PTA History: 1970-1979

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Notes from the Backpack Podcast

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1970

  • National PTA and National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers united to serve all children and youth, at National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers (NCCPT) convention in Atlanta
  • New Action Program, "Quality Living and Quality Learning for All Americans" launched
  • First week in October proclaimed by U.S. president as National PTA Week
  • National PTA participated in seventh decennial White House Conference on Children
  • Ms. Clara Gay, former NCCPT president, elected to National PTA Board of Managers
  • Mrs. Tessie Oliver Nixon, former NCCPT leader, joined National PTA field staff
  • NCCPT Life Members became Life Members of National PTA
  • National PTA and National Juvenile Court Foundation cosponsored pilot conference in Cleveland, Ohio, on "Volunteer Programs in the Juvenile Courts"
  • At a meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona, National PTA launched Project RISE (Reading Improvement Services Everywhere), focusing on reading readiness and reading ability in early childhood
  • President appointed as first chairman of Corporation for Public Broadcasting's Advisory Committee of National Organizations
  • President one of six American women invited by French government to tour France
  • Three filmstrips prepared: Your Parliamentary Partner: Mr. Main Motion; Who Says You Can't? and Leadership: A State of Mind
  • President attended WCOTP meeting in Sydney, Australia
  • Students were consider full and equal members of PTA or PTSA

1971

  • Mrs. John M. Mallory elected president
  • Convention adopted resolutions on maintaining free public school system and supporting Corporation for Public Broadcasting
  • Bylaws amendments enabled reorganization of Board of Managers' 28 standing committees into 5 commissions: Education; Conservation of Human Resources; Individual Development; Leadership Training; and Membership, Organization Extension, and Program Services, with each commission to include one young person between ages 15 and 20
  • Convention delegates revised wording of fourth PTA Object, replacing "training" with "education"
  • National PTA, with funds from U.S. Public Health Service, sponsored two conferences on "Family Dilemmas—Smoking and Drugs"
  • Joint National PTA—NJCF conference held in Boston to train juvenile court volunteers, funded by Law Enforcement Assistance Administration and Sears-Roebuck Foundation
  • Project RISE brochure and bookmark prepared
  • Board of Managers adopted statement on community school program
  • National PTA president and leaders of other educational organizations conferred with President Nixon and federal officials at White House on matters of education
  • National PTA president attended White House Conference on Youth, held in Estes Park, Colorado
  • Region III human relations workshop, held in Atlanta, was first phase of new National PTA project financed under provisions of Elementary School Assistance Program
  • National PTA reaffirmed its support of United Nations
  • State PTA presidents and legislation chairmen invited to National PTA Legislation Conference, held in Washington D.C.
  • National PTA represented at International Union of Family Organizations meeting in Madrid, Spain, and WCOTP meeting in Kingston, Jamaica.

1972

  • Action Program continued under new title, Values for Responsible Freedom, with new Foreword
  • Convention resolutions of integrated education and school transportation, programming for environmental quality, nonprescription drug abuse, human relations, and community school program
  • Delegates amended PTA's basic policy on working with the schools to say that PTAs "shall seek to participate in the decision-making process establishing school policy"
  • PTA honored with an 8-cent commemorative postage stamp to celebrate the 75th anniversary of its founding
  • Three "Volunteer Programs in the Juvenile Courts" conferences held in Jackson (Mississippi), San Francisco, and Chicago, cosponsored by National PTA and National Foundation and funded by Law Enforcement Assistance Administration
  • National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism provided funds to National PTA to launch an innovative education/information program
  • Changes made in names of National PTA commissions; names now to read: Education, Health and Welfare, Individual Development, Leadership Development, and Membership and Organizational Services
  • Project RISE materials prepared: booklet, Home Start on Reading: Tips for Parents of Preschool Children; filmstrip, One Child in Four: The Story of Project RISE, prepared in cooperation with National School Public Relations Association
  • Annual honorary memberships created, to be given to persons, firms, or institutions that make a financial contribution to National PTA
  • National president attended WCOTP meeting in London and IUFO meeting in Ottawa, Canada

1973

  • Mrs. Lillie E. Herndon elected president
  • Convention adopted resolutions on control of VD, mental health programs, obscene and pornographic materials, alcohol education, public TV programming
  • NCCPT historical documents added to National PTA archives; also NCCPT check for $2,000 turned over to Endowment Fund
  • Handbook for Volunteers in Juvenile Court published jointly by National PTA and National Council of Juvenile Court Judges

1974

  • New action program, "Every Child Needs You" launched
  • Convention delegates voted to increase national portion of members' dues from 10 cents annually to 20 cents (effective April 1, 1975)
  • Board of Managers voted to discontinue The PTA Magazine with November issue
  • National PTA, with grant from Sears, Roebuck and Co., held conference to set up five pilot projects on school absenteeism
  • National PTA and March of Dimes cosponsored "Parenting—A PTA Priority" conferences in several regions
  • National PTA president was member of U.S. education delegation sent on study visit to U.S.S.R. by U.S. Office of Education and Department of State; also attended Intergovernmental Conference on Teacher Policies, in Paris, sponsored by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
  • Eighteen state PTAs awarded alcohol education grants, financed by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

1975

  • Mrs. Walter G. Kimmel elected president; administration theme, "The Today PTA--The Year of the Local Unit"
  • Convention delegates approved National PTA support of legislation to restrict manufacture of handguns and to ban the manufacture and sale of "Saturday Night Special"
  • National PTA Bulletin replaced by PTA Today
  • National PTA awarded contract from U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) to stimulate development of new approaches to health education
  • Second conference on school absenteeism received reports of five pilot projects and proposed guidelines for reducing absenteeism
  • National PTA received citation from Center for Disease Control for promotion of Immunization Action Month and award from March of Dimes for cooperation in sponsoring series of parenting conferences
  • Grant to National PTA from NIAAA provided funds for alcohol education programs in 30 states

1976

  • Six state PTAs received grants from National PTA's comprehensive school/community health education project funded by HEW
  • National PTA alcohol education project funded by HEW
  • National PTA alcohol education project developed eight model prevention programs
  • Brochure and filmstrip, Where Have All the Students Gone? reported on findings of National PTA–Sears school absenteeism study
  • National PTA received grants from U.S. Office of Education to prepare and disseminate information on career education and on collective bargaining in education
  • National PTA initiated nationwide project to combat violence on television
  • Regional parenting conferences, cosponsored by National PTA and March of Dimes, continued; pamphlet, The Fine Art of Parenting, published
  • National PTA joined HEW campaign to immunize all children against communicable diseases
  • The School Board and the PTA, Partners in Education published

1977

  • Grace Baisinger elected president; administration theme, "The PTA Speaks Out—A Place for Everyone in PTA"
  • National PTA opened Office of Governmental Relations in Washington D.C.
  • National PTA project on TV violence compiled testimony from PTA hearings in eight cities, established PTA TV Action Center, trained PTA members to monitor TV programs, and published first TV Program Review Guide
  • Brochure and filmstrip on career education prepared with aid of grant from U.S. Office of Education
  • Pilot projects underway in six states as part of comprehensive school/community health education project
  • Today's Family in Focus, packet of eight parent education pamphlets, published and distributed to PTAs, financed by PTA and Sears, Roebuck, and Co.
  • Convention substituted "place of worship" for "church" in first PTA Object
  • National PTA president and California PTA president visited People's Republic of China as part of delegation of American educators and PTA leaders, sponsored by Japan–U.S. Friendship Commission with Japanese Ministry of Education; first vice-president and three other National Board members visited Japan

1978

  • National PTA helped to form National Coalition to Save Public Education, to fight tuition tax credit legislation; National PTA president served as chairman; coalition succeeded in defeating tuition tax credits in 95th Congress
  • Parenting resource kit, How to Help Children Become Better Parents, developed as outgrowth of PTA-MOD parenting conferences
  • Urban Education Project established; held first of series of public hearings
  • National PTA participated in project to assist federal government in forming family policy
  • The Role of Collective Bargaining in Public Education and checklist on collective bargaining published
  • National conference on comprehensive health education held to report six state pilot projects
  • National PTA alcohol education project published materials developed in state projects
  • TV Center began development of school curriculum in viewing skills
  • National PTA participated in Schoolhouse Energy Efficiency Demonstration (SEED) Project, sponsored by Tenneco, Inc.
  • National PTA Task Force on Nutrition created, to work with USDA on upgrading school lunch programs
  • Four National PTA Board members participated in educational exchange visit to Japan, and National PTA hosted Japanese educators and PTA leaders who visited Chicago

1979

  • Virginia Sparling elected president; administration theme, "The PTA Moves Forward"
  • Eight state PTAs selected to conduct demonstration projects to promote health education; projects made possible by contract from HEW
  • White paper, The Testing Maze, published and distributed to PTAs
  • Urban Education Project held five public hearings and a youth forum
  • Participants in National PTA Legislative Conference attended White House briefing and reception; the first National PTA "President's Award for Distinguished Service to Public Education" presented to Senator Ernest F. Hollings (SC)
  • National PTA's Curriculum Review Committee of National Science Foundation Project prepared report on parental involvement with curriculum at local level
  • National PTA received grant from U.S. Department of Agriculture for a nutrition education project
  • National PTA's projects for International Year of the Child included impact of media on children, urban education, and a student/youth health education forum
  • Third year of Japan–U.S. education exchange visits; selection of U.S. delegation based on proposals made by state delegations of National PTA, Council of Chief State School Officers, and National Association of State Boards of Education; state groups from Alabama, Delaware, Illinois, and Nevada visited Japan, and Japanese delegation was again hosted at National PTA Office