Formed as a result of a growing interest in the work of the National Congress of Parents and Teachers, the Racine Parent-Teacher Association United Council met for the first time on January 6, 1936. The Council was envisaged as a clearing house for the ideas, the programs, and the interests of local PTAs. Mrs. Frank Hall, president of the Knapp PTA, and Mrs. Victor Anderson, president of the Jefferson PTA, were the driving forces behind the Council's formation; and they were elected its first president and vice-president, respectively.
The council is composed of the president of each PTA represented, a representative of each school, the Health Commissioner, the Superintendent of Schools, past presidents of the PTA Council, and the principals of each school. At the time of its creation, the council's membership developed certain goals for the future. These aims included promoting the welfare of children and of youth in the home, the church, the school, and the community; raising the standards of home life; securing adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth; and developing a closer relationship between home and school. The council's first project exemplified these goals. A committee was activated to canvass the city for pre-school children during the summer and to help inform parents about free medical exams for these children. The program met with great success and has long been considered one of the council's best programs. Subsequently, the council has become involved in raising funds for educational films for school use, for the school milk fund, and for teacher scholarships. Members have been active in the Children's Theatre, parent education, extension work, Future Teacher Groups, and with the Racine Vocation School and the University of Wisconsin-Racine leadership training and child guidance courses.
Within the community, the council, in conjunction with the Racine Recreational Committee and the American Legion, compiled a list of summer recreational facilities for the children of Racine (1944); and it has supported bicycle licensing, crossing guards, the adult education council, the Racine County Guidance Clinic, and the Board of Education. The council has hosted the State Convention of the Wisconsin Congress of PTAs in 1952 and First District Conferences several times.
