Kreitner Elementary School Principal Todd Pettit likes to tell his students that they can achieve anything they want if they graduate from high school and college. This is not a novel message, but when delivered at a school where 98 percent of the students receive free or reduced lunches, it is a message that does not have a great deal of reinforcement in the student’s everyday lives outside the school walls.
Carla Sleeter and Wells Fargo teamed to donate $2,000 to Kreitner Elementary School. Left to right: Kreitner PTA President Sherrie Burns, Carla Sleeter, Kreitner Principal Todd Pettit, Collinsville Unit 10 School Board member Wayne White / Photo by Roger Starkey
Students at Kreitner Elementary School sit quietly at an assembly during which $2,000 was donated to the school’s PTA / Photo by Roger Starkey
Pettit’s words met action when Carla Sleeter, who grew up in State Park and attended Kreitner from 1975-1979, stood before the entire student body Friday to present a $2,000 check to the school. The children, seated quietly before the announcement, began whispering among themselves when the quantity was announced. One did not bother to whisper when he exclaimed “holy cow!”
The PTA, the recipient of the donation, is very active and does a great job with the resources they have, Pettit said, but they rely on gifts from the community to support their many activities. “Our school is very blessed to have people who work very hard to find a way to financially support the school,” Pettit said.
Among the many activities the Kreitner PTA conducts each year are a festival in the fall and a carnival in the spring, President Sherrie Burns said. “The donation is a blessing,” Burns said.
The Kreitner PTA is different from many other PTAs because they work hard to provide opportunities for their students that the children’s lack of financial resources may preclude them from having otherwise, Pettit said. One example is Santa’s Cottage, where students pick out gifts for their siblings or parents each December.
Sleeter, Managing Director/Administration and Compliance at Wells Fargo Advisor, donated $1,000 and Wells Fargo matched the donation. Sleeter, whose maiden name is White, was rather understated when asked what it meant to come from humble beginnings in State Park and to be able to help the students at her former school.
“I know that the vast majority of kids live below the poverty level here,” Sleeter said. “I’m just glad to be in a position to make the donation”
Sleeter’s father and his 10 siblings also attended Kreitner, as did her brother and current Collinsville Unit 10 School Board member, Wayne White.
With a ceremonial $2,000 check as his backdrop, White told the kids that their level of success would not be based on their hometown. “Any time you think you can’t achieve something, remember that you are only limited by your own ambition,” White said.
Pettit’s message to his students was probably a little more easily received Friday.
