100 years of service to the children of SLO County
117 years ago, in 1897, parent organizations from California joined to become the California Congress Of Mothers and Parent Teacher Associations. That same year they joined the National Congress of Mothers. They advocated in Washington D.C. on issues challenging the health, safety, education and welfare of families and students. They were not a fundraising group; they brought to light conditions making it difficult for children to get an education and for families to survive. More than a century later and now commonly referred to as “PTA”, we remain focused on those goals.
In 1915, Nipomo Elementary School became the first PTA unit in San Luis Obispo County. There are now 32 PTA schools in our county with a combined total of more than 1,300 years of volunteer service. The newest to join is Mesa Middle School.
San Luis Obispo County PTA schools contribute over 125,000 volunteer hours each year, which translates into more than $3 million in donations to local schools. That money has saved programs that keep children connected to school — arts, field trips, assemblies and classroom supplies.
Local PTA’s were instrumental in large community projects such as the creation of the new juvenile Hall. A PTA-sponsored cyber bullying bill was signed into law by the governor. PTA has been instrumental in passing a host of other laws for the benefit of children and families, including class size reduction, anti-bullying, school lunch programs and more.
If you have a story about the founding of your PTA unit, let us know.
