Dear Stoddert Community,

As the dust is settling from the last week of school, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on this year. From managing the school’s website and newsletters, to running events such as the Back To School Potluck, Family Fun Night, and International Night to supporting our teachers and students in the classroom through teacher stipends and the much needed laptops and charging cart, the Stoddert PTO has accomplished a lot this year.

We would not have been able to do all of this and so much more without the financial and volunteer support of you, our parents, our teachers, our administrators, and our community members. We want to thank you for your support.

We would especially like to take a moment to thank community leaders, specifically Councilmember Mary M. Cheh. Councilmember Cheh has always been a strong advocate for Stoddert Elementary School. Due to her work on the Council, we have seen a number of positive changes at the school that benefit our students, faculty, and the surrounding community. Therefore, we’d like to take this moment to say THANK YOU to Councilmember Cheh for supporting Stoddert by:

• Fighting to reinstate the budget for the Fillmore Arts Program and continuing to advocate on behalf of the five schools who need the program in order to have arts instruction in school. Councilmember Cheh has hosted Fillmore student performers in her office, promoted the program to her colleagues, and fought for the necessary funding to keep this wonderful arts program operational at Stoddert.
• Working with District agencies to ensure the Stoddert PTO receive a fair rental rate for the use of school facilities during out-of-school time hours. The reasonable compromise reached by Councilmember Cheh allows the PTO to continue to provide engaging and fun programming for children during the summer months.
• Prioritizing the Stoddert playground renovation during the District’s budget process and securing 100% of the funding necessary to complete the project to the size and scope envisioned by the Stoddert community and administration.
• Annually touring our school with representatives from the Department of General Services (DGS) to ensure that teachers have the resources they need and the school facilities are in working order for students. After the inspection, the Councilmember coordinates with DGS to guarantee that all maintenance requests are completed by the start of the school year.

These are just a few of the accomplishments that Councilmember Cheh has achieved on Stoddert Elementary School’s behalf and which have allowed our students to thrive. Thank you, Councilmember Cheh!

Enjoy your summer break and we look forward to your continued support of the school and teachers next year.

Thank you,
Maria, Nitchet and Jen
(Outgoing and Incoming PTO Presidents)