Section of letter to potential members of the newly-formed
Headmistress's Association of the East, November 16, 1910

The Headmistresses Association of the East (HMAE) was founded in 1911 by a group of headmistresses of schools in the Boston, New York, and Philadelphia areas. Agnes Irwin, dean of Radcliffe College, was the first president, serving until her death in 1914. Membership is open to the heads of girls and co-educational schools in New England and in other states on the Atlantic seaboard. The purposes of the organization are "to provide an opportunity for the furtherance of mutual acquaintance among heads of secondary or elementary schools...for the interchange of ideas of common interest or looking toward the advancement of standards...[and to provide] assistance to any head or teacher, active or retired."