MAYOR PEREZ TELLS CLASS OF 2014

“SET HIGH GOALS” 

---NEWS RELEASE---

(March 26, 2007)--- Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez asks groups of Hartford students everyday, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”  Most of the time, the answer is a doctor, a teacher, an astronaut, or some other career that requires a college education. 

This year’s “5^th Graders Go to College” was no exception.  Hartford kids have big dreams and high expectations for their future.  This week, more than 1600 students from Hartford Public Schools will visit one of 13 college campuses throughout the state. 

Mayor Perez was at the kick-off event at University of Hartford’s Gengras Student Union.  The Mayor asked more than 100 students from Barnard-Brown and Rawson Elementary Schools how many of them are going to college and they all raised their hands.

Mayor Perez says, “Hartford is the City of Hope and Opportunity.  For many Hartford kids, this is the first time they have ever had the opportunity to see a college campus.  Families need to know that it is never too early to start thinking about college and it is my hope that this visit will plant a positive seed for our children’s future.”

Mayor Perez goes on to say, “Education is the great equalizer in our society.  There is no substitute for a quality education.  When children learn more, they achieve more.  My goal as Mayor is to increase the number of Hartford students who graduate with a four-year college degree.  We must prepare our youngsters for the jobs of the 21^st Century.”

During his State of the City Address, Mayor Perez once again made education a high priority.  He wants to invest in Hartford’s youth by providing positive choices for our young people.  That’s why Mayor Perez is proposing to invest almost $2 million in academic enrichment and after school activities, a coordinated community effort to address youth violence, and summer and year-round jobs for Hartford teens.