ASPIRA Association Web Resources

In this tutorial you will find a tour of the wealth of resources and information Aspira has available through the use of our website.

You will find a brief tutorial of all of our resources along with a more detailed explanation of each resource and where to find it on our website.

It is our hope that through this tutorial you will better be able to access information throughout our website and to better be familiarized with what ASPIRA is about and all the programs and partnerships we take on to better our communities.

ASPIRA ResourcesIndex

What is AspiraAspira Mission StatementHistory of AspiraAspira Association Office List

Aspira ProgramsAPEX- Aspira Parents for Educational ExcellenceAspira’s Mentoring ProgramAspira’s Professional Development InstituteMAS- Math & Science Academy

Aspira National ProgramsNHTSACommunity Wealth Development InitiativeCTC-Community Technology CentersPromoting Healthy CommunitiesMarco PoloFDICIPRAC-Institute of Puerto Rican Arts & CultureAprendamos EspañolPublic Policy WebsiteCollege Resources

Information ResourcesInternet Resources

What is ASPIRA? • The ASPIRA Association, Inc. is the only national nonprofit

organization devoted solely to the education and leadership development of  Puerto Rican and other Latino youth. ASPIRA takes its name from the Spanish verb aspirar, "aspire."

• Since 1961 ASPIRA has pursued its mission of empowering the Latino community through the development of its youth.  All of ASPIRA's goals and activities spring from one basic belief: Puerto Ricans and Latinos have the collective potential to move their community forward.

• ASPIRA looks at Latino youth and sees this potential;   leaders waiting to emerge. With community-based offices in large cities of six states and Puerto Rico, ASPIRA's1,100 staff members work with over 50,000 youth and their families each year to develop that potential. These are our Aspirantes---those youth who will become educated, committed leaders for the community's future benefit.

http://www.aspira.org/about.html

ASPIRA's Mission Statement

The ASPIRA Association promotes the empowerment of the Puerto Rican and Latino community by developing and nurturing the leadership, intellectual, andcultural potential of its youth so that they may contribute their skills and dedication to the fullest development of the Puerto Rican and Latino community everywhere.

  To empower the Puerto Rican and Latino community through advocacy and the education and leadership development of its youth.

http://www.aspira.org/about.html

History of ASPIRA In 1961, Dr. Antonia Pantoja and a group of Puerto Rican educators and professionals created ASPIRA (which means aspire in Spanish), to address the exceedingly high drop-out rate and low educational attainment of Puerto Rican youth. They were convinced that the only way to free the Puerto Rican community from poverty and to promote its full development, was by focusing on the education of young people, and developing their leadership potential, self esteem and pride in their cultural heritage.  This was the best way, they believed, of ensuring that youth would become not only productive members of society, but leaders the development of their own community.  ASPIRA conveyed in its name the expectation that Puerto Rican youth could succeed if they dared to aspire.

 http://www.aspira.org/about.html

The ASPIRA Process

Over the years, ASPIRA has developed a highly successful intervention model called the ASPIRA Process. The model consciously accentuates the positive, putting the stress on developing the potential of Aspirantes rather than on trying to overcome their perceived deficits.

The ASPIRA Process of leadership development teaches youth to become aware of their current situation, to analyze its consequences, and to take action for change in their personal lives and the life of their community. ASPIRA brings together students, parents, school and community members to promote educational success and community service. ASPIRA also works with foundations, corporations, and the government to improve educational opportunities for these young Latinos.

http://www.aspira.org/about.html

Our Logo-The “Pitirre”

The Pitirre is the symbol of ASPIRA. A small tropical bird found in Puerto Rico, the pitirre is known for its agility, 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. 

ASPIRA Associate Offices

Aspira of New Jersey- http://nj.aspira.orgAspira of NY - http://www.nyaspira.orgAspira of CT- http://www.ctaspira.orgAspira of PA- http://www.aspirapa.orgAspira of IL- http://www.aspirail.orgAspira of Puerto Rico- http://pr.aspira.orgAspira of Florida- http://fl.aspira.org

Youth Leadership Development Program

The ASPIRA Clubs

The Youth Leadership Development Program (LPD) is the core program of ASPIRA. Through school-based leadership ASPIRA Clubs, students learn the 'ASPIRA Process" of awareness, analysis, and action. The program provides leadership training, cultural enrichment activities, and community action projects that teach students how to develop their abilities to become effective leaders of their communities. Each club is represented at the ASPIRA Clubs Federation (ACF), an assembly that convenes twice every month to discuss action-oriented activities for all clubs in

their areas. 

APEX-Aspira Parents for Educational Excellence

The APEX program is based on the belief that students scholastic performance is enhanced when their parents are aware, encouraging, and involved in their academic progress.

The goal of the APEX program is to provide parents with the tools they need to improve their children’s study habits, communication, and leadership skills.

http://www.aspira.org/Apex.html

ASPIRA Mentoring ProgramA mentor can be the one person who makes the difference in the life of a young person by serving as a positive role model. A mentor reinforces good study habits, provides guidance, assists with schoolwork, is present for moral support and encouragement by saying—

“Through mentoring, we can provide youth with the awareness and incentive to strive for excellence and direct their lives toward making positive contributions in their community.” Dr. Antonia Pantoja, Primary Founder of ASPIRA

http://www.aspira.org/mentoring.html

The ASPIRA Association Professional Development Institute

The following resources are available to Aspira associates for the development of their staff:

Aspira’s National Academic Advisors Professional Development Institute

Aspira’s CTC On-line computer applications workshop

Proposal Development

http://www.aspira.org/prof_dev.html

National Highway Saftey Program

ASPIRA in collaboration with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration promotes a national campaign aimed at reducing alchohol impaired driving by Hispanic individuals, ages 21 through 34.

The campaign’s ultimate goal is to reduce the number of crashes and fatalities, resulting from alcohol impaired drivers, in the Latino population.

ASPIRA is a leader in promoting traffic safety through the development of culturally and linguistically appropriate traffic safety messages for the Hispanic community.

Our Traffic Safety mission is to:Promote healthy behaviors for youth and adultsPromote young Latino Leaders to become involved in local policy-making Encourage a significant number of Latino leaders to support the campaign

http://www.aspira.org/nhtsa.html

The Community Wealth Development Initiative is a major institutional milestone for Aspira. We are committed through this effort to create the next generation of Latino entrepreneurs, to increase home ownership among our families, to generate wealth in our communities.

Our four current programs are from Nationwide Insurance, Morgan Stanley, FDIC and Citibank.

Financial/Home Ownership EducationEntrepreneurship & Securities Investment EducationInsurance LiteracySmart Money

http://www.aspira.org/Comm_wealth.htm

MAS-Math & Science Academy

CASA MAS (Community Allies for Smart Access to Math And Science) provides access to information, resources, discourse, and strategies in math and science education.

CASA MAS is better described below through each of its forming elements by providing Teachers, Students & Parents resources and activities in the areas of Math & Science.

http://www.aspira.org/casamas.html

The mission of the Aspira Institute of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture is to promote the history and culture of Puerto Rico primarily amongst the Puerto Rican youth .

Here you will find resources in the areas of History, Arts, Literature, Music, Folklore traditions, Natural history, lesson plans, video and books on the Puerto Rican Culture.

http://iprac.aspira.org/

Aspira's mission is to empower our youth through education and leadership development. Learning a second language or improving our Spanish language communications skills is a integral component of the empowerment process.

The page is a compiled list of online resources were selected to support the process of learning and improving Spanish communication.

http://www.aspira.org/spanish.htm

ASPIRA's CTC's are designed to develop a replicable model program that will demonstrate the effectiveness of access to technology and the Internet by economic disadvantaged, mostly Latino inner-city children, youth and adults.

Here you will find resources in English & Spanish in the areas of technology online-courses, IT Planning Tools, IT Learning resources, CTC Help desk and much more.

http://ctc.aspira.org/English.html

Promoting Healthy Communities

The purpose of ASPIRA's Comprehensive HIV-AIDS Prevention Curriculum is to inform Hispanic youth and parents about the HIV-AIDS epidemic and to promote positive healthy decision-making and academic advancement.

It complements This curriculum strives to meet its purpose by being culturally competent and by addressing the specific needs of Hispanic youth. Curriculum and manuals are in english/spanish. http://www.aspira.org/hiv2.html

College Resources

College resources is a page that was created to support our college students in their desire to further their secondary education.

The extensive list of College resources includes information in the areas of:Scholarships, Internships, Fellowships, Academic awards, College search engine, financial aid resources and much more.

http://www.aspira.org/college_resources.htm

Aspira’s Public Policy websiteThe purpose of this page is to highlight key public policy issues that have the capacity of impacting Latino youth and community. It contains links to other pages which provide additional information.

Topics included in this page includeNo Child Left BehindLegislationChildren & PovertyJuvenile JusticeAffirmative Action ImmigrationHomeland SecurityTransportationPublic Policy Archives

http://www.aspira.org/public_policy.htm

MarcoPolo Resources ASPIRA & MCI-MarcoPolo Program partnership goals for

2005 are to provide teachers serving Hispanic serving school districts with 5,200 standards-based lesson plans and resources that cover every core K-12 subject, grade level and class period, and to reach thousands of teachers, with a MarcoPolo trainee in every school and using MarcoPolo regularly.

Values- Aspira - MarcoPolo's accomplishments are based upon core, steadfast values. MarcoPolo content is provided to teachers free of charge, with no direct link to business interests. The relationships amongst the MarcoPolo Partners are built on long term mutual commitments and shared goals, and are based on trust, honesty and integrity.

http://www.aspira.org/teacher_resources.htm

Internet Resources

At ASPIRA we are committed to provide the best possible environment and resources to ensure the success of our youth. Recognizing that the Internet provides a wealth of resources and knowledge, we have assembled a collection of web sites which provide information about a number of issues and topics for which we frequently receive inquires.

Hispanic Information Resources College Bound Resources Health Education Resources

Family Resources Educators Resources

Community Development Resources Organizational Development Resources

http://www.aspira.org/links1.htm

It is our hope that you enjoyed the wealth of information resources ASPIRA has to offer for free and that you will be able to use them to better serve each of your communities.

If you would like more information regarding ASPIRA and our different programs and initiatives. Please feel free to contact us at info@aspira.org or at 202-835-3600.

http://www.aspira.org