The story of the Association of Texas Professional Educators began in 1975, when Texas' then-predominant educators' organization, the Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA), united with the National Education Association, a national teacher union. The unification divided TSTA because many educators didn't agree with union tactics, such as strikes, which they felt were detrimental to schoolchildre
n. Subsequently, many of these disillusioned TSTA members joined either the Association of Texas Educators (ATE) or the Texas Professional Educators (TPE), two groups that formed in response to the TSTA/NEA unification. TPE was started by a group of classroom teachers in the Houston area, and ATE originated in the Dallas area. The two groups shared similar philosophies and similar inclusive memberships composed of teachers, administrators and support personnel. Consolidation talks began in 1977, just a year after each association was formed. Three years later, the two groups merged into one larger, more influential professional association. Since that time, ATPE has become the largest independent educators' group in the nation and has done so because of its strong philosophical foundation. In January 2001, the ATPE Board of Directors formally adopted the following 10 official ATPE tenets, which were then presented to the House of Delegates. These principles have guided ATPE since its inception and will guide it for the next 25 years. Source: "2004-2005 Leadership Guide" published by ATPE
