Parents Advocating Challenging Education

Our Goals:

- Increase family engagement by promoting parenting with an enthusiasm that inspires the entire community to support every student.

- Advance the importance of evidenced-based family engagement and the positive benefits for students and families.

- Improve communication between families and schools to lift student academic, social and health outcomes.

- Decrease the decline in parent group formation, participation and advocacy that sustains family engagement over time.

STRATEGIC IMPERATIVE A: Expand our reach to all K-12 Title I public school families with school-aged children.

STRATEGIC IMPERATIVE B: Integrate the use of technology to put helpful information & resources at parents’ fingertips.

STRATEGIC IMPERATIVE C: Strengthen programs, through the adoption of effective research, innovation & continuous quality improvement.

STRATEGIC IMPERATIVE D: Strengthen and cultivate organizational excellence.

Project Appleseed's award winning staff has over 75 years of combined leadership and experience in education, government, public policy, fund raising and communications. For nearly two decades, Project Appleseed has inspired millions of parents to volunteer in thousands of schools nationwide. The organization has had a leading role in spreading effective parental involvement practices across the United States.

For nearly 30 years, the core of Project Appleseed's work to organize and increase parental involvement is its simple learning compact, the Parental Involvement Pledge. The compact was developed through Project Appleseed's early research and organizing efforts in St. Louis. The compact was used as a model by the Clinton administration for the reauthorization of Title I of the ESEA of 1994. Learning compacts are required under Title I, Section 1118, subsection (d) of the Act.

The Pledge and Project Appleseed's Parental Involvement Report Card, a self-diagnostic tool, are based on the Six Types of Parental Involvement developed by Dr. Joyce Epstein. Together the Pledge and the Report Card includes a survey of parent volunteer interests and builds social capital. The survey identifies areas in which parents can volunteer in school, outside the classroom, and at home. The Pledge is the most widely used learning compact in the United States with an estimated 500,000 in circulation each year.

During the past two decades, Project Appleseed has provided families and schools throughout the country with two widely celebrated events – National Parental Involvement Day and Public School Volunteer Week. These are the celebrations in which schools recruit, engage, count and recognize the services of America's dedicated school volunteers. We celebrate those who have offered their time, encouragement, and meaningful contact with students.

Over four million family members participate in our celebrations at over 10,000 schools in all 50 states each school year. We estimate that nearly every public school in America has recognized or celebrated these grass roots occasions, at least once, over the last two decades. Each year parents and family members, state departments of education, nonprofits, businesses and thousands of school districts are involved. There are currently over 300,000 links to our signature events Public School Volunteer Week & National Parental Involvement Day in the Google search engine.

Project Appleseed became a state leader in Missouri by successfully advocating for legislation on the publication and use of school performance data in Missouri. In 1993 Project Appleseed proposed legislation mandating the compiling and publication of test scores by race and income, attendance, drop-out and graduation rates, and more in annual 'Report Cards' of all public schools. The legislation, passed as part of the Outstanding Schools Act-Senate bill 380, has ensured that Missouri measures program and instructional effectiveness statewide for the last 20 years.