top of page
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

In-Person or Virtual Professional Development Solutions

Strong Families, Strong Schools

Introduction: Project Appleseed's professional development workshops provide the foundation for overcoming barriers and unlocking the benefits of high-impact family engagement. Led by Kevin Walker, founder of Project Appleseed and creator of National Parental Involvement Day, these dynamic sessions equip educators with the skills and strategies needed to build strong, lasting family-school partnerships.

Project Appleseed offers flexible PD for schools—choose our immersive One-Day Workshop, focused Two-Hour Toolbox Training, or in-depth Two-Day Extended Workshop & Leadership Sessions to build sustainable family engagement.

For parents, we provide Trauma-Informed Workshops, a multi-week Parent University Series, and personalized Parent Leadership Coaching to boost resilience, communication, and advocacy.

Ready to get started? Enroll Now or Contact Us to customize the perfect mix of workshops and trainings for your educators and families.

Benefits of Our Professional Development

Research shows that high-impact family engagement correlates with student achievement. Project Appleseed helps schools engage parents, families and communities using proven, research-based models.

Key benefits include:

  • Improved student outcomes

  • Increased family involvement

  • Enhanced communication and collaboration

  • Stronger school-family relationships

  • A greater sense of community

  • Increased professional knowledge and skills

Former Sec. of Ed. Cardona has celebrated National Parental Involvement Day for eight years, including during his tenure as Connecticut’s state supt.

Who Should Attend?

We encourage participation from building-level teams, made up of school staff and family/community members, as well as district leaders and other educational partners who aim to foster collaborative school communities including:​​​

  • School administrators

  • Teachers

  • Counselors

  • Parent liaisons

  • Parent leaders

  • Support staff

  • Parents 

  • Community members

Explore Our Professional Development Solutions!

Unlock the power of meaningful family engagement! Whether you're a school leader, educator, or community partner, our professional development programs are designed to equip your team with the tools to foster lasting school-family partnerships. Explore your options below—or visit our Family Success Shop to place your order and take the next step today.

Coming!

Why Choose Project Appleseed?

Project Appleseed Traveling Workshop

Family engagement isn’t just important—it’s essential for student success. Our mission is to make it a lasting part of school improvement. Yet, many schools simply hope parents will participate rather than actively recruiting and guiding them. The reality is that many families want to be involved but lack clear direction. Project Appleseed bridges this gap with strategic, research-driven initiatives—like the Parent Engagement Pledge—that transform intention into action. Our approach not only engages families but also tracks and measures volunteer impact, delivering tangible results that strengthen schools and communities.​​​

Our Traveling Workshop on Family Engagement draws from research by our partners and leading experts in education, family engagement, and child development. This workshop provides schools and communities with proven strategies to foster meaningful, lasting change.

What Educators Are Saying

"Good afternoon, Kevin,

I would like to express my gratitude for the excellent family engagement workshop you offered today at KCSOS. I learned so much!

We would like to again extend an invitation to the Kern High School District Parent and Family Center Liaisons' meeting scheduled on Monday, Nov. 4 at 10 am. I think your knowledge and experience will help the team so much as we continue to plan and finalize details for the 30th Anniversary of the National Parent Involvement Day.

IMG_0103.HEIC

Also, if you have time, I would like to interview you about family engagement in education for a Literature Review I am working on for my master's in educational administration.

Thank you so much for everything you have done to make our educational system better and help students as well as families all across the country."

Parent Education Liaison, Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Bakersfield, CA

Leadership in Family Engagement Training and Workshops

Project Appleseed’s award-winning leadership team brings over 50 years of combined experience in transforming family-school partnerships through research-based training and hands-on workshops. At the helm is Kevin Walker, President and Founder, a nationally recognized advocate in public education and family engagement.

Kevin Walker

Kevin Walker

Walker launched National Parental Involvement Day and Public School Volunteer Week—two of the nation’s longest-running family engagement initiatives. His efforts helped shape federal parental involvement policies under Title I, No Child Left Behind, and the Every Student Succeeds Act. Named one of Education Week’s Top Ten People in American Education, Walker has trained educators and future leaders at Washington University in St. Louis and led family engagement initiatives from local school councils to national education policy. Learn more>>

Joining him is Susan Graham, M.A.Ed (c), CFLE, a Certified Family Life Educator with more than 18 years of direct experience working with families, schools, and communities. Susan brings a trauma-informed, evidence-based approach to every training, informed by her graduate work in Trauma and Resilience in Educational Settings. A skilled curriculum developer and founder of Achieve Life Balance, Susan delivers customizable training formats—from live Zoom workshops and Parent University webinars to on-site institutes and interactive family engagement game nights. Learn more>>

Susan Graham

Susan Graham

Professional Development Solutions
Project Appleseed Logo
How can we help? Our team has answers.

Requests for Proposals (RFP): We gladly welcome Family and Community Engagement Requests for Proposals (RFPs)..

Thanks for submitting!

Get Family Engagement Toolbox

tm

Reach All Families!

Access

the Family

Engagement Toolbox!

Parent Engagement Report Card

​Join Education's
Oldest Family Events!

Nov. 18
2027

Nov. 20

2025

Nov. 19

2026

April 21-25
2025
April 20-24
2026
Apr. 19-23
2027
*30th Anniversary Event

Project Appleseed

520 Melville Avenue | St. Louis, MO, 63130-4505

Phone: (314) 292-9760 | Fax: (314) 725-2319

headquarters@projectappleseed.org | @pledgeappleseed

Parents Advocating Challenging Education 

IRS 501 (c)(3) Nonprofit Association

 

© Copyright 2025

All rights reserved and stringently prosecuted. Reproduction, distribution, copying, modeling, imitating, extracting, adapting concepts, or any derivative thereof is strictly prohibited. Project Appleseed, Parental Involvement Pledge, Parent Engagement Pledge, Parental Involvement Report Card, Parent Engagement Report Card are trademarks of Project Appleseed. Unauthorized use is an infringement of copyrights, trademarks, or proprietary rights. National Parental Involvement Day, National Family Engagement Day, Public School Volunteer Week are all unregistered trademarks of Project Appleseed.

Powered by Matt Conway's Wing Tips

bottom of page