Parent-Teacher Association

A Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) is a voluntary organisation bringing together parents and teachers of pupils in a particular school, usually for fund-raising and other activities relating to the welfare of the school rather than the progress of individual pupils. This usage is common in the United States, Japan, United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth countries.

Related Topics:
School - United States - Japan - United Kingdom - Commonwealth

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In the United States, there is also a national organization called the Parent-Teacher Association. This was founded in 1897 in Washington, DC as the National Congress of Mothers by Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst at a meeting of over 2000 parents, teachers, workers, and legislators. It took the name Parent-Teacher Association in 1908. It is the largest child advocacy organization in the United States and claims over 6 million members.

Related Topics:
United States - 1897 - Washington, DC - Alice McLellan Birney - Phoebe Apperson Hearst - 1908

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Among the US national PTA's early achievements were the creation of kindergarten, passage of child labor laws, establishment of a public health service, funding hot school lunch programs, developing a separate juvenile justice system, and enforcing mandatory immunization. As part of the No Child Left Behind Act, PTAs help schools fulfill the parent involvement requirement of the law.

Related Topics:
Kindergarten - Child labor - Public health service - School lunch - Juvenile justice - Immunization

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In the United States, the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) reminds the country of its obligations to children and provides parents and families with a powerful voice to speak on behalf of every child while providing the best tools for parents to help their children be successful students. This organization addresses issues that are important to public school administrators, teachers and and parents. Membership is open to everyone. Programs include Teacher Appreciation, After School Programs and Three for Me (a promise from a parent to a school to volunteer three hours of his or her time during the school year on behalf of his or her child).

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National PTA does not act alone. It works in cooperation with many national education, health, safety, and child advocacy groups and federal agencies, collaborating on projects that benefit children and that bring parent involvement resources to its members.

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