ABOUT PTA
Every Child. One Voice.
The PTA is a national organization comprised of millions of families, students, teachers, administrators, and business and community leaders devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of family engagement in schools.
PTA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit association that prides itself on being a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for public education. Membership in PTA is open to anyone who supports the PTA mission and wants to be involved and make a difference for the education, health, and welfare of children and youth.
PTA VALUES
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Collaboration: We will work in partnership with a wide array of individuals and organizations to broaden and enhance our ability to serve and advocate for all children and families.
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Commitment: We are dedicated to children’s educational success, health, and well-being through strong family and community engagement, while remaining accountable to the principles upon which our association was founded.
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Diversity: We acknowledge the potential of everyone without regard, including but not limited to: age, culture, economic status, educational background, ethnicity, gender, geographic location, legal status, marital status, mental ability, national origin, organizational position, parental status, physical ability, political philosophy, race, religion, sexual orientation, and work experience.
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Respect: We value the individual contributions of members, employees, volunteers, and partners as we work collaboratively to achieve our association’s goals.
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Accountability: All members, employees, volunteers, and partners have a shared responsibility to align their efforts toward the achievement of our association’s strategic initiatives.
PTA TODAY
PTA is the oldest and largest child advocacy association in America. Today’s PTA is comprised of more than 4 million parents, teachers, grandparents, caregivers, foster parents and other caring adults who share a commitment to improving the education, health, and safety of all children. We speak with one voice for every child.
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Today, the issues that affect our children extend beyond their individual schools. The PTA’s nationwide network provides parents with the forum and tools to collectively influence the decisions that affect children not only at their schools, but also throughout their districts, within their states, and across the nation. This mission is unique to PTA.
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Many of the benefits our children receive today, such as universal kindergarten, the National School Lunch Program, and a juvenile justice system, were accomplished as a result of the PTA mission.
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With PTA, families also have access to important benefits, including:
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Regular updates and advice in the form of newsletters, PTA.org, and National PTA's Our Children magazine
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Leadership development through webinars and e-learning courses
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Millions of dollars in grants to help build PTA capacity and skills
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Prestigious national awards
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Cost savings from national retailers and other PTA partners
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Invitations to PTA conventions as well as our conferences for emerging minority leaders, male mentors, and advocates
PTA HISTORY
Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst founded the PTA when women did not have the right to vote and social activism was not popular. However, they believed mothers would support their mission to eliminate threats that endangered children. On Feb., 17, 1897, over 2,000 people—mostly mothers, but also fathers, teachers, laborers and legislators—attended the first convocation of the National Congress of Mothers in Washington, D.C. Twenty years later, 37 chartered state congresses existed.
In 1926, Selena Sloan Butler formed the National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers (NCCPT) to advocate for children, especially African American children in segregated communities. As the United States progressed through the Jim Crow era, the Civil Rights Movement and the eventual desegregation of schools and communities, the two associations fought side by side for every child. Following the Supreme Court decision that ended segregation, the associations held their conventions in conjunction with one another and worked toward merging in all 50 states.
On June 22, 1970, the National PTA and the NCCPT signed a Declaration of Unification and officially became one association that serves all children.
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As the largest volunteer child advocacy organization in the nation, National PTA is the conscience of the country for children and youth issues. Through advocacy, as well as family and community education, National PTA has established programs and called for legislation that improves our children’s lives, such as:
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Creation of Kindergarten classes
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Child labor laws
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Public health service
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Hot and healthy lunch programs
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Juvenile justice system
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Mandatory immunization
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Arts in Education
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School Safety
PTA PRESENCE
There are more than 22,000 PTA units nationwide, including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and DoD Schools in Europe.
Hawaii
Alaska
U.S. Virgina Islands and Puerto Rico
Europe