From Baltimore to Tasmania: The Pursuit of Happiness Starts at School
- Project Appleseed
- Aug 9
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 9
One Mission. One Movement. Thousands of Schools
By Kevin Walker, Founder and President, Project Appleseed
The Declaration of Independence affirms that every American is endowed with the unalienable right to pursue happiness. At Project Appleseed, we believe one of the most meaningful expressions of the pursuit of happiness is a parent's opportunity to be fully engaged in their child's public school. Every parent, grandparent, and caring adult deserves to be welcomed, respected, and empowered as a partner in education. When families are invited to participate in the life of a school, they are not simply supporting student success—they are exercising one of the fundamental freedoms of citizenship: helping shape the future of America's next generation.
Sometimes the most important lessons about family engagement don't come from research papers or conference presentations. They come from a birthday cake in a school classroom.
Last month, I was conducting our family engagement workshop at Bear Creek Elementary School in Baltimore County Public Schools when the staff surprised me with a birthday cake. It was an unexpected gesture, but it reminded me of something I have learned over more than 30 years of working in public schools: authentic relationships matter.
Family engagement isn't a program. It's not a checklist. And it certainly isn't something that can be accomplished with a single event.
It's about relationships.
The birthday cake wasn't really about my birthday. It was a reflection of what happens when educators, families, and communities create a culture of belonging and appreciation. It was a reminder that schools are at their very best when people genuinely care about one another.
Two weeks later, Project Appleseed welcomed two educators from Tasmania, Australia, who traveled more than 9,000 miles to St. Louis to participate in our family engagement training.
Think about that for a moment.
Two school leaders traveled halfway around the world to learn how stronger family-school partnerships can improve student attendance and student success.
Why?
Because authentic family engagement works.
Principal Georgia Perry and Jane Lewis from Hillcrest Primary School came to learn not only about our strategies and tools but also about the relationships that make those strategies successful. They wanted to see family engagement in action—not as a theory, but as a lived experience.
And that's what makes Project Appleseed different.
Our workshops are grounded in the real world.
Participants don't simply sit through presentations and take notes. They experience schools and communities that have embraced family engagement as a way of life. They meet educators who understand that families are every child's first and most important teachers. They hear stories, build relationships, and discover practical strategies that can be implemented immediately.
This authenticity is also the reason National Parental Involvement Day has become one of the nation's most successful grassroots education initiatives.
When Project Appleseed launched National Parental Involvement Day in 1994, we didn't have a large marketing budget or a national advertising campaign. We had an idea: if schools welcomed families as true partners, parents would respond.
And they did.
Today, National Parental Involvement Day is observed by thousands of schools and communities across the United States. It has grown organically because educators and families recognize something simple but powerful:
Students do better when families and schools work together in the pursuit of happiness.
No amount of social media promotion can replace authentic relationships.
No program can substitute for trust.
And no school improvement strategy is more powerful than a community that genuinely believes every family belongs.
That's why I never tire of this work.
One day I'm celebrating my birthday with educators at Baltimore County Public Schools' Bear Creek Elementary. The next I'm welcoming school leaders from Hillcrest Primary, in Tasmania, Australia who want to bring these ideas back to their communities. Next stop, Georgia, to spend a Saturday morning training Griffin-Spalding schools outside Atlanta.
Moments like these remind me why I often say:
I'm never going to retire.
Because family engagement is not just a profession. It's a movement.
And whether you're in Baltimore, St. Louis, Griffin, Tasmania, or anywhere else in the world, the message is the same:
Strong family-school partnerships know no borders.
Bring Project Appleseed to Your School or District
Project Appleseed's workshops help schools and districts:
✔ Build authentic partnerships with families
✔ Increase student attendance and engagement
✔ Strengthen school climate and community support
✔ Meet ESSA Title I family engagement requirements
✔ Create sustainable family engagement plans that produce results
Our workshops and Family Engagement Toolbox are being used by educators across the United States and around the world.
To learn more about Project Appleseed's professional development opportunities, visit www.projectappleseed.org or contact us at headquarters@projectappleseed.org.
Because when schools and families work together, students thrive.
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