The National Kindergarten Association (NKA) was a philanthropic organization, based in the United States, which promoted universal acceptance of the public-school

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

. It existed between 1909 and 1976, and its headquarters was in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. According to the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', the association was founded to "promote the establishment of kindergartens throughout the United States for the purpose of promoting the physical, moral and intellectual development" of the children in attendance.

History

Founded by Bessie Locke in 1909, initially as the National Association for the Promotion of Kindergarten Education, the NKA functioned on the local, state and national levels."The National Kindergarten Association, 1909-1976: its place in early childhood education"
-

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, October 17, 2006 The company was initially based in

's brand-new Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower, located at 1

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stre ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, but later moved one mile north to 8 West 40th Street, on the southern side of

Bryant Park Bryant Park is a public park located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Privately managed, it is located between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas ( Sixth Avenue) and between 40th and 42nd Streets in Midtown Manhattan. The e ...

. The association once received a $250,000 donation from oil executive

John Dustin Archbold John Dustin Archbold (July 26, 1848 – December 6, 1916) was an American businessman and one of the United States' earliest oil refiners. His small oil company was bought out by John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company. Archbold rose rapidl ...

. Archbold's wife, Annie Eliza Mills, was elected to the association's board of directors in 1911."Hear of Kindergartens"
- ''

'', November 28, 1911 By late 1927, the association reported that 206 kindergartens had opened across the United States over the course of the year, bringing the total up to 942. Those kindergartens had 356,000 children in their care. There were, however, still four million children without access to a kindergarten. Seven years later, in the association's 25th anniversary year, it had brought about the opening of almost two thousand kindergartens in total across the United States, bringing kindergarten classes to around 628,000 children."1,900 Kindergartens Open"
- ''New York Times'', June 3, 1934 By 1952, the totals had increased to over 3,200 kindergartens and 1.6 million children.
- ''New York Times'', April 11, 1952 The organization was affiliated with the

General Federation of Women's Clubs The General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC), founded in 1890 during the Progressive Movement, is a federation of over 3,000 women's clubs in the United States which promote civic improvements through volunteer service. Many of its activities ...

and the

National Congress of Mothers National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

(which became the PTA), and its field secretaries in each state worked with the women's clubs to inform the public about the kindergarten's importance and to promote improved state legislation relating to kindergartens. In 1912, National Kindergarten and Elementary College (now National Louis University) became affiliated with the NKA. From 1913 to 1919, the NKA worked with the

United States Bureau of Education The Office of Education, at times known as the Department of Education and the Bureau of Education, was a small unit in the Federal Government of the United States within the U.S. Department of the Interior from 1867 to 1972. It is now separated ...

to promote the kindergarten. In an attempt to raise awareness in areas where no kindergartens existed, the NKA published education materials and distributed them nationwide between 1917 and 1954. In 1920, ''Talks to Mothers: Reading Aloud to the Child'' was published, a collaboration between

Lucy Wheelock Lucy Wheelock (February 1, 1857October 1, 1946) was an American early childhood education pioneer within the American kindergarten movement. She began her career by teaching the kindergarten program at Chauncy-Hall School (1879–89). Wheelock was ...

, NKA and the Bureau of Education. In the 1930s and 1940s, the NKA lobbied in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, for a permanent form of

federal aid A subsidy or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from the government, the ter ...

for kindergartens. Bessie Locke died on April 9, 1952, aged 86. Her association remained in business for the next 24 years. In 1957, the NKA published ''About Kindergarten'' as part of its promotion for community programming. The following year, John H. Niemeyer, president of the

Bank Street College of Education Bank Street College of Education is a private school and graduate school in New York City. It consists of a graduate-only teacher training college and an independent nursery-through-8th-grade school. In 2020 the graduate school had about 65 full ...

, became the NKA president, succeeding Dr. Howard Richard Best, who died on August 6, aged 63."Dr. Howard R. Best"
- ''New York Times'', August 10, 1958 The National Kindergarten Association dissolved in 1976.

References

External links

"Why Should the Kindergarten be a Part of the Public School System?"
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Kate Baldwin Free Kindergarten 134–142 Houston Street, in the Historic DistrictHistoric Building M ...

Association (reprinted by the National Kindergarten Association)
"Kindergarten Legislation"
- National Kindergarten Association (published October 1920)
"Begin at the Beginning"
- National Kindergarten Association (published circa 1921)
"National Kindergarten Association Letter, 1922"
- National Kindergarten Association
"Suggestions for Arousing Interest in the Kindergarten
- National Kindergarten Association

- ''New York Times'', September 19, 1920

- Bessie Locke, ''

'', July 12, 1935 {{DEFAULTSORT:National Kindergarten Association 1909 establishments in New York City 1976 disestablishments in New York (state) Organizations established in 1909 Organizations disestablished in 1976 Education in the United States Kindergarten