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Show I PTA Schedules A Count-In Every child counts, with the PTA. That's the reason the National Na-tional Congress of Parents and Teachers is planning a special "count-in" of their parents and teachers as schools reopen, this falL "The PTA believes that every child must be provided with ) what he needs to grow up ! healthy, secure, well-educated and useful to his community," . eays Mrs. Irvin E. Hendryson, I of Albuquerque, N. Men., pres- ident of the National PTA. 1 "To help secure these rights ,'j J I ' 3 V ' ' i Every single child counts, with tic PTA a nationwide organisation organi-sation of volunteers concerned if or children and for the parents nd teachers who nurture and educate themt for all children," she declares, "the PTA counts on every citizen citi-zen to work at expanding the opportunities of all America's children. Parent -teacher associations (PTA's), organized in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and schools for American dependents de-pendents overseas, begin enrolling enroll-ing new members with the first PTA meeting of the school term and usually concentrate on membership enrollment during October. This year, they will give particular par-ticular attention to reaching parents in low-income areas. One of the many valuable services any PTA provides, Mrs. Hendryson believes, is "the opportunity op-portunity for parents and teachers teach-ers to know each other in a social situation. They are the people most important in a child's world, and the child can't help benefiting from their friendly collaboration. "In poor areas, especially," she notes, "this friendly relation between home and school is of particular value because it's where children most need help." PTA's can work to improve educational opportunity, to protect pro-tect dependent or delinquent children, to improve health care and to provide the leadership for vibrant community programs that will serve all children, Mrs. Hendryson points out. Because every child counts with the PTA, its activities cover all the varied needs of children for kindergartens, adequately ad-equately financed schools, well-trained well-trained teachers, along with the proper nourishment, good health and favorable emotional climate in which to learn from them. "We need many members to cover such wide-ranging programs," pro-grams," says Airs. Hendryson. "So our task this fall is to persuade per-suade every parent and every teacher that he too counts, with the PTA." As PTA's start their "count-ins" "count-ins" this fall, Mrs. Hendryson is urging them to demonstrate that "PTA is where the action is." She has suggested, for example, exam-ple, that local units take the lead in sponsoring "cultural happenings" happen-ings" for youngsters. Some branches of the National PTA, she notes, have developed art-mobiles, art-mobiles, comparable to the popular bookmobiles, which bring traveling exhibits of painting paint-ing and sculpture to school children chil-dren in remote areas. Other PTA's regularly sponsor musical concerts or provide tickets for theatrical productions to children chil-dren who would not otherwise attend them. "With something as simple as a folk festival," says the PTA's national president, "we can do much to enrich the lives of children." |