Title
Recognizing and Honoring ASPIRA, Inc of Pennsylvania on their decades of work promoting Puerto Rican culture, education and leadership development in the Philadelphia Puerto Rican and Latino Community, and their recent successes serving as stewards at Stetson Middle School and Olney High School.
Body
WHEREAS, ASPIRA of Pennsylvania has been in existence since 1969 with a mission of promoting educational attainment and leadership development within the Philadelphia Puerto Rican/Latino Community; and
WHEREAS, For many years, ASPIRA focused on supporting and shaping policies within the Philadelphia School District, leading legal challenges around equity, bilingual education and special education; and
WHEREAS, With the passing of the Pennsylvania Charter School Law of 1997, ASPIRA rose to the challenge of directly administering schools not just for Latinos, but for all underserved communities; and
WHEREAS, In 1998, ASPIRA opened the Eugenio Maria De Hostos Bilingual Charter school, the first bilingual charter school in Pennsylvania using the dual immersion bilingual education method, providing a robust cultural experience and educational excellence; and
WHEREAS, ASPIRA now runs the De Hostos Charter School, Antonia Pantoja Charter Middle School—named after ASPIRA's founder, Antonia Pantoja, Pequeños Pasos pre-school and last year ASPIRA took over the management of Stetson Middle School, and this year began work at Olney Charter High School; and
WHEREAS, ASPIRA's recent work with the Renaissance School Program at Stetson Middle School and Olney High School has meant taking on two of Philadelphia's most challenged public schools and creating a safe and successful learning environment; and
WHEREAS, Stetson Middle School has made a dramatic improvement in school climate with suspensions declining from 500 in School Year 2009-10, to less than 10 in the last school year, and whereas already at Olney there has been a dramatic improvement in their school climate, and
WHEREAS, ASPIRA's partnership with the Philadelphia School District has allowed them to work collaborately at creating model programs for all children, and this tremendous commitment to operating quality public schools, along with their adult education programs, community leadership development and after school services has distinguished ASPIRA as one of the premier education providers in Philadelphia, and
WHEREAS, Recently, ASPIRA purchased the former Cardinal Dougherty school facilities and is creating a full service educational campus that will serve children and adults from 3 years through college and beyond, the first of its kind, in the ASPIRA national family; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA Recognizes and honors ASPIRA on their decades of service to the Philadelphia community. We commend you for your efforts and innovation in the field of education, and recognize the thousands of Philadelphia's public school children who have been enriched by your programs. We wish you many more decades of continued success.
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