The PAPTA Perspective

Reflecting on the PTA Legacy: A Challenge for 21st Century Leaders Sandra L. Zelno, Consultant to the Pennsylvania PTA.  Chapter 1. An Idea and a Dream The year was 1895.  Grover Cleveland was President of the United States.  Only three percent (3%) of all Americans attended  college.  The average annual income for an American family was $411.  The average annual public school teacher’s salary was $298.  The Jungle Book and the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes made the list of popular

Reflecting on the PTA Legacy: A Challenge for 21st Century Leaders Sandra L. Zelno, Consultant to the Pennsylvania PTA.  Overview The National Congress of Mothers was founded on February 17, 1897 in Washington, D.C. by Alice McLellan White Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst.  It later became known as the National Congress of Parents and Teachers or the National PTA.  With the help of the National PTA, Selena Sloan Butler founded the National Congress of  Colored Parents and Teachers in 1926