Sister Mary Hart

One of Sister Mary Hart’s students once told her that he wanted a Lexus when he grew up. The social worker quipped, “Do you want to wash the Lexus or drive the Lexus?” Emboldened by her question, the child said he wanted to drive the Lexus.

Rather than questioning the boy’s ideals, Hart focused on his education, teaching him that his studies would take him wherever he wanted to go.

That commitment to education was celebrated last week as Hart, a nun of the order of Sisters of Good Shepherd, received a 2007 Boston Neighborhood Fellows Award in a ceremony held March 13 at the Old South Meeting House at 310 Washington Street. The award was presented to Hart by Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

The 76-year-old Hart has run the after-school and summer camp programs at Saint Katherine Drexel, formerly St. Francis DeSales, a predominately black catholic parish nestled between the Whittier Street and the Madison Park housing developments in Roxbury for 27 years.

With its strong focus on literacy training and tutoring, Hart’s is one of the more effective youth education programs in Boston. Almost all of her students go on to college, and many return to mentor new students.

Single parents with limited income and resources are raising many of the students in Hart’s program, which provides structure and one-on-one tutoring by positive role models. The program also offers the parents — many of whom are unemployed and lack job training — literacy and childcare development training.

A key part of Hart’s program is a commitment to providing quality education with cultural sensitivity. The student population consists mainly of ethnic minorities, such as African American, Nigerian, West Indian and Cape Verdean students, but is open to all children regardless of race or religion.

The Boston Neighborhood Fellows Program recognizes the “unsung” heroes and heroines of the community — those who help make Boston a great city.