Prince George's County Council of Parent-Teacher Associations (PGCCPTA) records
Collection
0258-MDHC
The Prince George's County Council of Parent-Teacher Associations (PGCCPTA) is active in such issues as child health, school management, public school laws of Maryland, and plans for higher education. The Prince George's County Council of Parent-Teacher Associations (PGCCPTA) records span the years 1952 to 1981, with the bulk of the material dating from 1964 to 1974. The collection consists of administrative files, clippings, committee files, correspondence, minutes, publications, and photographs accumulated by the PGCCPTA. The records also contain materials produced and accumulated by the Maryland Congress of Parents and Teachers (MCPT), the state branch of the National Congress of Parents and Teachers, the Prince George's County Board of Education, the Maryland State Department of Education, and the National Congress of Parents and Teachers (NCPT). Topics represented in the collection include the desegregation and integration of Prince George's County schools, the implementation of sex education in schools, teacher salaries, the health and welfare of children, and the kindergarten program.
This collection is open for research.
Photocopies of original materials may be provided for a fee and at the discretion of the curator. Please see our Duplication of Materials policy for more information. Queries regarding publication rights and copyright status of materials within this collection should be directed to the appropriate curator.
11.00 Linear Feet
The Prince George's County Council of Parent-Teacher Associations (PGCCPTA) records span the years 1952 to 1981, with the bulk of the material dating from 1964 to 1974. The collection consists of administrative files, clippings, committee files, correspondence, minutes, publications, and photographs accumulated by the PGCCPTA. The collection also contains materials produced and accumulated by the Maryland Congress of Parents and Teachers (MCPT), the state branch of the National Congress of Parents and Teachers, the Prince George's County Board of Education, the Maryland State Department of Education, and the National Congress of Parents and Teachers (NCPT). Topics represented in the collection include the desegregation and integration of Prince George's County schools, the implementation of sex education in schools, teacher salaries, the health and welfare of children, and the kindergarten program.
The Prince George's County Council of Parent-Teacher Associations (PGCCPTA) was organized in May 1941, by the memberships of five local Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs): Greenbelt Elementary, Greenbelt High, Mt. Rainier High, Oxon Hill Elementary, and Riverdale Elementary schools. The mission of the PGCCPTA was to strengthen and improve local PTAs ("units") and their programs; compile, evaluate, and report information about children and their needs; provide workshops and training sessions for their members; and provide a means for local PTAs to coordinate their efforts. The PGCCPTA was an unincorporated organization which, along with the individual PTAs, was chartered under the Maryland Congress of Parents and Teachers (MCPT), a state branch of the National Congress of Parents and Teachers (NCPT). The MCPT approved the bylaws of the PGCCPTA as well as the local units and examined the PGCCPTA's records and accounts for accuracy.
Local units of the PGCCPTA could send their president and two delegates to participate in PGCCPTA Council meetings. The PGCCPTA Council consisted of a president, two vice presidents, recording and corresponding secretaries, a treasurer, and various regional vice presidents. Along with these officers, there were also two field service representatives who advised the president on MCPT affairs. The president oversaw PGCCPTA Council and Executive Committee meetings, and coordinated the work of officers in promoting the plan of the PGCCPTA. The president was also a member of the MCPT Board of Managers, the governing body of the MCPT. The PGCCPTA Council met six times per year, but the president could also call special meetings. Past presidents of the PGCCPTA Council included Norman Lawrence (1958-1959), Gladys Noon Spellman (1959-1961), Phyllis Williams (1964-1967), Ruth Wolf (1967-1968), Eloise Hall (1968-1971), and J. Harrison Ager (1972-1975).
The Executive Committee, which consisted of PGCCPTA Council officers, committee chairpersons, the immediate past president, the Superintendent of Prince George's County Schools or his/her representative, and a representative from the Prince George's County Board of Education, carried out the administrative functions of the PGCCPTA Council. The Executive Committee created standing committees, but the president also held the power to create special committees if such a need arose.
In 2000, the MCPT revoked the charter of the PGCCPTA for undisclosed reasons. The charter was reinstated the following year, but was once again revoked in 2007 for failure to keep accurate records of bylaws, minutes, and financial documents.
The collection is organized as six series.
Diana B. McCusker, president of the PGCCPTA, donated the Archives of the PGCCPTA to the University of Maryland Libraries in 1981. Additional materials were added to the collection in May 2008 from the Archives of the Berwyn Heights Elementary School Parent-Teacher Association (PTA).
Materials in this collection were separated into six series. The collection was placed into acid-free folders and housed in acid-free boxes. The photographs were placed into Mylar sleeves and housed in an acid-free folder. Oversize items in the collection were separated and placed into an oversize acid-free folder within a mapcase. Newspaper clippings were photocopied onto acid-free paper and the original clippings were discarded. Materials relating to the Berwyn Heights Elementary PTA were separated and were integrated into the Archives of the Berwyn Heights Elementary School PTA.
In May 2008 materials that had been previously housed with the Archives of the Berwyn Heights Elementary PTA were reincorporated into this collection. This resulted in the expansion of the date range of the collection to include the years 1980 and 1981.
Part of the Special Collections and University Archives