{"id":416721,"date":"2026-08-26T00:12:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T00:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/416721\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T00:12:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T00:12:13","slug":"rosemont-early-childhood-pta-celebrates-100-members-reflect-on-the-impact-of-the-organization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/416721\/","title":{"rendered":"Rosemont Early Childhood PTA celebrates 100, members reflect on the impact of the organization"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Former RECPTA presidents gather during the organization\u2019s Founders Day celebration on Feb. 17, 2010, bringing together generations of past leaders to recognize RECPTA\u2019s history and continued service to families in Rosemont and North Oak Cliff. Photo courtesy of Lewis Giles.<\/p>\n

The Rosemont Early Childhood Parent Teacher Association,<\/a> known as RECPTA, is celebrating 100 years this year.<\/p>\n

RECPTA is the oldest early childhood PTA in the state of Texas<\/a>. Founded in 1926, the organization was created to help foster and maintain a strong sense of community among families with young children in Oak Cliff.<\/p>\n

The organization has an open membership model, bringing together Rosemont parents and prospective parents in and around our neighborhood. Though the organization primarily supports Rosemont, families do not need to attend a particular school or district to participate.<\/p>\n

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Rosemont Pre-School Association members prepare a Mexican luncheon for more than 40 women at the home of Mrs. E. C. Thomas, 926 Salmon. Pictured from left are Mrs. L. E. Neumeister, luncheon chairman Mrs. John D. Smith, and Mrs. Lloyd Vick. The entire meal cost just $12 to prepare, with members paying 50 cents each and proceeds helping cover nursery care during meetings. Photo by Lewis Giles.<\/p>\n

Amy Tawil, a longtime member of RECPTA and a current Rosemont teacher, has been involved for about 26 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really for parents who (have a) newborn to four year olds, kind of before you would go to elementary school, and so actually a woman at church said, \u2018Hey, you should come to this early childhood group\u2019 when I had my first child back in 1995,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd then by the time I joined, we were still having people sign up for kitchen crews and having lunches, and all the meetings were during the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now as a member of the alumni group, Tawil has seen many changes throughout her time with RECPTA. She said within the last two decades, membership has expanded for the number of involved dads.<\/p>\n

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RECPTA members gather for \u201cRetreat from Little Feet\u201d on April 25, 2026, continuing the organization\u2019s tradition of creating opportunities for members to spend time together and strengthen friendships beyond regular family activities. Photo courtesy of Lewis Giles.<\/p>\n

Tawil also said focuses have shifted, specifically following the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople kind of reprioritized, and the group decided they weren\u2019t really going to be a fundraising group anymore, just more of a networking group,\u201d she said. \u201cThey don\u2019t have a big fundraising budget, but they do, in small ways, support the school both financially, but mostly through volunteerism nowadays.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Outgoing Rosemont Pre-School Association president Mamie Stone pins newly installed president Sara Braden during the organization\u2019s 1959 officer installation, marking the transfer of leadership for the coming year. Photo courtesy of Lewis Giles.<\/p>\n

Current RECPTA president Mary Jane Anderson joined as a new mom. Anderson is a former teacher and came across the organization while trying to find others in our neighborhood that were also figuring out this new life change, having her first son Charlie in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no idea that it really was there because before I became a parent, I really just wasn\u2019t looking for things like that,\u201d Anderson said of RECPTA. \u201cI was going to work every day and just kind of focused on (me) in that phase of life. So once having a baby, I was like \u2018I need to find some people that relate to this current season of my life,\u2019 and for me, it just felt like the perfect fit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only does the organization provide a new community, but resources and guidance on what might be a good fit for her children when it comes to education.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust as a former educator, I really loved just this kind of connection \u2026 it just filled the need for me as far as you know being in childhood PTA,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cAnd also learning about our local elementary school and just kind of getting a little bit of insight into that and just like bridging that gap for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the events Tawil highlighted is the Little Bison Program. Partnering with Rosemont Primary School, parents of young children have the opportunity to come into the school to participate in the specialized classes, such as art, gym, music, library and Spanish.<\/p>\n

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RECPTA families take to the water during a group campout in 2001, one of the organization\u2019s family outings that brought parents and children together for adventures beyond the usual meetings, playgroups and school activities. Photo courtesy of Lewis Giles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey rotate having classes for these little, little bitty ones,\u201d she said, \u201cand it\u2019s a great opportunity for those parents to see the school and see what it\u2019s like and see if this is something they want for the future for their kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since joining, Anderson has served on the board as the vice president of membership for two years before becoming president during the centennial year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean my biggest thing is just continuing to connect our community and to reach out to people who maybe are just looking for something to be a part of and to feel welcomed as a part of,\u201d she said of reaching this year\u2019s milestone. \u201cBecause I just think that sometimes, for me, through my journey of motherhood over the last couple of years, it can feel really lonely. Sometimes you feel like you\u2019re on this island by yourself, and it feels that way because the days are long, and you\u2019re just in the thick of raising children in these first early years, and so I think it\u2019s you know having the space for parents to come together and just feel welcomed. And just know that like \u2018hey we\u2019re all in this together,\u2019 we\u2019re really searching to just build villages for all of our families so that we can lean on one another when we need it.\u201d<\/p>\n

What keeps alumni like Tawil involved in RECPTA today is continuing that legacy too.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to see the next 100 years of families supporting public education, supporting Rosemont specifically through RECPTA, all the while keeping up that really great neighborhood connection and making your friends and supporting each other,\u201d Tawil said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former RECPTA presidents gather during the organization\u2019s Founders Day celebration on Feb. 17, 2010, bringing together generations of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":416722,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[145223,102,104,103,145224,145225,145226,145227,145228],"class_list":["post-416721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-amy-tawil","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-little-bison-program","tag-mary-jane-anderson","tag-recpta","tag-rosemont-early-childhood-pta","tag-the-rosemont-early-childhood"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=416721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/416722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=416721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=416721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=416721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}