National Catholic Educational Association is an organization to encourage cooperation and mutual helpfulness among Catholic educators, and to promote, by study, conference, and discussion, Catholic educational work in the United States. The organization was founded as the Catholic Educational Association in 1904 in St. Louis, Mo., and, in 1927, became the National Catholic Educational Association. Its work is carried on by a Parents Organizations Commission and various departments. These departments are the Boards of Education, Chief Administrators of Catholic Education, College and University, Elementary School, Religious Education, Secondary School, Seminaries, and Special Education. The organization's headquarters are in Washington, D.C.