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Welcome to MSTA's 150th Anniversary Web site. Here you'll find information and resources about the association's sesquicentennial celebration.

MSTA: A rich history

Timeline: Highlights from the past 150 years

150th events

School & Community stories

 


Missouri State
Teachers Association
P.O. Box 458
Columbia, MO 65205
800.392.0532

Everett Keith,
MSTA's executive secretary from 1941 to 1972

Highlights 1856-2006

  • 1856: MSTA is organized in St. Louis.
  • 1870: State’s first normal schools established at Kirksville and Warrensburg after 14 years of MSTA lobbying.
  • 1876: Compulsory school attendance urged.
  • 1892: Reading Circle program initiated.
  • 1901: First school consolidation law enacted.
  • 1911: Districts permitted by law to transport pupils after five years of MSTA lobbying.
  • 1913: Free textbook law enacted after 15 years of MSTA lobbying.
  • 1919: Special classes for handicapped pupils authorized.
  • 1920: School & Community publishes first issue.
  • 1927: MSTA headquarters building erected in Columbia.
  • 1931: Basic school finance law enacted.
  • 1936: Constitutional amendment permitting teacher retirement system enacted — after 29 years of lobbying by MSTA.
  • 1943: Teacher retirement systems established in St. Joseph, Kansas City and St. Louis.
  • 1945: Statewide teacher retirement system established. Plus, a new state constitution adopts recommendations for schools as presented by MSTA’s constitutional revision committee.
  • 1947: E.T. Behrens gives Bunker Hill Ranch Resort to MSTA.
  • 1955: School Foundation Program approved by voters.
  • 1972: MSTA is disaffiliated from the National Education Association.
  • 1982: MSTA successfully campaigns for Proposition C, which significantly increases funding for Missouri schools.
  • 1985: Excellence in Education Act passed, including a provision for minimum teacher salaries.
  • 1991: MSTA participates in lawsuit challenging equity in Foundation Formula.
  • 1993: MSTA supports Outstanding Schools Act, which includes new foundation formula, funding increase and required minimum salary for teachers with a master’s and 10 years of service.
  • 1995: "25 and Out" becomes a retirement option.
  • 2003: MSTA’s teacher certification bill passes, replacing the old three-tiered system with a simplified two-tier system.
  • 2004: MSTA joins a coalition that challenges equity and adequacy in the foundation formula, resulting in a new formula in 2005 and a boost in the minimum teacher salary.
  • 2006: MSTA celebrates its 150th anniversary.