18 ATTACHMENT 07 - Laserfiche WebLink

Laura J. Tenorio-Fejeran 7100 San Ramon Rd. #23 ~ Dublin, CA 95468 ' "' January 9, 2008 To Whom It May Concern: f'L,', ,.~~ ~ ~~~3~7 I am writing this letter in support of John Pound in light of the recent shutdown of Tri- Valley Martial Arts, which Mr. Pound operates. My daughter has been attending this after-school program for 3 months and I am exceptionally pleased with level of care she has received. This is a one of a kind after-school program that provides after-school transportation, homework time, and martial arts instruction. In the short time that my daughter has attended, I have seen a marked improvement in her self-esteem and confidence. She thoroughly enjoys the program and has also improved academically since she is able to finish her homework early in the day and not when she is tired, when we get home, after work, late into the evening. In addition, the martial arts instruction has provided her with a sense of mastery which has substantially diminished her extreme shyness. Mr. Pound has gone above and beyond the call of duty in being responsive to our family's needs, at times allowing me to pay in installments and going out of his way to pick my daughter up when she had to transfer schools due to our relocation. This shutdown, if permanent, will cause tremendous hardship for us, as I'm sure it will for other families served. I spent several months looking into after-school programs prior to finding this one and found that there was a serious shortage of programs that offered after-school transportation, which is essential for us since my husband works in Fremont and I work in San Jose. In addition, there also existed a gap in such structure services that offered much more that "babysitting." Furthermore, as I stated previously, there were no after-school programs in our area that included martial arts instruction. Lastly, I am certain that in addition to everything already mentioned, I will not find another program with such high level of care and concern for my daughter as she has received in this program. It is my opinion that this shut-down is contrary to the intentions of the government regulations upon which it is based. I trust that these regulations were developed to protect community members and ensure proper care and access. I can assure you that this program is in line with those goals. It is an asset to the community. The academy is not a daycare and therefore should not be categorized as such. The issue of parking spaces is anon-issue and has never been a problem since parents pick up their children at staggered times. In fact, whenever my husband and I pick up our daughter, we there is usually only one car there, or at least four or more parking spaces to pick from. (925) 858-4595 ~ e-mail: ljtenoriofejeran®yahoo.com