Dear Valley Forge Elementary School Families,
When I took over as PTO President, I found myself focusing a lot on the first letter of the PTO acronym. After all, I am a parent to three students in VFES. It’s the primary reason I wanted to be involved in the PTO: I wanted to help be an integral part of a great school. I don’t think I can stress enough how important parents are to our school.
Without you, a high percentage of our children’s fondest memories of Valley Forge Elementary wouldn’t be possible. We rely on 75 parents to staff the library! We rely on another 75 to be homeroom parents! And almost 100 of you have answered the call to volunteer for other opportunities over these last weeks, and we still have open positions, if you are interested. It’s been amazing to see how fortunate our children are to have such an active parent community.
That said, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the T in PTO, our fantastic teachers. The average teacher spends over $500 of their own money on supplies for their classroom. So, please also consider the financial support that will be needed for our continued success. The PTO offsets a small amount of their costs through PTO funds.
I am not writing this to try to score bonus points with my kids’ teachers. Rather, in first grade, I wrote I wanted to be a teacher. Or a nun. I didn’t have the patience for either, but I have always been impressed with the individuals who actively seek to shape young minds, and our school has some of the state’s best. Together, we are a formidable organization whose sole purpose is the best school environment around.
Our children couldn’t get much luckier. And as a parent, I am grateful for that.
Warmly,
Heather McConnell
VFES PTO President
P.S. The VFES PTO is a 501(c)(3), and your donation is 100% tax deductible.