Why I Built School Journey: A Parent's Mission to Fix K-12 Communication

As a parent of two kids attending a Blackbaud school, I've built companies in entertainment and FinTech, but nothing has driven me quite like the challenge of fixing school communication. This is the story of how a pandemic, rotating schedules, and my daughter's missing assignments led me to create what I believe will be the best K-12 mobile app for schools.

The Before Times: When Communication Was Already Stretched

Even before 2020, navigating school communication felt like solving a puzzle with missing pieces. Our school used Blackbaud—a powerful system with incredible capabilities. But accessing information? That was another story entirely.

Every morning started with the same questions: "What's your first class tomorrow? What period is it?" With rotating schedules, even simple queries became complex calculations. I'd find myself pulling up multiple screens, cross-referencing calendars, trying to decode which Day 1-6 it was, and mentally mapping that to actual classes.

As a tech entrepreneur, I kept thinking: This shouldn't be this hard.

When the Pandemic Hit: The Breaking Point

March 2020 changed everything. Suddenly, the cracks in school communication became chasms. Remote learning meant that clear, accessible communication wasn't just convenient—it was critical.

Teachers were overwhelmed, trying to manage virtual classrooms while juggling multiple communication platforms. Parents were thrust into the role of teaching assistants without a clear view of assignments, schedules, or expectations. Students were lost in a sea of links, logins, and ever-changing procedures.

The pandemic didn't create these problems—it revealed them in stark clarity. What had been frustrating became impossible. What had been inefficient became unsustainable.

The Moment That Changed Everything

The real catalyst came through my daughter. She's bright, conscientious, and organized—yet assignments kept slipping through the cracks. Not because she didn't care, but because the system failed to support her.

I watched her stress levels rise as she tried to track assignments across multiple platforms. Some were in Blackbaud, others in Google Classroom, and still others mentioned only in class. There was no single source of truth, no reliable way to see what was due when.

One evening, after another frantic search for a "missing" assignment that was actually submitted but marked incorrectly, I decided enough was enough. My daughter needed better support. All our kids did.

From Frustration to Mission

I've built successful companies before, but this was different. This wasn't about market opportunities or ROI—this was personal. Every parent knows that feeling of wanting to remove obstacles from their child's path. For me, that meant building a solution.

School Journey was born from a simple premise: What if accessing school information was as easy as checking your favorite app?

Blackbaud has incredible data and functionality, but it's trapped behind complex interfaces and multiple logins. Teachers have the information families need, but lack efficient ways to share it. Parents want to support their children but can't get a clear picture of what's happening. Students want to stay organized but are overwhelmed by fragmented systems.

Building the Bridge

School Journey isn't about replacing existing systems—it's about making them accessible. We're creating the mobile experience that schools, parents, and students have been waiting for:

For Parents: Finally see your child's complete academic picture in one place. No more detective work to figure out tomorrow's schedule or hunting for missing assignments.
For Students: A tool that actually helps them stay organized, with smart notifications and a clear view of what's due when.
For Teachers: Spend less time on communication logistics and more time teaching. Reach families effectively without adding to your workload.
For Administrators: Leverage your existing Blackbaud investment while providing the modern mobile experience your community expects.

Why This Project Is Different

I've built companies in entertainment that reached millions. I've created FinTech solutions that handled billions in transactions. But School Journey? This is the project closest to my heart.

Every feature we build, every decision we make, I think about my own kids. I think about that evening with my daughter, stressed about an assignment. I think about the morning scramble to figure out rotating schedules. I think about the teachers doing their best with tools that don't quite fit.

This isn't just another app—it's a mission to transform how schools and families connect.

The Road Ahead

We're building School Journey to be the mobile app that every K-12 school needs. Not just a portal or a viewer, but a true communication platform that brings communities together.

The pandemic showed us that strong school communication isn't optional—it's essential. Our kids deserve tools that support their success. Parents deserve clear visibility into their children's education. Teachers deserve technology that makes their jobs easier, not harder.

That's why I'm committed to making School Journey great. Not just good, not just functional, but truly great. Because when it comes to our kids' education, anything less isn't enough.

Join Us

If you're a parent who's tired of the morning schedule scramble, a teacher looking for better ways to connect with families, or a school administrator who knows there must be a better way—School Journey is for you.

This is more than a business for me. It's a chance to solve a problem that affects millions of families, including my own. It's an opportunity to give our kids the support they deserve.

Because at the end of the day, it shouldn't take a tech entrepreneur to figure out what's happening at school. It should just work.