An organization of parents and teachers working together to support schools and students; stands for Parent-Teacher Association.
An acronym created in the early 1900s in the United States when parents and teachers began meeting formally to improve schools. The organization became a national movement.
The PTA started in 1897 as a radical idea—the thought that ordinary parents could meet with teachers as equals to improve education was revolutionary in a time when schools were completely controlled by authorities.
Parent-Teacher Association has been historically female-dominated unpaid labor (mothers volunteering); framing often renders women's organizing work invisible while relying on it.
Acknowledge PTA work as labor; recognize it's often gendered female; include all genders in leadership; consider compensation for coordinators.
Women's educational organizing through PTAs has driven major school funding, curriculum, and safety improvements—often unrecognized in institutional histories.
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