Immediately after Hurricane Katrina, the first Hispanic charter school in the city opened.

The goal of the school is to educate the thousands of Hispanics who came to rebuild the city of New Orleans post-Katrina.  This week, the first 8 ^th grade class graduated to the next language and culture.

Jenny Martinez is one of those graduates who has made a long educational journey, which began 10 months ago.

WWlLTV

Jenny Martinez waits to graduate.

“She could understand some things, but she couldn't speak at all,” said her teacher Judy Flores.

Martinez is a Mexican immigrant who came with her parents to make more money and have a better life.

Eyewitness News asked if Martinez was legal, but received no answer.

Flores is also a Mexican immigrant who came to America with her parents and sees similarities in Jenny’s story; her parents were seeking a better life for her family.

“If I knew, I wouldn’t tell you,” said Flores. “Whether you agree or disagree, politics and that situation is outside of what our job is; our job is to make sure our students learn and feel safe in our environments.”

Esperanza School follows the model of dozens of schools in the Chicago area under the UNO Charter School Network. UNO started educating immigrant children 10 years ago.

This school opened one year ago for one reason.

"After Katrina happened here in New Orleans, one of the side stories was the growth of the Latino community -- the immigrant community. Where there's workers there's families; where there's families there's children and there's a need for schools,” said Juan Rangel CEO of the school.

Andy Garcia's parents came from Cuba legally, but for the same reasons as Jenny's family.

“My mom tell me that she wants the best for me,” said Garcia in broken English, as he prepared to graduate.

Both parents of Andy Garcia and Jenny Martinez get to witness their children graduate with the first 8th grade class at the Esperanza Charter School.

Esperanza means hope in Spanish. Like the hope they feel to prosper in New Orleans as the country's newest immigrants.

Both Andy and Jenny are going onto high school.

Andy wants to become a robotic engineer, and Jenny wants to become a lawyer.

Both have the goal to eventually return the favor. "I want to help my parents,” said Jenny.