketball and other activities.
Sisters Academy graduates have been accepted and graduated from colleges and universities such as Howard University, Georgetown University, Rutgers, Tufts and Seton Hall. Many now have accomplished careers in the fields of nursing, environmental science, social work, and communications. Others are pursuing advanced degrees in law, medicine and business.
In 2007, the Mercy Center purchased the site of the former St. Peter Claver’s Youth Center on Springwood Avenue in Asbury Park. With the assistance of many generous donors, a new facility was built for Sisters Academy comprised of classrooms, a media center, a commercial grade kitchen, an art room, a math center and a raised garden.
Thanks in large part to a donation from the foundation, the renovation also includes a new science center named in honor of Zan. The Alexandra Rose Tozzi Science Center features state of the art instructional materials in the biological and physical sciences such as high-powered microscopes, a smart board, and laptop computers along with the most advanced educational software available.
