Second District of the California State PTA (San Francisco PTA) Records, 1907-2006, bulk (bulk 1927-1975)

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Summary

Title:
Second District of the California State PTA (San Francisco PTA) Records
Dates:
1907-2006, bulk (bulk 1927-1975)
Creators:
California Congress of Parents and Teachers. Second District.
Abstract:
The San Francisco PTA Records cover nearly 100 years of the activities of the Second District of the California State PTA, from its early days as the San Francisco Congress of Mothers in 1908. These extensive records were maintained by the district office. The collection contains board meeting minutes, bylaws, periodicals, directories known as yearbooks, and scrapbooks covering procedures, history, and publicity.
Extent:
48 boxes (31.44 cubic feet)
Language:
Collection materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Second District of the California State PTA (San Francisco PTA) Records (SFH 21), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.

Background

Scope and content:

The San Francisco PTA Records cover nearly 100 years of the activities of the Second District of the California State PTA, from its early days as the San Francisco Congress of Mothers in 1908. These extensive records were maintained by the district office. The collection contains board meeting minutes, bylaws, periodicals, directories known as yearbooks, and scrapbooks covering procedures, history, and publicity. While the collection largely documents the Second District since 1927, when redistricting made it a strictly-San Francisco district, there are also minutes and publicity record books of the original Congress. The records document the group's objectives and activities which continue to focus on child welfare and educational support, from its establishment as a conglomerate of Mothers Clubs to its currently-known name as the San Francisco PTA.

Researchers are encouraged to see also Mrs. Joseph (Elizabeth) Morcombe San Francisco, Second District, California Congress of Parents and Teachers (PTA) Records, [1914]-1937, SFH 12. The Morcombe PTA Records consist chiefly of publicity record books with newspaper articles by Mrs. Morcombe, from 1929 to 1937. Also included in that collection are some organizational history documents from 1914 to 1937.

Biographical / historical:

America's kindergarten movement gained momentum in the first three decades of the twentieth century when public school systems gradually began to adopt kindergarten education. As the movement swept through America, groups of local women formed independent Mothers Clubs to discuss how they could collectively address the problems their children faced in the home and in society. These clubs were the genesis of today's Parent Teachers Association, or PTA, as it is commonly known.

Spawned by the kindergarten movement, the National Congress of Mothers gained national prominence when Phoebe Apperson Hearst and Alice McLellan Birney convened the first National Congress of Mothers on February 17-19, 1897 in Washington, D.C. and elected Mrs. Adlai E. Stevenson as vice president. At the time, Birney wrote in a notebook, "How can the mothers be educated and the Nation made to recognize the supreme importance of the child?" The organization's formal charter was drawn up in 1900. with Theodore Roosevelt serving as chairman of the Advisory Council.

Locally, the Mothers Club of the San Francisco Boys Club was organized in 1894. The group's name was changed to First Mothers Club in 1923. A Mothers Club was formed at Occidental Free Kindergarten in 1895. By 1897, the California Home and School Child Study Association was formed in San Francisco, with school principals in charge. The San Francisco Congress of Mothers was organized in 1907 by the merger of the Mothers Clubs and the California Home and School Association. Meanwhile, the Federation of Mothers Clubs was formed in Los Angeles. This organization became the California Congress of Mothers and Child Study Circles and joined the national organization in 1902. In 1911, the state organization became the California Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associations, later the California Congress of Parents and Teachers, and in the 1970s, the California State PTA.

Mothers Clubs formed federations based on regional lines. In 1910, the Northern California Congress of Mothers was formed with membership from the Bay counties. This group was likely also known as the Bay Federation of Mothers Clubs. In 1912, the Bay Federation of Mothers Clubs reorganized as the Second District of the California Congress, representing nine counties. Los Angeles was already known as the First District. In 1927, the state Congress reorganized the Second District to include only San Francisco. The earlier Second District was then referred to as the Old Second District.

The Second District's activities mirrored the ideals and initiatives set forth by the national PTA. Strongly believing that child-rearing skills be developed through training, PTA mothers banded together to educate fellow mothers in home-making skills, cooking and nutrition, sewing, hygiene, road safety and tax awareness. These women worked to improve the relationship between home, school, and youth. The organization evolved along with the rest of society. More recently, individual clubs raise considerable funds to supplement the schools' budgets. Second District is also known as San Francisco PTA.

Acquisition information:
The San Francisco PTA, formally known as Second District of the California State PTA, donated the collection in 2006.
Processing information:

During processing, some of the scrapbooks were dismantled and put into file folders. Covers were removed. Photographs were transferred to the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized into these record groups: Record Group 1. Administrative; Record Group 2. Publications and Reports; Record Group 3. Publicity; and Record Group 4. Reference Materials; then further organized into thirteen series: Series 1. Minutes and Agendas; Series 2. By-Laws; Series 3. Life Membership; Series 4. Yearbooks and Directories; Series 5. Procedures; Series 6. History, Annual Reports, and Committee Reports; Series 7. Unit and Section Records; Series 8. Publications; Series 9. Publicity Books and Ephemera; Series 10. Photographs and Realia; Series 11. History of PTA Books; Series 12. California Congress/PTA; and Series 13. Pamphlet Collection.

Physical location:
Open for research. The collection is offsite and advance notice is required for retrieval. Material must be requested at least 4 business days in advance of visit.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Tami J. Suzuki
Date Prepared:
2008
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2011-11-08T16:11-0800

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research and available for use during San Francisco History Center hours. Photographs are available during Photo Desk hours. This collection must be requested at least 4 business days in advance of visit.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Second District of the California State PTA (San Francisco PTA) Records (SFH 21), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.

Location of this collection:
San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102, US
Contact:
(415) 557-4567
sfhistory@sfpl.org
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