“THERE IS A COLLEGE FOR EVERY STUDENT”

MAYOR PEREZ DEDICATES DAY TO EDUCATION

---NEWS ADVISORY FOR EARLY COLLEGE AWARENESS DAY, TUESDAY, MAY 8^TH---

9:00 a.m.--- Mayor Eddie A. Perez will join the Foundation for Excellent Schools (FES) and members of UCONN’s Upward Bound Program for an assembly at Bellizzi School, 215 South Street in Hartford’s South End.  Mayor Perez will talk about the benefits of being bilingual in the 21^st Century job market.

10:30 a.m.--- Mayor Perez and Superintendent Dr. Steven Adamowski praise Hartford Financial Services Group for its Reading Buddies Program.  90 employees are paired with third graders from West Middle Elementary School.  The Hartford has made reading fun for more than 1,000 students for more than a decade.  This year’s event takes place on the 22^nd floor of the Tower Building at The Hartford Financial Services Group, 690 Asylum Avenue, in the Asylum Hill neighborhood.

1:30 p.m.--- Mayor Perez and FES take part in a college pep rally at Hartford Magnet Middle School, 53 Vernon Street in the City’s Barry Square neighborhood.  School officials will announce a college essay contest.

Mayor Perez says, “I love when kids tell me what they want to be when they grow up and that they know they need to go to college in order to make that dream come true.  It’s never too early to start planning for college.”

The Mayor adds, “In today’s global society, a college degree is more essential than ever.  Hartford is proud to hold an Early College Awareness Day for the fourth year in a row.  We’re also proud to continue our partnership with the Foundation for Excellent Schools to help more of our students graduate with a college degree.  It’s essential that Hartford residents compete for the jobs of the 21^st Century.”