6100 Blue Lagoon Drive, Suite 460
Staying on the Right Track
Samuel Durham and Omar Rosete talk and text at least once a month about school, sports, and life in general.
It's hard to imagine how far the relationship between this young student and his mentor has come in just four years.
As a freshman at Booker T. Washington High School, Durham, now 20 years old, was court ordered to enter Rosete's Crime Prevention Program after an error in judgment landed him in legal trouble.
The Crime Prevention Program, operated by ASPIRA of Florida, Inc. and run by Rosete, focuses on taking youth diverted from the Juvenile Justice System and providing them with stay in school support, academic and personal counseling and family intervention.
"In the beginning it was hard; I always had someone after me about my grades and attendance, but now looking back I see how important it was and I'm thankful for what Omar has done," said Durham.
"Now we have an excellent relationship, Sam is part of the ASPIRA family," added Rosete.
ASPIRA's Crime Prevention Program is funded through the Miami Dade County Office of Grants Coordination and its success can be attributed to the support and resources Booker T. Washington High School has provided.
Acting as a liaison between the youth in the program, their parents and the school faculty, Rosete is constantly involved in all aspects of the students' lives. He keeps track of their whereabouts, grades, classroom attendance, family life and extracurricular activities. He keeps his cell phone close by at all hours of the day and night, just in case one of his students might need him.
Their success is his success.
"At first they refuse to be in the program, but over time they see the benefit of it and they really start to change," Rosete said.
Rosete has a proven record of helping his students make such positive life changes and Samuel's story is no different.
After much persistence, dedication and focus, Durham graduated from Booker T. Washington High School and received a scholarship from ASPIRA that covers his housing costs, admission fees and tuition at William Pen University in Iowa. He was also awarded financial aid and an athletic scholarship from William Penn University for his outstanding performance as a Track and Field star.
He plans to let his track career take him as far as it will go, maybe even the Olympics, but Samuel's first priority is continuing to put into practice everything he learned from Omar and his four years in ASPIRA's Crime Prevention Program.
"My focus is on studying – it's my future," said Durham.
"Samuel's story embodies ASPIRA's primary purpose of giving youth the tools and opportunities that allow them to overcome obstacles and be successful," said George Cabrera, President and CEO of ASPIRA of Florida, Inc.
A dramatic contrast can be drawn between who Durham was his freshman year in high school and who he has become as he finishes his freshman year in college.
"Everyone makes mistakes, the important thing is to not repeat them," said Rosete, who is always just a call or text away from his students, helping them stay on track.
Los Angeles based street artist and female urban art icon, Sand One, returns to Miami to participate in the week of Art Basel 2012. Her work will be exhibited throughout the week in The Arts District galleries. The main highlight of Sand's trip to Miami will be painting a large scale educational based mural called "Book Smarts" at ASPIRA Eugenio Maria de Hostos Youth Leadership Charter School located at 1 Northeast 19th Street Miami, FL 33132. The mural will feature the artist's signature long lashed girl characters engaging in school activities. Sand emphasizes, "the intention behind the mural is to highlight the importance of reading. Reading is knowledge." 
"This is an exciting opportunity to have our students participate in a unique, hands on project that expands their learning beyond the classroom," said ASPIRA President and CEO, George Cabrera. "This would not have been possible without the vision and support of Captain George Guevara. We cannot thank Sand One enough for sharing her talent with our Aspirantes and for choosing the Eugenio Maria De Hostos building as her canvas to communicate the importance of reading."
ASPIRA of Florida is excited to welcome its 250 thousandth website visitor! This benchmark number of a quarter of a million, reached during October 2012, reflects the effort our organization has put forth in bringing new and engaging content to our readers. In just over three years since the debut of our redesigned website we have seen expansive growth in website readership and are excited about the implications. Our ultimate goal is to keep those already involved with ASPIRA informed, while spreading the message of who ASPIRA is and what we do to the general public.
ASPIRA of Florida Charter Schools, in collaboration with the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, announces free after school music classes will be offered to 6th-8th grade students enrolled at ASPIRA Raul Arnaldo Martinez and Eugenio Maria De Hostos Charter Schools. Graduate student mentors from the Frost MusicReach program will teach the free music classes once a week on Wednesday afternoons, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., October 3 through November 28, 2012. 
Frost graduate students Geoffrey Saunders and William Longo were selected as faculty for the RAM and EMDH Charter Schools.
You are cordially invited to attend a fundraiser event coordinated by ASPIRA's Palm Beach Division. The fundraiser will take place on Friday, October, 26, 2012 and all proceeds will go to benefit the ASPIRA Scholarship Fund.
and celebrate El Sentinel's 10th anniversary on Friday, September 14!
With Internet access becoming increasingly vital for success at school, at work and at home, ASPIRA of Florida, Inc. has joined in Comcast's efforts to bring affordable Internet service to the millions of students and families on the wrong side of the digital divide.
On Tuesday, July 10, ASPIRA of Florida, Inc. joined newfound partner, AVANCE, Inc. for a live press conference to highlight the continued national expansion of AVANCE's Parent-Child Education Program (PCEP) through partnerships from across the country.
You are invited to join us on June 12, 2012 for an ASPIRA Scholarship and Networking Fundraiser to be held at Cabana's Restaurant from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
According to their website, "the Red Ribbon Certified Schools (RRCS) program, led by Informed Families, the National Family Partnership and Florida State University's Center for Prevention Research, has been federally-funded and designed to assess and then celebrate effective efforts in the prevention of substance abuse among youth."