Slide2: A Walk Through PTA History


The PTA Story: The PTA Story PTA’s mission is the same today as it was more than 100 years ago—to better the lives of all children 


The Founding 1897: The Founding 1897 The founders had a dream to change the minds of parents, the public, and the government in order to improve the lives of children


The Founders: The Founders Alice McLellan Birney a teacher and widow with two children Phoebe Apperson Hearst (mother of publishing giant William Randolph Hearst) Together they founded the National Congress of Mothers in 1897


Slide6: Hand-written minutes of the first meeting in 1897


The Founding 1897: The Founding 1897 The first meeting of the National Congress of Mothers was held in Washington, DC on February 17, 1897 News spread of this new Congress and cause — and their voices were soon heard all across the country


Slide8: More than 2,000 attended the first annual meeting in Washington, DC


Ahead of their time…: Ahead of their time… In an era when women did not even have the right to vote, the founders established an organization that irregardless of color, creed, or condition, welcomed all members


The Early Years: The Early Years


The Early Years: The Early Years At its founding, the organization showed concern with health issues and sanitation conditions for infants and youth


Juvenile Justice System: Juvenile Justice System National PTA advocated for a separate juvenile justice system so children wouldn’t be tried and incarcerated as adults This is the basis of our juvenile justice system today


Slide13: National PTA advocated for child labor laws to protect against unsafe working practices and conditions for youth


1900s : 1900s


Slide15: President Theodore Roosevelt serves on PTA’s Advisory Council of Fathers


The first local PTAs!: The first local PTAs! The early years were spent chartering state organizations and building a network throughout the nation of mothers who believed in the cause


The first local PTAs!: The first local PTAs!


Establishing Kindergarten: Establishing Kindergarten National PTA supported early childhood education and fought for the establishment of Kindergarten as part of the public school system


As early as 1916, PTA advocated that sex education be taught to children before they reached puberty: As early as 1916, PTA advocated that sex education be taught to children before they reached puberty


World War I: World War I During and after the war, a teacher shortage had mothers giving lessons in the home


1920s: 1920s Enter the Roaring ‘20s—in a decade of perceived decadence, PTA’s response was: – encourage greater moral and spiritual education of children – provide reviews of moving pictures – begin the first “drive safely” campaigns


Another Founder : Another Founder One woman who took up the parent-teacher cause in the 1920s was African-American teacher and child advocate Selena Sloan Butler


Selena Sloan Butler : Selena Sloan Butler She attended PTA conferences and in 1926 founded the National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers in states where segregation was legally sanctioned


Selena Sloan Butler : Selena Sloan Butler From the onset, the National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers admitted into its ranks all who cared to work for the “betterment of child life” We recognize and honor Selena Sloan Butler as one of PTA’s founders today


Summer Round-Up 1920s: Summer Round-Up 1920s


Summer Round-Up 1920s: Summer Round-Up 1920s A nationwide children’s health project created by PTA and the U.S. Bureau of Education was the Summer Round Up


Summer Round-Up 1920s: Summer Round-Up 1920s The Summer Round Up helped educate parents and had every 1st grader registered and examined by a doctor and dentist before entering school It was the first means to gather standardized assessment of school children’s health


1930s: 1930s Following the stock market crash of 1929, more than 4 million Americans were out of work When the unemployed population could not pay property taxes, many schools closed


The Depression Years: The Depression Years National PTA advocated for federal aid to be used to reopen closed schools and provide school lunch programs for needy children


National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers 1930s: National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers 1930s


National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers 1930s: National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers 1930s The NCCPT called for African-Americans to assume leadership positions as superintendents and board members in segregated school districts President Selena Butler presented early-childhood information at conferences of the Nursery School Association of Great Britain


American Education Week: American Education Week PTA became an official co-sponsor of American Education Week in 1938


1940s: 1940s


1940-1949: 1940-1949 During the war years, PTA established war emergency committees, organized paper and scrap drives, and created “safe houses” where children could find refuge in case of attack


National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers 1940s: National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers 1940s During World War II, the NCCPT organized first aid instruction, salvage drives, and war bond purchases


Slide36: National PTA was a consultant to the U.S. delegates when the United Nations was founded in 1945


Hot Lunch Program 1946: Hot Lunch Program 1946 One of the brightest spots of this era was PTA advocating for the establishment of a Federally-Funded School Lunch Program


Hot Lunch Program 1946: Hot Lunch Program 1946 Today, this federally-funded program feeds more than 26 million children a day


1950s: 1950s


Fighting Polio 1950s: Fighting Polio 1950s One of PTA’s greatest achievements was its work with the March of Dimes to implement a nationwide polio vaccination program


Fighting Polio 1950s: Fighting Polio 1950s Local PTA members across the country volunteered to help administer the vaccine to 1.8 million children in 1954


Desegregation: Desegregation In 1954, the Brown vs. Board of Education decision declared school segregation unconstitutional and changed the face of public education


Slide43: Public schools in many states had long been maintained as “separate but equal for blacks and whites”


Slide44: But in truth, many of the schools were a lot more separate for blacks than equal


Desegregation: Desegregation After the Brown vs. Board of Education decision, the PTA and National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers held their conventions in conjunction with one another Separate local units began to dissolve and unite as one entity to work for children


Education Reform 1950s: Education Reform 1950s In response to the Soviets’ launching of Sputnik in 1957, the U.S. education focus changed to emphasize math and science in all grade levels


Education Reform 1950s: Education Reform 1950s PTA worked diligently to aid the U.S. Congress in passing the National Defense Education Act This legislation sought to close the science gap


1960s: 1960s


1960-1969: 1960-1969 In the 1960s, PTA membership soars to almost 12 million


Unification: Unification In 1966, the two associations began formal talks about unification and formally merged in 1970


1960-1969: 1960-1969 Despite riots in some areas because of racial tensions, integration proceeded effectively enough to see many local units of the NCCPT merge with local PTA units


Anti-smoking Campaign 1964: Anti-smoking Campaign 1964


Anti-smoking Campaign 1964: Anti-smoking Campaign 1964 All PTA units encouraged to educate children and youth on the health hazards of cigarette smoking PTA seeks to inspire young people to become the nation’s first smokeless generation


Reflections: Reflections In 1969, Mary Lou Anderson, then Colorado PTA President, created the arts achievement and education program called Reflections


Slide55: Today, more than half a million students participate in Reflections each year


1970s: 1970s


Unification 1970: Unification 1970 National PTA and the National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers formally merged on June 22, 1970 And so did their identical missions—to improve the lives of all children


Declaration of Unification: Declaration of Unification The organizations merged with one goal in mind: to produce an even stronger and more vital PTA move-ment throughout the country


TV Violence 1970s: TV Violence 1970s


TV Violence 1970s: TV Violence 1970s PTA commission investigates issues of increasing TV violence, how women are depicted, and effects on children Findings reveal need for parents to more carefully supervise what their children watch


Urban Outreach 1970s: In 1977, PTA initiated the Urban Education Project to identify crucial problems confronting urban schools and develop new and dynamic strategies for solving urban problems Urban Outreach 1970s


Advocacy Efforts 1970s: Advocacy Efforts 1970s PTA counts as a victory the passage of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 The law gave parents the right to inspect their child’s school records and correct or challenge them if necessary


1980s: 1980s


Education Reform 1980s: Education Reform 1980s When the Reagan administration sought massive cuts in federal school lunch and child nutrition programs, PTA made its voice heard PTA went on record opposing all legislation that disproportionately affected children


Education Reform 1980s: Education Reform 1980s In response to public concern over the condition of schools, PTA initiates the “Looking In On Your School Project”


Education Reform 1980s: Education Reform 1980s The project was designed to promote teamwork among parents, principals, teachers, and students to improve public schools


HIV/AIDS Education 1980s: HIV/AIDS Education 1980s PTA undertakes massive public education campaign to explain the nature of HIV/AIDS to parents, children, and youth


1990s: 1990s


Child Safety 1990s: Child Safety 1990s From seat belts to bike helmets, PTA has always called for the highest standards of safety for children With the help of corporate sponsors, PTA produces and distributes bike safety and bus safety information and PSAs


Parent Involvement 1990s: Parent Involvement 1990s Parent involvement becomes buzzword of the education community PTA hosts Parent Involvement Summit where 28 education organizations meet to discuss what each can do to encourage greater parent involvement


Urban Outreach 1990s: Urban Outreach 1990s Ebony co-develops a video with National PTA titled, Guide to Student Excellence featuring interviews with Dr. Maya Angelou and Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children’s Defense Fund


PTA Joins World Wide Web: PTA Joins World Wide Web In 1995, National PTA launches its first website at www.pta.org Today, PTA’s website attracts 3 million unique visitors a year


PTA and TV Ratings: PTA and TV Ratings PTA advocates for a television rating system that will help parents know the content of TV programming, not just age appropriateness FCC adopts TV rating system with content codes in 1998


Parent Involvement Standards: Parent Involvement Standards PTA publishes the first National Standards for Parent/Family Involvement Programs in 1998 These standards would later define “parent involvement” in the No Child Left Behind Act


2000 to present: 2000 to present


2000 to present : 2000 to present National PTA publishes “the” book on parent involvement—Building Successful Partnerships Based on the six national standards, the book provides a blueprint for developing successful parent involvement programs that work


Hispanic Initiative: Hispanic Initiative


Hispanic Initiative: Hispanic Initiative PTA steps up translation efforts on more parenting resources than ever before, including national advertising and its website PTA also launches Hispanic Initiative in three pilot states to identify and mentor Hispanic leaders within the organization


Five Cents Makes Sense Campaign: Five Cents Makes Sense Campaign Less than 3 cents of every federal dollar goes to education funding PTA enacts Five Sense Makes Sense Campaign to lobby Congress for 5 cents of every dollar to fully fund all educational programs for our public schools


National PSAs: National PSAs National PTA and The Ad Council launch national Public Service Announcements in English and Spanish to increase awareness of the need and benefits of parent involvement


National PSAs: National PSAs


National PSAs: National PSAs The media has dontated more than $600 million worth of advertising placements to carry our PSAs and help spread our message


Responding to Tragedy: Responding to Tragedy During this decade, PTA also responded to national tragedy and disaster—first to September 11 and then to Hurricane Katrina


The PTA Story: The PTA Story Since its founding PTA has seen many changes and met many challenges Yet PTA has never lost sight of its original mission—to better the lives of all children 


The PTA Story : The PTA Story As PTA enters a new century Parent involvement will remain at the core of everything we do Health and safety issues will continue to be priorities We’ll hold steadfast on increasing funding for public schools


The PTA Story : The PTA Story As PTA enters a new century We will embrace technology to reach and serve more members Invite and attract more child advocates to our cause Make every child’s potential a reality


The PTA Story: With 5.5 million members today the PTA legacy continues… The PTA Story