1950-1975: A Foundation for the Future
The period of TASA’s history from 1950 to 1975 was filled with many “firsts” for the association. One of TASA’s own became Texas’ first commissioner of education, the association held its first professional learning conferences, its first joint meeting and then convention with the Texas Association of School Boards. TASA also adopted a constitution and bylaws for the first time, hired its first executive director, giving the association a full-time staff, and started its first newsletter and awards program. With these firsts, TASA began building a foundation for the future.
J.W. Edgar
TASA Past President J.W. Edgar (1942-43) was appointed the first Texas commissioner of education. Edgar was a seasoned superintendent who had led both rural and urban school systems. In the 1940s, state officials — including two governors — recognized his leadership and expertise and called on Edgar for guidance on state policy issues. He was appointed to various boards and committees, including the state’s Gilmer-Aiken Committee. This paved the way for his appointment as commissioner — a position he held for 24 years.
TASA’s first real professional learning offerings date back to 1951, when The University of Texas, in cooperation with TASA, launched a series of “One-Week Work Conferences” for school leaders, including classroom teachers, supervisors, directors, principals, and superintendents.
By this time, TASA had grown to 800 members. (As the Section of Superintendence, the organization rarely exceeded 100 members.) The organizational structure had transitioned from a passive research organization to an active membership organization.
TASA Past President N.S. Holland (1928-29) published “A Brief History: First Quarter Century, 1925-1950, Texas Association of School Administrators.” It documented the commitment that TASA’s earliest leaders made to making significant contributions to the direction of public education in the years leading up to the 1949 passage of the Gilmer-Aikin laws, which made major changes to Texas’ public school system.
The first joint TASA/TASB “annual meeting” was held in Austin in September at the Driskill, Commodore Perry, and Stephen F. Austin Hotels, as well as the Paramount Theatre. Themed “New Frontiers in Education,” the program featured business meetings of the two associations, two general sessions, and 11 concurrent sessions.
The first joint TASA/TASB Convention was held in Austin at the Municipal Auditorium. It included an exhibit featuring 42 companies. The convention was the first one co-sponsored in entirety by the two organizations, cooperatively planned and staffed, and designed to be of mutual benefit to school boards and administrators. There was no charge to attend.
The Exhibit of School Architecture debuted at the TASA/TASB Convention. It included 20 schools designed by Texas architects and featured at a recent AASA Convention exhibit. Fort Stockton High School (featured photo) was part of the first EoSA exhibit.
The first full-time TASA executive director was hired in 1966. R.E. “Emmett” Harris was a former superintendent who had worked at TEA since 1957. As the agency’s director of administrative services, he provided support to TASA. Around this time, TASA dues were raised to $15 (about $145 today) to establish an office for the new executive director. Harris managed TASA from space in the Texas State Teachers Association’s (TSTA) building at 316 West 12th St., near the State Capitol. TASA was furnished office space because it was a department affiliate of TSTA.
TASA began publishing a monthly newsletter called the “Texas School Administrator.”