History of Iowa PTA
The Fourth National Congress of Mothers was held in Des Moines in 1900. It was at that convention – on Saturday, May 26, 1990 – that the Iowa Congress of Mothers (Iowa PTA) was born, with Cora Bussey Hillis as its founder and first president. It was incorporated in 1940 in Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa, as the Iowa Congress of Parents and Teachers (Iowa PTA).
In 1899 Cora Hillis attended the Third National Congress of Mothers in Washington, DC, as a state delegate. She later wrote about her experience at the convention:
There I heard presented by experts the problems of the children; of the needless sin and suffering in the world caused by untrained parenthood; of neglected childhood and preventable, adverse social and economic conditions. Then and there I dedicated my life to this service, and determined henceforth to use my strength and influence in this cause. I was as but a drop in the ocean, I knew, but every human being either retards or advances progress and I wanted to add my mite to the onward push…
I was urged by the National Board to be the organizer for Iowa. I hesitated. I could never tell you of my overwhelming sense of the sacredness of the responsibility entrusted to me. My eyes were open; I realized what it involved – sacrifice and much thankless work. Here was I, bidden to preach a new gospel to a state full of mothers, the majority of whom really believed they already knew all there was to be known about child-care. I was to work to the limit of my strength in a new cause; to overturn established procedures; to be the agitator in school affairs, and even try to overturn a century old system of Jurisprudence; introduce juvenile courts, and compel reluctant judges to turn from the business of safeguarding the almighty dollar long enough to save some little immortal child. I must do all this and yet be, in my own home, the kind of mother whose children would reflect honor on herself and her work. I was told it needed a clear-visioned far-sightedness that could look deep into the future and see coming needs; a resourcefulness to meet any present emergency that might arise, together with a tolerant spirit to work on under adverse conditions; and over all was needed an abundant love for the cause, and for humanity – love great enough to fortify against the thoughtless criticism of that ever-present class, who, doing nothing themselves, find pleasure in picking flaws in the work of others…
I told the board of directors, “I will try.”
The Iowa Congress of Parents and Teachers advocated for statewide children’s issues such as:
- Health education and annual examinations of the school child
- Child immunizations
- Narcotics education
- Establishment of a library in every county
- Equality of all schools in Iowa
- Education in wise use of leisure
- Support for Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, camp fire girls, and similar organizations
- Opportunities for boys and girls to practice citizenship through participation in school forums, student councils, mock courts, etc.
- Character building
- Organization of Child Study Circles
- Raising the age limit for marriage
- Special education facilities and services
- Making an orphan or abandoned child a ward of the state
- Raising minimum standards for teacher qualification
- Optional rather than compulsory military training in public schools
- Promoting home reading
- Studying and promoting home and school cooperation
- Aid to dependent children
- Marijuana control
- Free transportation of school children
- Increasing teacher compensation
- Student loans for education majors
The years of the Great Depression cast the state and the nation into unbelievable depths of want and suffering. Almost every unit in the Iowa Congress carried on some form of relief work, giving milk, shoes, clothes, hot lunches, carfare, or providing for other needs.
In the aftermath of World War II, the Iowa Congress of Parents and Teachers began its second 50 years with the recognition that the most important child welfare issue facing it was the development of a genuine peace in the world; that unless they accomplished that purpose, children would have little opportunity for growth, freedom, or even life itself. They resolved to work together in home, school, church, community, nation, and throughout the world to advance the idea that peace begins on our street, in our own homes and communities.
In March of 1955, Neva Taylor accepted the position of Executive Secretary for the Iowa Congress of Parents and Teachers, having served for 20 years before that as a member of the Board of Managers. Mrs. Taylor was awarded a National PTA Honorary Life Membership in 1959 and, in 1966, she was honored at the Iowa PTA Convention. In a tribute to Neva Taylor, Mrs. Sherman B. Watson, Iowa PTA President, said:
Mrs. H. L. Taylor, you have touched the lives of many people in your PTA work. Your humor, steadfastness, ability, knowledge, and courteous friendliness cannot be matched. If we had such a term, and we do not, we would most certainly call you “Mrs. PTA” of Iowa. Your service to Iowa PTA may never be equaled.
As a tribute to her dedication to Iowa PTA, a new statewide PTA unit was formed in 1979 which is known as the Neva Taylor Statewide Unit. It is an “at large” unit, primarily for professionals, PTA alumni and friends who often have no local unit conveniently available, but who wish to support PTA and maintain an association with it. Neva Taylor passed away in November, 2002, at the age of 102.
Mrs. Taylor’s husband, Harold L. Taylor, was also a longtime employee of the Iowa PTA. Although he was employed as a part-time mail clerk, he worked daily at the State PTA Office and spent long, overtime hours for which he did not expect, nor did he receive, any compensation. He is remembered fondly as the driver of the car that traveled all over Iowa, taking his wife and other PTA personnel to District Conferences, State Conventions, and local PTA meetings. Both Neva and Harold understood and believed completely in the PTA Program. Harold Taylor passed away in 1969 and, in 1974, Iowa PTA established a scholarship fund in his memory. The H. L. Taylor Scholarship Program awards scholarship grants every year to deserving Iowa students.
The program of international relations that the Iowa Congress of Parents and Teachers put forth in 1950 continued to be a priority issue as the organization moved into the decade of the 1960’s. The Congress urged its membership to become informed on the broad problems and issues which would affect the welfare of people everywhere, believing that actions, however small, when added together would create a climate of greater understanding. Iowa PTA units were encouraged to:
- Include at least one program per year specifically designed to deepen the understanding of its members on problems related to developing friendly relations between nations.
- Cooperate with programs designed to provide for foreign exchange students and foreign visitors.
- Establish contacts with organizations such as the Iowa Association for the United Nations.
- Distribute information on organizations such as UNESCO and UNICEF and events such as Brotherhood Week and Human Rights Day.
- Cooperate with other organizations and agencies to establish school and community programs for greater understanding of the role and responsibility of each citizen in strengthening the free world.
- Participate in getting out the vote in local, state, and national elections.
- Urge participation of individuals in community civil defense, in character-building youth programs, and in naturalization of foreign born.
- Include at least one program per year on the importance of the family as the basic unit upon which is built the democratic way of life.
- Provide programs designed to deepen understanding of civic responsibilities.
By the mid 1960’s issues such as school funding and child welfare were becoming critical. The Legislative Program of the Iowa Congress was very successful in the 1965 legislative session as the efforts of PTA members resulted in the passing of legislation in several areas including:
– Use of safety-glasses
– Driver education
– Child abuse laws
– Updating juvenile court laws
– And they cooperated with three major educational organizations for an increase in state aid.
In 1985 Iowa PTA was successful in securing legislation requiring the use of proper restraints for children under the age of six while in an automobile.
In 1989 legislation to ban corporal punishment in Iowa schools finally made its way to the Governor’s desk. Iowa PTA worked in collaboration with the Iowa Chapter of the National Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse in advocating for this landmark legislation.
By the start of the new millennium, inadequate funding for education in Iowa had become critical. Iowa PTA conducted a survey of school district superintendents across the state to identify problems resulting from inadequate funding for education and, in February, 2001, participated in a statewide rally to urge legislators to increase Iowa’s investment in education, including teacher pay. In 2001 Iowa PTA also testified at a Congressional field hearing in support of federal funding for the Head Start program.
Iowa PTA continued to join with other education organizations in advocating for increases in school funding, continuing the annual survey of school administrators to identify the lengthening list of critical needs. On a brisk January day in 2004, an estimated 2,000 education advocates from across Iowa gathered on the steps of the Capitol to show support for increased funding for education. Iowa PTA provided a cookie for each legislator with a note saying, “This is the last cookie we’re baking — From now on it’s up to you to fund education!”
By 2003 Iowa was leading the nation in the number of families with both parents, or the only parent, working. Quality before- and after-school programs had become a necessity for working families. To better advocate for these programs, Iowa PTA joined the Iowa Afterschool Network (later to become the Iowa Afterschool Alliance) and became an affiliate member of the Iowa Community Education Association.
In 2003 Iowa’s first three Parent Involvement Schools of Excellence were certified by National PTA: Westridge Elementary (West Des Moines), Clive Elementary (West Des Moines) and Pierce Elementary (Cedar Rapids).
In 2006 Iowa PTA provided grants to several PTAs for parent involvement programs that promoted and supported mathematics, science, and technology education. The grants were made possible through a collaboration with the Iowa Mathematics and Science Coalition with funding from the National Association of State Science and Mathematics Coalitions.
“We strive until the goal is gained
Then look for one still unattained;
Our records point the course we take
To greater records we can make-
For hope springs not from what we’ve done
But from the work we’ve just begun.”
– Mrs. Lloyd S. Mumford
Iowa PTA President, 1944-1947
Sources of Information
The First Fifty Years. Hazel Hillis, Mrs. R. G. Wellman, Mrs. Allen O. Ruste, Carolyn E. Forgrave, Mrs. F. W. Beckman, Mrs. H. G. Drake, Mrs. R. Nason Friend, Mrs. Charles F. Pye, Mrs. Charles W. Smith, Mrs. S. E. Lincoln. Published by Iowa Parent-Teacher Association, 1950.
Iowa PTA Bulletins.
More History of Iowa PTA
For information about the history of the National PTA go to: https://www.pta.org/home/About-National-Parent-Teacher-Association/Mission-Values/National-PTA-History