About PTA

PTA is the oldest and largest volunteer child advocacy organization in the United States. Established in 1897, its forward movement provides the promotion of health, safety, nutrition, welfare, protection and education of children and youth. The Purposes of PTA and the PTA Mission provide the organizational goals and direction.

The Purposes of PTA are:

• to promote the welfare of children and youth in home, school, community, and place of worship;
• to raise the standards of home life;
• to secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth;
• to bring into closer relation the home and the school, that parents and teachers may cooperate intelligently in the education of children and youth; and
• to develop between educators and the general public such united efforts as will secure for all children and youth the highest advantages in physical, mental, social, and spiritual education.

The PTA Mission is threefold:

• to support and speak on behalf of children and youth in the schools, in the community and before governmental bodies and other organizations that make decisions affecting children;
• to assist parents in developing the skills thaey need to raise and protect their children; and
• to encourage parent and public involvement in the public schools of the nation.

Our local unit’s primary goal is to follow the PTA Mission and Purposes. Money raised should be enough only to cover costs of priority committee programs and the operation of the local unit. The local unit must operate in accordance with Local Unit Bylaws. The local unit bylaws are your first resource! They tell you when to elect a nominating committee, how many officers, and the length of their terms, officer duties, how many meetings your organization must have, when to hold election meeting and all items of strategic business operations.

There are great resources for local units at the PTA state level and the National PTA (www.pta.org). Make sure you use all resources available to run an organization of integrity and efficiency.