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UNITED STATES NATIONAL PARENT-TEACHER ASSOCIATION In the United States , the National PTA was founded in 1897 in Washington, DC as the '''National Congress of Mothers''' by Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst at a meeting of over 2000 parents, teachers, workers, and legislators. In 1908 , the organization changed its name to the '''National Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associations.''' National PTA, as the organization is commonly called, is the largest and oldest child advocacy organization in the United States and claims 6 million members. Among National PTA's early achievements were the creation of Kindergarten , passage of Child Labor laws, establishment of a Public Health Service , funding hot School Lunch programs, developing a separate Juvenile Justice system, and enforcing mandatory Immunization . As part of the No Child Left Behind Act , PTAs help schools fulfill the parent involvement requirement of the law. In the United States, the National PTA reminds the country of its obligations to children. Membership is open to everyone. Programs include Teacher Appreciation, After School Programs and Parent Involvement Schools of Excellence Certification. National PTA does not act alone; it works in cooperation with many national education, health, safety, and child advocacy groups and federal agencies, collaborating on projects that benefit children and that bring parent involvement resources to its members. Membership in PTA decreased from more than 12 million in 1964 to barely 5 million in 1982 before recovering to approximately 7 million in 1995 (Putnam, 1995, Bowling Alone ). LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS Local "PTAs" are generally associated with their state PTA and the National PTA. Local "Parent-Teacher Organizations" are all independent of the national organization. PTOs may be associated with a for-profit business called PTO Today , although membership in this group is less than 10,000 members, compared to the 6 million of the National PTA. Estimates show that over 75% of all schools have some form of parent teacher association. SEE ALSO
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