ASPIRA

1. ASPIRA Fernando Lopez, MS, Ed. School Principal ASPIRA Eugenio Maria de Hostos Youth Leadership Charter School ASPIRA of Florida, Inc. January 30, 2009 An Introduction to a New Partnership between ASPIRA of Florida, Inc. and its Programs and Urban Bird Gardens

2. Overview • What is ASPIRA? • Who Do We Serve, Where, & How? • Client Demographics • Where We Provide Services • Programs • ASPIRA Charter Schools • ASPIRA EM de Hostos Charter School • Points of Interest • Connections / Interests with Urban Bird Gardens

3. Who is ASPIRA? • The ONLY national Hispanic organization dedicated EXCLUSIVELY to developing the EDUCATIONAL and LEADERSHIP capacity of HISPANIC YOUTH. • Since 1961, ASPIRA has been working at the grass-roots level to provide programs that encourage Hispanic students to stay in school, prepare them to succeed in the educational arena, develop their leadership skills, and to serve their community.

4. Who is ASPIRA? • Youth leadership development • ASPIRA has over 45 years of experience in implementing youth leadership development programs in inner cities.  Virtually every second generation Hispanic leader, in the Northeast, Chicagoland, Southeast and Puerto Rico, has been an Aspirante. • International outreach • ASPIRA programs are used in over 10,000 organizations operating telecenters in North America, Central America, South America, Africa, the Caribbean and Spain through several international cooperative agreements. • Extensive experience in the implementation of programs for youth  • ASPIRA serves over 85,000 students and parents directly each year through its Associate Offices and extensive on-line programs.

5. Who is ASPIRA? • Proven track record with the Hispanic population • Our record demonstrates forty-four years of experience in working with students and parents.  In each of our offices, we have at least 35 years of service to the communities. • Extensive capabilities in information technology • ASPIRA manages over 20 web sites, provides web hosting for its affiliates and other community based organizations (CBOs), manages e-mail services, the organization extranet, the national online MIS system, operate or provides support to over 150 community technology centers, and provides networking engineering and security services and IT technical assistance and training. • Inclusive organization • ASPIRA reaches out to the local community to provide programs and services to any youth and their families who wish to participate.  ASPIRA services non-Hispanic Caribbeans, African American, and non-Hispanic Whites, as well.

6. Who is ASPIRA? • Rated as one of the top ten charities in the nation • As reported by Money Magazine, the American Institute of Philanthropy rated ASPIRA an A+ organization, based not only on our compliance with programmatic standards, but also on program spending, fund-raising efficiency and size of reserves. • Rated by Hispanic Business magazine in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 as one of the largest Hispanic nonprofit organizations in the U.S.  • Based on its shared mission and governance structure, budget size, human and technical resources the ASPIRA Association has been rated as one of the three largest Hispanic community based organizations in the country.

7. Who We Serve • Clients Demographics: • ASPIRA is a very diverse and inclusive organization working with substantial numbers of Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Dominicans, Central Americans, South Americans, and Cubans, as well as with African Americans, non-Hispanic whites, and Haitians, among others. • Gender: • From the perspective of gender distribution, our student population is distributed as 65% females and 35% males. • Clients age distribution: • ASPIRA serves youth and adults. Age of youth served by ASPIRA varies by state depending on their programs, but in general we serve pre-school students (4 years old) to high school students. The adult population serve is primarily composed of student's parents, on the average from 25 to 55 years old.

8. Where We Serve • ASPIRA locations: • ASPIRA Associates offices are located in the following states: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico. The National office is located in Washington, DC and delivers services to residents in the District of Columbia, Virginia and Maryland. • Global virtual outreach: • Internationally our resources are used by organizations and individuals in North America (Canada and Mexico), in Europe (mainly Spain and the United Kingdom), in Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Nicaragua), in the Caribbean (Cuba and Dominican Republic), in South America (Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia), and in Asia (China and India). • http://www.aspira.org

9. Our Programs • Youth Development: • Youth Leadership Development    • ASPIRA Clubs    • Dropout Prevention: • Academic Tutoring • Mentoring • Truancy Prevention  • Gang Prevention    • Conflict Resolution    • Parental Engagement – ASPIRA Parents for Educational Excellence (APEX)

10. Our Programs • Cultural Awareness • Career Selection and Pre-College Programs • Academic Advisement / Planning    • Math and Science Academy    • Reading Institute    • SAT / ACT Preparation   • Health Careers Program    • College Visits    • College Application and Admission Support    • Scholarships Application Support  

11. Our Programs • Information Technology • Community Technology Centers    • On-line technology literacy programs    • Teachers information technology programs       • Health and Safety Programs • Traffic Safety    • HIV Prevention   • Teen Pregnancy Prevention    • Drugs and Alcohol Prevention

12. Our Programs • Community Wealth Development • Financial Education    • Entrepreneurship    • Homeownership Education    • Insurance Literacy    • Investments    • Vehicle Financing • Academic Development • Charter Schools (Middle & High Schools) • Post-Secondary Schools (Technical Schools & Colleges)  • Illinois – Technical School • Puerto Rico - College • Adult Education    • Family Literacy 

13. EM de Hostos Charter School • The ASPIRA Eugenio Maria de Hostos Youth Leadership Charter School serves over 400 students, sixth to eighth graders whose parents have chosen to leave the traditional environment for a smaller teacher-student ratio environment.

14. EM de Hostos Charter School • ASPIRA Eugenio Maria de Hostos Charter School is located in the Wynwood Art and Design District community within the City of Miami; • ASPIRA E.M. de Hostos Charter School has been in existence since the 2001-2002 academic school year; • The majority of the student population is first or second generation immigrants and represents many Central and South American countries as well as islands of the Caribbean; • Each of our school based leaders has had success improving student achievement;

15. EM de Hostos Charter School • Average attendance rate for students is 96% in comparison to the district’s 92% and is comparable to the state average of 96%; • The school's environment provides clear guidelines for a safe, orderly, and discipline school climate to ensure continuous educational achievement; • Graduation rate into the high school is at 98% (well above the district and state rate); • The ethnically and culturally diverse community surrounding the school provides a myriad of opportunities to positively impact students and the community;

16. EM de Hostos Charter School • Special Programs: • The school offers several specialized programs such as: • • SPED program, • ELL program, • An advanced academics academy (A LIFETIME), • Gifted program, • School-To-Career curriculum, • Award winning art program• Spanish and German language programs.

17. Connections/Interests- Urban Bird Gardens & ASPIRA of Florida, Inc. • Connection: • Specific need for High Interest Informal Science Education • State Assessment Data identifies low performance in Science across the State of Florida • Science is identified as the lowest scoring subject in state assessments

18. Connections/Interests- Urban Bird Gardens & ASPIRA of Florida, Inc. • Specifics: • 26% of Students performed at a Proficiency Level in Science in 2008 • Drop of 1% from the 2007 year with 27% Proficiency in Science

19. Connections/Interests- Urban Bird Gardens & ASPIRA of Florida, Inc. • Interests: • Partnerships between ASPIRA and UBG scientists that answer real-world questions will heighten interest for students. • Community Projects can offer a sense of community involvement between parents, students, teachers, & other community members

20. Our Other Connection • The Pitirre is the symbol of ASPIRA. A small tropical bird found in Puerto Rico, the pitirre is known for its a gility, rapid flight and for its ability to outsmart, tire and defeat much larger birds. ASPIRA believes that the pitirre is a fitting symbol for young Latinos. ASPIRANTES gain the confidence of the pitirre by acquiring knowledge and developing their leadership skills. They can face and overcome seemingly overwhelming odds to become productive adults, returning to their communities the benefits of their skills and leadership abilities. The symbol of the pitirre reinforces ASPIRA’s belief that even the smallest and seemingly powerless can take control of their lives and cause change.