Puerto Rican / Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute (PR/HYLI)

Members of our Puerto Rican / Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute (PR/HYLI) and their advisors joined together for their first meeting of the school year, sharing a potluck meal in recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month.

The Puerto Rican / Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute (PR/HYLI) is a statewide leadership development program in New York designed to empower Hispanic and Latinx high school students by teaching them civic engagement, public speaking, critical thinking, and the state legislative process.

Through local training sessions organized by New York’s Regional Bilingual Education Resource Networks (RBERN), participating students analyze real proposed state legislation, learn parliamentary procedures, and practice persuasive debate.

The program culminates in a annual multi-day institute in Albany where student delegates debate active bills directly on the floor of the New York State Assembly Chambers in the State Capitol, connect with elected officials and community leaders, and gain eligibility for scholarships, college credit, and high school diploma distinctions like the NYS Seal of Civic Readiness.

In recent years, then NFA student Wilman Horta Leal was elected Governor by his peers and gave an inspiring speech at the Institute in the NYS Assembly Chambers. Wilman is also part of the NFA AF-JROTC program and plans to study law in the future. His speech can be found below. Wilman is now working with the organization as a professional! 

ATTENTION: Are your scholars or colleagues doing something great? Please contact the district Communications Team at communications@necsd.net. We’d love to visit your class or event and/or post your pictures and recap to highlight the amazing accomplishments throughout our district!