National PTA

teacher and student

Teacher and student
Image: Shutterstock

As a child, didn’t you somehow think your teachers lived at school?  They didn’t seem to exist in any real way outside in the broader world.  Who knew they had lives, families, and sometimes ate out?  Do you remember the day you found out otherwise?  Maybe you saw your teacher at a restaurant you visited with your parents.  Worlds that were once separate and easy to categorize collided.  Would wonders never cease?

But teachers do and will continue to intermingle.  If you are a parent or a teacher, you are already eligible to join the National Parent Teacher Association.  However, don’t feel left out if you are an administrator, business leader, community organizer, or other caring individual. This dynamic organization has almost five million members, and there’s room for you too.

National PTA - Every child. One voice.

National PTA – Every child. One voice.

Since their founding in 1897 by Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst, the National PTA has worked to better the lives of all children.  It started out before women had the right to vote and social activism had not yet become popular.  It was first called the National Congress of Mothers.

The National PTA is a nonprofit association that speaks for all children.  They are a valuable resource for families and communities. Their focus is threefold.  They work to improve education, health and safety.

As the organization grew, in 1970, it merged with the National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers (NCCPT) which was founded by Selena Sloan Butler in Atlanta, GA to serve all children.

Over the years, the National PTA has undertaken many initiatives.  Some of them include the creation of kindergarten classes, hot and healthy lunch programs, mandatory immunization, juvenile justice system, child labor laws, public health service, school safety and arts in education.

Their website proudly proclaims, “Our founders represented women of imagination and courage. They had a simple idea—to improve the lives and future of all children. They understood the power of individual action, worked beyond the accepted barriers of their day, and took action to change the world for all children.”