Elementary and Secondary Schools Trade Associations

AASA, The School Superintendents Association

Professional home for district superintendents and central-office leaders, offering advocacy, research, and professional learning—for a community of 10,000+ educational leaders.

https://www.aasa.org Membership: 10,000

Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE)

The largest U.S. association dedicated to career and technical education; provides federal advocacy, the CareerTech VISION conference, and year‑round PD for roughly 28,000 members.

https://www.acteonline.org Membership: 28,000

Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE)

International community for middle grades (ages 10–15) educators; publishes Middle School Journal, hosts the AMLE conference, and supports 35,000 members.

https://www.amle.org Membership: 35,000

Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO International)

Global network for K–12 school business officials (finance, operations, transportation, nutrition); certifications and awards; represents about 30,000 professionals worldwide.

https://www.asbointl.org Membership: 30,000

Consortium for School Networking (CoSN)

Premier association for K–12 edtech leaders (CTOs/CIOs); 2,050+ institutional members representing 11+ million students; standards, toolkits, and an annual conference.

https://www.cosn.org Membership: 2,050

Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)

Largest international professional organization for special education; advocacy, professional standards, divisions, and PD for 20,000+ members.

https://www.exceptionalchildren.org Membership: 20,000

Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)

Nonpartisan association of state K–12 chiefs; membership includes the 50 states, D.C., DoDEA, BIE, and five U.S. extra‑state jurisdictions (58 members); runs National Teacher of the Year.

https://www.ccsso.org Membership: 58

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)

Edtech standards leader and PD provider (ISTELive, ISTE Certification); member community of 25,000+ educators worldwide.

https://www.iste.org Membership: 25,000

Learning Forward

Association focused exclusively on effective professional learning (Standards for Professional Learning); conferences, academy, publications; membership tops 10,000.

https://learningforward.org Membership: 10,000

National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP)

National voice for elementary and middle‑level principals; legal protections, Principal magazine, PD, and advocacy for 25,000+ members.

https://www.naesp.org Membership: 25,000

National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS)

Membership organization for independent (private, nonprofit) K–12 schools; research, data, and leadership development for 1,600+ member schools.

https://www.nais.org Membership: 1,600

National Association of School Nurses (NASN)

Specialty nursing organization representing school nurses; journals, advocacy, and PD for nearly 20,000 members through 49 affiliates.

https://www.nasn.org Membership: 20,000

National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP)

Association for middle and high school principals; advocacy, leadership development, and student programs (NHS, NJHS, NEHS) serving 16,000+ school leaders.

https://www.nassp.org Membership: 16,000

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)

Professional home for ELA/literacy educators; journals, conventions, and classroom resources for 25,000+ members.

https://ncte.org Membership: 25,000

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)

World’s largest mathematics education organization; journals, standards resources, and national/regional conferences for 25,000+ members.

https://www.nctm.org Membership: 25,000

National PTA

Nation’s original parent involvement and child‑advocacy association; nationwide network of local PTAs with 2.5+ million members.

https://www.pta.org Membership: 2,500,000

National School Boards Association (NSBA)

Federation of state school boards associations; legal advocacy, policy engagement, and services representing 90,000 local school board members.

https://www.nsba.org Membership: 90,000

National Science Teaching Association (NSTA)

Largest professional organization for science teachers; conferences, journals, and classroom resources for a community of about 35,000 members.

https://www.nsta.org Membership: 35,000

School Nutrition Association (SNA)

Largest membership association for K–12 school nutrition professionals; certification/credentialing, advocacy, and PD for 50,000+ members.

https://schoolnutrition.org Membership: 50,000

State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA)

Principal association representing U.S. state and territorial edtech/digital learning leaders; membership spans all 50 states, D.C., U.S. territories, DoDEA, and BIE (≈58 entities).

https://www.setda.org Membership: 58