The Association of Education Sororities (AES) was the former

umbrella organization An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

for teachers'

sororities Fraternities and sororities are Club (organization), social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an Undergraduate education, undergraduate student, but conti ...

in the United States founded in 1916 until its merger with the

National Panhellenic Conference The National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) is an umbrella organization for 26 (inter)national women's Fraternities and sororities, sororities throughout the United States and Canada. Each member group is autonomous as a social, Greek alphabet#Use ...

in 1947. One of its members described it as an organization for "social sororities functioning in the field of education." Its former members include current NPC members

Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma (), also known as Tri Sigma, is a national American women's sorority. Sigma Sigma Sigma is a member of the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC), an umbrella organization encompassing 26 national sororities or women's fraterni ...

Alpha Sigma Alpha Alpha Sigma Alpha () is a United States National Panhellenic sorority founded on November 15, 1901, at the Virginia State Female Normal School (later known as Longwood College and now known as Longwood University) in Farmville, Virginia. Once a sor ...

, and

Alpha Sigma Tau Alpha Sigma Tau (known as or Alpha Tau) is a national sorority founded on November 4, 1899, at Eastern Michigan University (formerly Michigan State Normal College). A member of the National Panhellenic Conference, the sorority has 83 active colleg ...

, as well as now-defunct sororities Delta Sigma Epsilon,

Pi Kappa Sigma Pi Kappa Sigma ( or Pi Kap) was a national collegiate sorority operating in the United States from November 17, 1894 until it was absorbed by Sigma Kappa in 1959. Pi Kap was the first pedagogical sorority. History Beginnings On November 17, 189 ...

Theta Sigma Upsilon Theta Sigma Upsilon () was a sorority founded on March 25, 1921 at Emporia State University. It merged with Alpha Gamma Delta at the 22nd international convention of Alpha Gamma Delta at French Lick, Indiana on June 29, 1959. History Theta Sigma ...

, and

Pi Delta Theta Pi Delta Theta () was a national collegiate sorority operating in the United States from February 14, 1926 until it was absorbed by Delta Sigma Epsilon in September 1941. Baird's Manual is also available online hereThe Baird's Manual Online Archi ...

History

On July 10, 1915,

and

held a preliminary conference in Cinninati and then on September 4, 1915 in Boston formed a "panhellenic in education" between themselves, first called the Association of Pedagogical Sororities. These two sororities created the Association in order "to give the student in training for the teaching profession the same opportunities of sorority affiliation which the liberal arts students and those in other professions enjoyed," in response to a 1911 survey which found national sororities operated at almost all campuses except those of teaching schools. Invitations were granted to

and Delta Sigma Epsilon in 1917. At the third national convention, the four sororities changed the name from Association of Pedagogical Sororities to Association of Education Sororities. Per the official meeting minutes, the name change was to "establish definitely professional standing in Hellas". In 1920, Sarah

Ida Shaw Martin Sarah Ida Shaw Martin (7 September 1867 – May 11 1940) was a founder of the Delta Delta Delta sorority and the author of ''The Sorority Handbook.'' She served as national president of two sororities--Tri Delta and Alpha Sigma Alpha -- a notable ...

, a founder and former national president of

Delta Delta Delta Delta Delta Delta (), also known as Tri Delta, is an international women's fraternity founded on November 27, 1888 at Boston University by Sarah Ida Shaw, Eleanor Dorcas Pond, Isabel Morgan Breed, and Florence Isabelle Stewart. Tri Delta part ...

and the current president of Alpha Sigma Alpha, petitioned the

for membership on behalf of the AES. However, this request was rejected on the basis that women could not hold dual membership in two NPC organizations (as Shaw Martin would if the education sororities were accepted). Three other sororities were admitted to AES membership through the next few decades:

(1925),

(1926), and

(1931). In 1941, Pi Delta Theta merged with Delta Sigma Epsilon. By 1938, membership was restricted to groups on campuses that offered four-year education programs. The AES had local units on campus and in larger cities and held biennial conferences regularly from 1917 through 1947.

Joining the National Panhellenic Conference

From 1915 through 1926, National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) and AES sororities operated chapters in the same colleges and universities. In 1926, the NPC and AES made an agreement "defining fields of activities of each panhellenic". There was competition between NPC and AES sororities, and dual memberships were often held. By the 1940s, however, many teacher's colleges had begun to add liberal arts programs, and vice versa, which led to difficulties in functioning separately as they had had in the past. On November 12, 1947, at a conference in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

, the NPC considered and granted associate membership "with reservations" to the six AES sororities. The AES was holding its biennial meeting when it was notified of the NPC decision and, at that meeting, "completed the necessary business and took formal action to dissolve the Association of Education Sororities". The merger had various aftereffects, especially for alumnae. Dual memberships in NPC sororities were not allowed, so women who belong to two sororities had to choose between their NPC or former AES sorority. After the merger, AES alumnae were also allowed to join City Panhellenic Associations, an action that went in effect on June 1, 1948. Chapters themselves also experienced changes. The NPC required former AES sororities to close chapters at colleges without regional accreditation. Former AES members continued previous functions in terms of finances and programs but were encouraged to have larger memberships for the next fall rush. On June 1, 1948, the six former member organizations of AES were granted NPC associate membership and full membership in 1951. Since that time, three AES members have merged with other NPC groups, leaving Alpha Sigma Alpha, Alpha Sigma Tau, and Sigma Sigma Sigma as the remaining former AES members. Once functioning as sororities exclusively for teacher's/educational colleges, the former AES members, as social sororities, now admit members without limits based on major.

Programs

The Association implemented programs and financial structures keeping its members, young teaching students, in mind. The individual sororities developed a scale of fees in respect to their own members' limited incomes, as well as participating in activities such as "student loan funds, establishment of hospital beds, local social service projects... ndthe endowment of a rural school library". By 1944, the Association had a Scholarship Award Committee which awarded fifty dollars each year to an undergraduate student at a teaching college. Shortly before its merger with the NPC, the AES was part of a larger multi-panhellenic association, the Council of Affiliated Panhellenics, with the NPC and the

Professional Panhellenic Association The Professional Fraternity Association (PFA) is an American association of national, collegiate, professional fraternities and sororities that was formed in . Since PFA groups are discipline-specific, members join while pursuing graduate (law, me ...

. The AES focused not only on educational (providing scholarships) and women-centric issues but also cooperated to support issues outside of the sorority world including defense projects during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. One of the projects started by the AES member groups resulted in what is today the world-renowned Leader Dogs for the Blind School in

Rochester, Michigan Rochester is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 12,711 at the 2010 census. It is a northern suburb in Metro Detroit located 20 miles north of the city of Detroit. Rochester was the first European settleme ...

Publications

''Social Precedents and Sorority Ethics'' (1935) was a small guide written by three members of AES sororities. Lula McPherson (Pi Delta Theta), Zoe Davis Gose (Sigma Sigma Sigma), and Wilma Wilson Sharp (Alpha Sigma Alpha) guided readers in proper social

etiquette Etiquette () is the set of norms of personal behaviour in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviours that accord with the conventions and norms observed and practised by a ...

and

sorority Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...

behavior.

History

Joining the National Panhellenic Conference

Programs

Publications

References

Further reading