Critical community program in dire need of funding

Aspira of Danbury is struggling to stay afloat due to a lack of funding. The program

The Rogers Park ASPIRA group on their way to the Danbury Public Library to pick up their library cards and summer reading assignments. The group would be much larger if ASPIRA had money for a bus. provides essential English language tutoring programs free of charge to non-English speaking middle school students. According to the Aspira website, Aspira is the only national Hispanic organization dedicated exclusively to developing the educational and leadership capacity of Hispanic youth. The organization has been in operation since 1961 and serves over 85,000 students across the country each year.

“Aspira gives students something they badly need,” says Jim Moore, site coordinator for Rogers Park Middle School. “If a twelve year old comes here from Ecuador or Brazil they’re not going to learn English in six months.”

And after six months, any child new to the state is required to take the Connecticut Mastery Test, or CMT. “If someone handed you a test in Spanish, almost all of the questions

would be totally incomprehensible. So the low scores the non-English speakers are getting on these tests are lowering federal funding to our schools.” Aspira’s summer program is facing severe limitations due to their inability to provide students with buses. According to Moore,

Aspira had hoped to expand their program in the fall, but they’re actually being forced to reduce it. Aspira has had an increase of 13% in volunteers and a decrease of 8% in funding.

“This program gives people the biggest bang for their buck in terms of the community,” Moore said, in reference to the relatively low cost of operation and the immense benefit it provides to the community at large. “The last thing we need is a bunch of students all dropping out (of school).” Aspira is not just a few volunteers doing Danbury a minor favor, and our community can’t afford to take a “give-or-take” attitude toward the program.

“Helping kids stay in school and learn English is the best thing for the community,” says Moore. This is an issue that will have a direct impact on each and every person in the area, and whether that impact is positive, if Aspira receives sufficient funding, or negative if it does

not, is still undecided. Individuals or businesses wishing to support this program are encouraged to send their taxdeductible donation to ASPIRA, care of: The Hispanic Center of Greater Danbury, 87 West Street, Danbury CT, 06810. More information on the program can be obtained at www.aspira. org and www.ct-aspira.org