The Parents League was originally founded by parents, teachers and school heads, who saw the school social scene totally “out of control”. Teachers found students unable to do their work because of total fatigue. Parents were looking for the schools to accommodate their children’s social calendar. No one was able to bring the various factions together. In March of 1913, the Cosmopolitan Club became a point of mediation between the various factions. Led by Miss Spence and Miss Chapin, it was proposed that a code of behavior be written which would be widely circulated and promoted. From this beginning, the Parents League was born.
The movers and shakers were ladies of social position, wealth and a deep commitment to the cause. Mrs. Henry Hammond became the first president of the League and made the famous and oft quoted statement, “let us make it fashionable to be sensible and unfashionable to be foolish.” During Mrs. Hammond’s 17-year term as president, she generously allowed all board meetings and numerous events to take place in her magnificent mansion on 91st Street. It had been built as a wedding present for her by her Vanderbilt grandmother. Fathers were as actively concerned as mothers; Carl A. de Gersdorff shared the vice presidency and Henry P. Davison was the treasurer. The third president was Rev. John W. Suter, Jr.
The Parents League “code” was very popular because it gave parents something around which to gather. By 1917 there were Leagues all over the country actively supporting it, including in Boston, Buffalo, Baltimore, Cleveland, Columbus, Minneapolis, Providence, Haverford and Richmond. They met in a conference in 1917 to compare experiences, and Mrs. Hammond made a major speech.
The New York Parents League was by far the most active and is the only one to survive to this day. Most of its activities were, and are still to this day, performed by extensive parent volunteers, supplemented by a small office staff. The committee structure drove the activity from the beginning and expanded as time went along. The Theater Committee attended plays to see if they were appropriate for the young and published their findings in the Parents League Bulletin. The League’s approval was so important to theater producers that they often brought scripts to the Committee to ask for help to remove offending parts to then gain inclusion in their recommended list. The League was soon doing a reading list, and recommended books were also published in the Bulletin.
In the 20’s the Parents League developed discussion evenings that covered many subjects, and through their connections attracted outstanding speakers on subjects outside of education. It is from this era that our current and popular workshop and forum programming first took shape. In the 30’s the committees expanded to cover religious education, radio, motion pictures, and social services. The Parents League has had a history of responding to community needs and in response to the depression, an “adopt a family” program was inaugurated with major fundraising activities.
In the early 40’s, the membership of the Parents League was at a low of 277, and it seemed it may have outlived its usefulness. It was time for a major reorganization. All independent schools were invited to join, and 26 schools answered the call and joined the original 28. A council was formed that met four times a year with one member from each school. A legislative committee was formed which took an active part in supporting bills in Albany on such issues as day care, preschool registration and school construction financing. During this time, the Parents League instituted the Saturday Club that provided activities for children from age 8 to 14. They met at Park Avenue Christian Church. The Parents League served as a clearinghouse for subscription dances and other youth activities and maintained a very complete calendar of events in the Bulletin. The League also started to offer summer camp advisory services, a precursor to our modern day school advisory services.
In 1947, a long time dream of the Parents League was realized: a public education project. The Yorkville Youth Council was organized as a joint venture of the Parents League, Public Education Association and the Board of Education at PS 151, which allowed private and public school teens to aid in after school activities. This organization was a part of a larger movement to gain more support and interest in the public schools among independent school parents. In 1948, the US Treasury Department officially declared the Parents League a tax exempt organization.
Many new ventures were begun in the 50’s. By 1957 membership was at 1,124. A revised code of ethics was published in the Bulletin in October 1959, and advertising was started in the Bulletin to increase funds for Parents League activities. The “Cooks Tour” was a major fundraiser to support Yorkville and featured the kitchens of celebrities. It received extensive publicity in the NY press. A new typewriter and adding machine were added to the office!
In 1961, annual dues for membership in the Parents League were $9, and the League celebrated 50 years in 1963. The 60’s also saw the Parents League involved with bridge classes for teens and art classes for elementary age children. The Parents League sponsored a concert in Carnegie Hall with Leopold Stokowski, and this included a competition for teen composition. In 1967, the first Parents League Review debuted, as it was felt that the monthly Bulletin format could not adequately explore many important issues of the day. And it was at this time that the Parents League initiated a series of parent meetings with Dr. Edith Schmidt to help with learning difficulties and behavior challenges. This was also a precursor to our current special needs advisory services.
In April of 1970, the Parents League moved to 1082 Park Avenue, but by the end of the decade we had relocated again, to 115 East 82nd Street (our current location). The first “Heads Party” (spring reception honoring independent heads of school) was held at the Colony Club. It was black tie! In November of this same year, Margaret Mead addressed a Parents League forum held at Ethical Culture School. Also in the 70’s, Parent League “reps” were identified to take on the task of liaison between the League and the independent schools. A volunteer safety patrol of school mothers was organized to patrol 86th to 96th streets, and a safety program was launched to raise safety awareness. In fact, the Parents League was awarded a grant from the Mayor’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council in 1973 to fund a safety Director, mailings, telephone costs and printing.
This decade also saw the Parents League advisory service add boarding schools, and the addition of family travel, birthday party and babysitting/mother’s helper services. Board members and council members were now listed using the women’s first names (not husbands!). In 1974, the Guide to New York debuted, and in 1975 our first Boarding School Day was launched with 40 schools participating. 1n 1976, the first schools directory published by the Independent Schools Admissions Association of Greater NY (ISAAGNY) was released for $2.50. By the end of the decade, the Parents League began offering the first of their now famous Admissions Forums featuring admissions officers from nursery, ongoing and boarding schools.
The 80’s saw the Parents League involved with drug legislation, and offering workshops and published materials on children and drugs. A tutor file was established, and the League served as a “playdate” clearinghouse. Computers were finally added to the office! When the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) held their annual meeting in NY, the Parents League prepared a restaurant guide for visiting independent school administration. And the Parents League cooperated with the Board of Education to produce a curriculum guide called Watch Out, a Teacher Guide to Traffic Safety.
In the 1990’s technology arrives to the Parents League offices – desktop publishing begins, and our website, www.parentsleague.org, is launched in 1998. Summer in New York is published for the first time with 400 listings. An amazing 1454 families use the Parents League advisory services.
By 2002, a milestone of major proportions – for the first time in our 90-year history our membership exceeds 5000! The first decade of the new millennium brings many new beginnings. Our newly renovated office has twice the space for more advisory services, more volunteers, more members and more phone lines. Our advisory services totaled a record 1950 and member schools total 260. In 2007, the Parents League’s website is dramatically updated to be interactive and searchable, and now young parents, who often find themselves in need of our services after office hours, are able to access important information 24/7. In 2009 the Parents League began their weekly “Drop In after Drop Off” workshop series with interesting topics presented by experts in their fields.
The Parents League will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2013!
Original New York City Member Schools:
- The Allen Stevenson School
- Berkeley School
- The Brearley School
- The Browning School
- The Chapin School
- Charlton School
- Cutler School
- Irving School
- Miss Marshall’s School
- St. Agatha’s School
- St. Bernard’s School
- The Spence School
Original Associate Member Schools
- The Castle
- Groton School
- The Hill School
- Hotchkiss School
- Massee Country School
- The Masters School
- Middlesex School
- Phillips Academy Andover
- Pomfret School
- Rosemary Hall
- St. George’s School
- Saint Mark’s School
- St. Timothy’s School
- The Taft School
- Westminster School
- Westover School
Efforts to establish common vacation dates, testing standards, admission information and notification dates, parenting education and resources have been the work of the Parents League for over 90 years.