Top 10 in America! Recognized by Education Week & Parenting!
Project Appleseed engages parents and families in America's public schools!
Welcome to the Home of National Parental Involvement Day & Public School Volunteer Week!
Join! Get our newsletter!
Our
Appleseed Origin Story
The "Grandfather of Parent Involvement"
Once upon a time....
Our story begins in the inner-ring suburban community of University City, Missouri, just outside St. Louis. There lived a passionate and determined Black public school parent named Kevin Walker. It was the early 1990s. Kevin, a father of four who worked full-time from home, saw firsthand what too many families experienced: schools and parents operating in parallel rather than in partnership. He recognized the cost of that divide—and felt compelled to close it. What began as one parent’s conviction would grow into a national movement, earning him a reputation not unlike a modern-day Johnny Appleseed.
Kevin Walker (pictured in the middle) with his ex-wife Susie Chopin, four children, one son-in-law, two daughter-in-laws and eight grandchildren.
In 1993, Kevin fearlessly took the leap and founded Project Appleseed, igniting a powerful movement dedicated to promoting family engagement in education. Drawing from his experience as a former political organizer involved in influential events like Earth Day and Hands Across America, as well as his work in various presidential campaigns within the Democratic Party, Kevin recognized that education needed a true movement to bring about lasting change.
Education Week’s Teacher Magazine, which named Kevin Walker one of the Top Ten People in American Education, captured the pivotal turning point in his journey:
“Having withdrawn from the itinerant life of a veteran campaigner to spend more time with his young children, he heard that his suburban University City school district was inviting parents to participate in strategic planning. Walker accepted the invitation and, bitten by the reform bug, founded a small parents’ group that eventually evolved into the local chapter of Parents for Public Schools. He soon became the Midwestern regional director of PPS, leading a successful lobbying campaign to force Missouri’s school districts to submit an annual progress report to parents. Walker began Project Appleseed in 1993 as a side venture for his PPS chapter. But the project quickly overshadowed the chapter.”
A National Voice for Family Engagement
Undeterred by skepticism or resistance, Kevin became a tireless champion for family engagement—especially in low-income and underserved schools like those his own children attended. His vision was clear: family engagement must be systemic, not symbolic; sustained, not sporadic.
With limited resources but extraordinary resolve, Project Appleseed began inspiring parents, educators, and communities across the country to organize, advocate, and lead.
Parents are their children’s first teachers, a truth echoed by the U.S. Department of Education, which recognizes parent partnership as a powerful driver of student success. In a national webinar, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona celebrated these partnerships and highlighted Department priorities—affirming the very principles Kevin had advanced for decades.
The late Chuck Berry and Kevin Walker in the University City Loop, near the Chuck Berry statue and the St. Louis Walk of Fame.
Recognition and Reach
Kevin’s work soon gained national attention. Education Week's Teacher Magazine named him one of the Top 10 People in American Education. Education Week extensively chronicled his efforts. Parenting Magazine honored him with its Parenting Leader Award. Closer to home, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch shined a bright spotlight on his impact.
Each story amplified the same message: when parents are informed, welcomed, and organized, schools improve.
Research, Transparency, and Accountability
Guided by research from the RAND Corporation, including Cities Mobilize to Improve Their Schools, Kevin
advocated for learning compacts, local parent involvement policies, and transparent school performance data. He believed that the most powerful agents of school improvement lived in the community—and that parents deserved clear, accessible information about their schools.
In another act of early innovation, Project Appleseed became one of the first education nonprofits to use the internet for reform. With support from institutions such as the University of Denver and Washington University in St. Louis, the organization launched early Gopher sites—connecting parents and educators years before the World Wide Web became mainstream.
Arne Duncan and Kevin Walker at the Grant Makers for Education Conference in Chicago.
Driven by a commitment to continuous learning, Kevin later enrolled in Washington University’s Total Quality Schools program, a joint MBA/MSW initiative. Over six years, he participated as both a student and guest lecturer, deepening his expertise while mentoring future leaders.
Policy Impact: From Missouri to the White House
Kevin’s influence was first felt in Missouri, where he proposed the Missouri Public School Accountability Report Card. Passed in 1993, the law required public schools to publish comprehensive data on student achievement, staffing, finances, and more—information still widely reposted by media outlets like the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
In 1994, Project Appleseed reached two national milestones. Kevin collaborated with Dr. William Galston, Deputy Assistant to President Clinton for Domestic Policy, and Madeleine Kunin, Deputy Sercretary of DoED, and helping secure meaningful parent involvement provisions in Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). These provisions have since been reaffirmed through No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and today’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)—shaping family-school partnerships nationwide.
Project Appleseed's National Parental Involvement Day featured a webinar with former U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.
That same year, Kevin helped establish the first National Parental Involvement Day, aligning Project Appleseed’s advocacy with efforts to strengthen parental involvement in Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and to elevate family engagement as the eighth National Education Goal under President Clinton’s Goals 2000 initiative. In 1997, he expanded this work by launching Public School Volunteer Week. Drawing on his background as a community organizer, Kevin recognized the power of setting aside dedicated moments to focus national attention on the essential role of parents in public education—and to translate that attention into lasting policy and practice.
A Movement That Endures
Over the years, National Parental Involvement Day has become a platform for major announcements and partnerships. In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collaborated with Project Appleseed to release resources highlighting parent engagement in school health during the 18th annual observance.
Today, the movement continues to grow. On Project Appleseed’s 28th Annual National Parental Involvement Day, leaders from across the education spectrum—including the National PTA, AASA, AFT, NEA, NAESP, and NSBA—gathered for a national virtual town hall to discuss new standards for family engagement. Secretary Cardona joined as a special guest, reinforcing the enduring importance of parents in public education.
The late Michelle Molnar, a legendary Education Week editor affectionately dubbed Kevin the “grandfather of parent involvement.” A Black father—and now grandfather—from the heart of the country, Kevin’s voice transcended geography and politics, resonating in red states and blue states alike while influencing national decision-makers.
Still Planting Seeds
Kevin continues to live in the Webster Groves School District he once attended as a student and where remains deeply involved. He still travels the country, training educators, organizing parents, and planting the seeds of school improvement wherever he goes. Like Johnny Appleseed before him, Kevin Walker has spent a lifetime sowing ideas that take root long after he moves on—ideas that strengthen schools, empower families, and improve outcomes for children in America.
Bring Kevin to Your School District for Professional Development!
Join the Movement
Kevin’s story—and the work of Project Appleseed—is still being written, and there is room for many more hands in this effort. School districts across the country are choosing to move beyond compliance and toward meaningful partnership with families.
Be a catalyst for change.
Plant the Family Engagement Toolbox in your schools.
Engage parents as true partners in student success.
Advocate for transparency, trust, and shared accountability.
Inspire educators and families alike to lead together.
Like seeds from an apple tree, the actions you take today can shape learning communities for generations to come. Join Project Appleseed. Together, let’s keep growing what works.
