Project Appleseed, the national campaign for public school improvement

Remembering Joyce Epstein

I am deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Joyce Epstein, whose pioneering work transformed the way America thinks about family engagement.

Joyce’s research and her Six Types of Involvement helped give shape to the work that became Project Appleseed. In many ways, she gave birth to Project Appleseed by providing the research foundation for our belief that schools, families, and communities must work together for children to succeed.

I am grateful for her scholarship, her generosity, and the lasting influence she had on our work and the family engagement movement.

Thank you, Joyce, for showing us what was possible—and for helping inspire a movement that continues today.

— Kevin Walker�Founder & President, Project Appleseed

‘It wouldn’t be Head Start anymore:’ Providers blast federal proposal to alter preschool program The Trump administration would loosen mandates on class sizes, expulsion policies and teacher-student ratios

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.

From Baltimore to Tasmania: The Pursuit of Happiness Starts at School One Mission. One Movement. Thousands of SchoolsBy Kevin Walker, Founder and President, Project AppleseedThe 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 th...

The incredibly moving reality behind this story centers on Robert Burnside, the former principal of Lakota East High School in Ohio, and a student named Landerius “DeDe” Hayes.

16-year-old Hayes found himself experiencing homelessness due to circumstances entirely out of his control.

Because his mother’s new address fell outside school boundaries, district officials abruptly ordered his withdrawal.

Refusing to abandon the teenager, Burnside put his own career on the line by actively fighting the order and allowing Hayes to continue attending classes, which the school district ultimately labeled as insubordination.

Faced with an aggressive central office investigation, Burnside chose to protect the student and permanently walked away from his decades-long career in education by handing in his resignation.

He and his wife, Angel, then took their devotion a step further by assuming permanent legal custody and welcoming Hayes into their home alongside their six other children.

In May 2026, the beautiful full-circle moment came to fruition when Burnside sat proudly in the stands at the Cintas Center to watch Hayes walk across the stage to receive his high school diploma—no longer as his principal, but as his father.

Viola Davis and her husband, Julius Tennon, have donated $1.2 million through their Davis-Tennon Foundation to build the Mary Alice Davis Family Engagement Center in Central Falls, Rhode Island. Named in honor of Davis' mother, the new community hub will establish a permanent headquarters for their foundation and expand local resources.

Anchoring the center, the Mary Alice Davis Food Pantry will secure a permanent home to continue assisting roughly 3,000 local residents each month.

The facility will run financial literacy classes, adult empowerment programming, and educational workshops. A dedicated Parent Resource Center and Parent University will offer key guidance to local families.

The infrastructure provides workforce development training alongside collaborative meeting spaces for area non-profit organizations.

Trump Administration Plans to Upend Head Start by Deregulating It The White House tried but failed to block funding for preschool for poor children. Instead, it will seek to strip away standards on health, literacy — and brushing teeth.

Schools are adding pepper-spraying drones to help combat active shooters The plastic, nonlethal aircraft, which can smash windows and ram attackers, will be at the ready in a handful of schools in Florida, Georgia and Colorado.

School Leaders Face More Parental Threats Than Teachers Parental violence went up after the pandemic, directed most towards school administrators.