Welcome to the PTA Council of Howard County

Do you know....How old is the National PTA? When is its Founder Day? Find out the answer at the end of this newsletter

PTA Take Your Family to School Week, is just one of the PTA programs revitalizing parent involvement in education. Celebrate our founders' vision during Take Your Family to School Week Go to the following link for ideas: http://www.pta.org/familytoschool/family_involvement-pg1.html

For the National PTA planning guide and family involvement ideas, go to: http://www.pta.org/familytoschool/familytoschool_landing.html

Individuals who wish to testify at a hearing are asked to limit their presentation to three minutes and to provide 15 written copies of their testimony at the time of the hearing. Pre-registration will take place during business hours during the three weeks prior to the hearing, up to the close of business on the last working day before the hearing.

To sign up to testify at a hearing or to speak at Public Forum, contact the Board’s office at 410-313-7194.

Individuals who would like to request a sign language interpreter for any meeting of the Board of Education may contact Colleen Rice, Interpreter Scheduler, at 410-313-7046. A two week advanced notice is preferred.

The National PTA was originally called the National Congress of Mothers and the first convocation was held on February 17, 1897 by Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst. According to reports, more than 2,000 people attended at the Arlington Hotel ballroom! This far exceeded the founder’s expectations. Remember that the year is 1897, twenty-three years before women got the vote.

For more than a century, Parent Teacher Association (PTA) has provided support, information and resources to families focused on the health and education of children. If not for these women and their vision and determination, there would not be a PTA—an organization that has been woven into the very fabric of American life.

By whatever name it has been known, National PTA was created to meet a profound challenge: to better the lives of children. And today, it continues to flourish because PTA has never lost sight of its goal: to change the lives of children across our great nation for the better

PTA entered the new millennium with renewed energy to supply the critical link between parents and educators, government, and the legal system. National security, No Child Left Behind, and the digital divide became important issues. So, too, did children’s health and safety reassert themselves as national concerns. PTA responded by creating new resources to encourage safe communities, anti-bullying measures, and healthy lifestyles at home and at school. As a means to galvanize all PTAs, a new tagline was adopted in 2001—everychild. onevoice.—to encapsulate the power and legacy of PTA. While our PTA community has grown and changed, one thing remains constant—caring members continue to make a difference every day.