Five Pine Bush High School students, all current or former English Language Learners (ELL), are participating in the Angelo Del Toro Puerto Rican/Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute, an innovative collaboration with the New York State Assembly/Senate Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force.

The students – Valentina Adarve Quiroga, Isabella Gallego Herrera, Santiago Herrera Cacres, George Lozano and Ricardo Roblero Gutierrez – are among 98 participants from the Hudson Valley delegation, covering 14 districts.

 

 

“This 30-hour program spread over six months is available to juniors and seniors  of Hispanic and Latino descent,” according to Maureen Curtin, secondary school leader for English as a New Language (ENL). The students attend both in-person and virtual training sessions, helping develop public speaking skills and critical thinking to engage in parliamentary procedure which leads to debating proposed bills. The in-person sessions are held at area colleges, including Manhattanville, New Paltz and Vassar.

“This is a life-changing experience for our ENL students,” Curtin said. “They are learning about the United States government, in particular how bills become laws, and how these laws impact our students and their community.”

 

Exploring colleges is another benefits for the students. They will be exposed to three different area colleges by the time the program ends in March. They receive tours of the campuses and assistance with completing applications.

Another important part of the program is the civics end. The students work in groups and discuss different bills, the pros and cons of each, and study the process of a bill becoming a law. The three bills being discussed are:

• Amending education law regarding codes of conduct to ensure the application of fair and equitable discipline for all students;
• An act to amend the correction law to prohibit immigration detention contracts;
• An act to amend executive law establishing the right to legal counsel in immigration court proceedings.

“The program also allows our students to engage with other students from various districts socially, which not only builds their social language skills but also their confidence,” said Curtin.

 

Angelo Del Toro was a New York State Assemblyman from 1974 to 1994, and the first Hispanic chairman of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus. The Puerto Rican/Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute is named in honor of him. A lifelong East Harlem resident, he attended public schools and put himself through City College and the New York Law School. He was elected to the Assembly at age 27, representing the 68th District, until he died in 1994.

The overall purpose of the Angelo Del Toro Puerto Rican/Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute is empowerment. The goals include:

• The development of leadership skills in Latino/Hispanic Youth;
• The creation of opportunities for Latino/Hispanic students to interact with positive role models such as Puerto Rican/Latino elected officials, educators, and business leaders;
• The creation of partnerships and conversations among educators, business leaders and students, and
• The development of an in depth knowledge of the state legislative process.

“We are so excited about this program,” said Curtin. “We will make sure that every student who wants this opportunity next year will have it.”