As part of our ongoing celebration of Hispanic Heritage this week, NY1 education reporter Michael Meenan takes a look at a group that's worked in city schools for decades.

Its mission: to inspire Latino students to not only graduate but become real movers and shakers, in government, board rooms and just about anywhere else young leaders aspire to.

Meet tomorrow's leaders — Latino high school students who are members of a service group called ASPIRA, the Spanish word for aspire and it means just that.

"Being in ASPIRA has given me the leadership role I need, and honestly I built the character to step forward and set the example for other Latino students,” says ASPIRA member Elierser Rivera.

Rivera is an Aspirante, what ASPIRA members have called themselves since 1961 when the group was founded by Dr. Antonia Pantoja. ASPIRA's current executive director says Pantoja wanted it to be like a surrogate family for the children.

"Many are single-parent, a big percentage are poor. They need the support from groups like ASPIRA,” says ASPIRA Executive Director Hector Gesualdo.

Membership means a lifelong journey of empowerment and service. For one Aspirante that means speaking out when her school doesn't offer enough enrichment programs.

"It's as normal a high school as others. But the majority are basically Hispanics, and I'm looking into that basically Hispanics don't have enough opportunities,” says ASPIRA member Melissa Herrera.

There are 43 ASPIRA clubs in city middle and high schools, with and over 5,000. When ASPIRA began it was primarily Puerto Rican, but now, as the Hispanic population has changed, it represents a wider group of Latinos, who benefit from the battles fought decades ago.

"ASPIRA, for example, in 1972 sued the Board of Education to establish bilingual education programs,” says Angelo Falcon of the National Institute For Latino Policy.

That successful lawsuit still allows students to learn in their native languages until they master English, which is as important to the new wave of Latin American immigrants as it was to Puerto Ricans who paved the way.

"Dominicans, Colombians — that whole idea of a broader consciousness and Puerto Rican kids working with immigrants is a healthy thing,” says Falcon.

Twenty thousand students leave city schools each year without a diploma, forty percent of them are Latino, like 18-year-old Joshua Martinez, who we met outside a job training center.

After we explained, Martinez says it's the kind of group he thinks can help him get back into school. ASPIRA says it welcomes him.

"You can be from the hip-hop culture, from whatever culture it is,” says ASPIRA CEO Mark Gonzalez.

For more information about ASPIRA, call 212-564-6880, extension 115 or visit www.nyaspira.org.

- Michael Meenan