ASPIRA of Florida

THE MISSION

The mission of ASPIRA of Florida is to foster the social advancement of minority youth in their pursuit of educational excellence and leadership development that emphasize a commitment to the community.

THE VISION

The vision of ASPIRA of Florida is to "develop a better educated, more community conscious and committed youth".

WHO IS ASPIRA of Florida

ASPIRA of Florida has been interwoven in the South Florida community for the past 35 years. The organization was founded by various Miami community leaders in March 2, 1981 to assist first generation college-bound and economic disadvantaged minority youth through youth leadership development (YLD) programming and the ASPIRA Process of Leadership Development curriculum.

In 1998, ASPIRA of Florida became the second organization in Miami-Dade County to open its first charter school. Now, ASPIRA has a community of three charter schools including the newly built school facility, ASPIRA Arts DECO Middle School (6th – 8th Gr) located in Wynwood; ASPIRA Raul A. Martinez Charter School (6th – 8th Gr.) located in North Miami; and ASPIRA Leadership & College Preparatory Academy (Kinder – 8th Grade), located in Leisure City. ASPIRA services more than 1,300 minority students from low-income communities on an annual basis and has successfully promoted over 20,000 students into high school. ASPIRA believes it is their calling to help close the achievement gap and provide an equitable education to all youth.

ASPIRA’s youth development component spans across three counties: Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach. Our programming has two main components:

1) Educational Talent Search (ETS) which focuses on college
    preparation and career awareness.

2) Prevention (substance abuse and crime).

The goal of ETS is “to increase the number of youths from disadvantaged backgrounds who complete high school and enroll in post-secondary education institutions. ETS is the foundation for all our services. The prevention component focuses on all aspects of minimizing at risk behaviors including, but not limited to drug and alcohol use and violence and gang prevention.

Today, ASPIRA has serviced over 96,000 minority youth and families and is proud to be built on a tradition of excellence. ASPIRA is passionate about making a difference in the lives of its youth and committed to helping them achieve their greatest potential academically and personally.