MA PTA remembers Ted Kennedy

Edward M. Kennedy

1932 - 2009

The Massachusetts Parent Teacher Association (PTA) has lost a great friend, colleague and Champion for Public Education. We always cherished our meetings and collaboration with him and his staff. He has made a profound difference in the lives of so many children ensuring they all had the right to a quality free education and he truly believed in the importance of parent involvement. We had the honor this year along with National PTA to award him with the National PTA founders award for a lifetime of service.

Since 1964 Senator Kennedy has been supporting education , with the Head Start Program, the Keeping Children and Families Safe act, over 2,500 bills. PTA was currently working with him on the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind. We were working to make the parents language stronger urging for more relevance to be put on parent involvement. When we were in Washington last March we learned of the Pact ACT That deals with parent and community involvement.

The corner stone to PTA is advocacy and speaking up with one voice for every child. We should always look towards the examples Ted Kennedy has set when we focus our efforts on advocating for our children.

I will always remember our last meeting with him and the dogs in his office and trying hard to focus on our meeting while I was admiring the paintings that he painted on the walls. He was always approachable and eager to meet with us.

As he said..."For all those who cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."

Kim Hunt

President

Massachusetts PTA