From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (November 2007)

A "Parent-Teacher Association" ("PTA") or "Parent-Teacher Organization" ("PTO") is a voluntary organization bringing together parents and teachers of pupils in a particular school or school district, usually for fund-raising, building parent involvement and community at school and other activities relating to the welfare of the school, rather than the progress of individual pupils. The term PTA is used in the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom and also in some other Commonwealth countries.

There are nearly 23,000 local organizations recognized by the National PTA organization in the United States.^[1] and therefore correctly termed official PTAs. The generic term "PTO" is used to refer to either all parent-teacher groups (regardless of affiliation) or (more often) to just independent parent-teacher groups, who choose not to be affiliated with the National PTA. Roughly 75% of U.S. parent-teacher groups are independent groups (PTOs).

The National PTA is a non-profit organization that is 110 years old, with membership open to anyone who believes in the Mission and Purposes of National Parent Teacher Association [National PTA]. Every person who joins a local PTA automatically becomes a member of both the state and National PTAs. PTA membership - including the number of affiliated units and of individual members - has been declining for several decades. The group boasted more than 12 million members as recently as the late-1960s; whereas today membership is down below 5.5 million.

At the local level, the goal of all parent-teacher groups is to support their schools, encourage parent involvement, support teachers, organize family events and the like. PTOs and PTAs are able to take advantage of a variety of resources to help them with their work. Both the National PTA web site and a for-profit resource site (www.ptotoday.com) have resources (articles, programs, tips, forms, best practices) available for free for all parent-teacher groups. Both sites also offer additional resources to groups paying for services (PTA has member-only resources and PTO Today has an added-value service called "PTO Today Plus".)

• In "Flush with Power", a fourth season episode of King of the Hill, Peggy Hill remarks, "As a veteran of the PTA as both a 'P' and a 'T', I've read the Bible of parliamentary procedure, Roberts Rules of Order."
• In 1968, Tom T. Hall wrote the song "Harper Valley PTA", recorded by Jeannie C. Riley which provided the basis for a film and a television series. The premise of the song, film and series is single mother who "socks it to" the elitist and hypocritical members of the Harper Valley PTA.
• In Frank Sinatra's version of the Simon and Garfunkel song "Mrs Robinson" there is a line: "The PTA, Mrs. Robinson, won't OK the way you do your thing".
• In According to Jim, Cheryl mentions going to PTA meetings.
• In 1983, in the movie called Terms Of Endearment, starring Shirley MacLaine, Jack Nicholson, Debra Winger, and Danny Devito, Houston ISD Council of PTAs', an affiliate of National PTA, officers and their local PTAs worked as extras.

• Parents and Citizens Associations (Queensland, Australia)
• List of civic, fraternal, service, and professional organizations

• World wide Teacher Associations
• National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations for the UK
• United States National Parent Teacher Association website
• National ParentNet Association - Parent Involvement In Schools and Education
• PTO Today website