With no agreement on a state Dream Act, Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. is calling to re-establish the Peter F. Vallone Scholarship, the “original” New York City Dream Act.
On Thursday, April 25 Vallone gathered with mayoral candidates, fellow councilmembers and education and immigration advocacy groups to call on Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to reinstate the scholarship.
The Vallone Scholarship, instituted by the City Council in 1997, was awarded to students based only on academic performance and was made available to full-time students who enrolled in a City University of New York (CUNY) college within a year of graduating from a city high school. This scholarship was available to all students, regardless of their immigration status.
“The Vallone Scholarship was New York City’s Dream Act, it was a reality here when the state and federal acts were just dreams,” said Vallone.
Vallone has been fighting to reinstate the scholarship ever since its removal in 2012.
“It was a promise we made to our hardest working kids, that we would help them achieve their dreams of a college education, and it was a promise that was broken,” said Vallone.
According to Vallone, there were close to 15,000 students receiving assistance when the scholarship was eliminated.
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