Today, May 9, marks the 150th anniversary of the California Teachers Association. Between the time that President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and the time he delivered the Gettysburg Address, John Swett founded the California Educational Society, which was to become the California Teachers Association.
It's a long history and it's a proud history. Since its inception in 1863, CTA has been at the forefront of every major victory for California's public schools and colleges. You may be interested to know that:
In 1866, CTA secured funding to establish free public schools for all children in California.
In 1911, CTA led the fight to establish community colleges.
In 1927, CTA won a major legal victory when the state Supreme Court ruled that a school board couldn't fire a female teacher simply because she got married.
In the 1940s, CTA emerged as one of the few "mainstream" organizations in California to protest against the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.
In 1988, CTA drafted and won passage of Prop. 98, the minimum funding guarantee for K-14 education.
In 1995, CTA won Class Size Reduction for grades K-3 after a massive media and lobby campaign.