We built this because we lived it — from both sides.
myschoolpartner comes from a husband-and-wife team who spent years on opposite ends of the same handshake: one in the school, one in business. It's the tool they always wished they'd had.
The problem, from both sides of the table.
For more than fifteen years, Heather led sponsor programs from the school side — across PTOs and PTAs, on a school board, and as a licensed educator. She made the calls to local businesses, secured the sponsorships, and then watched good partners quietly drift away — not because anyone meant to neglect them, but because the follow-through lived in spreadsheets, group texts, and the kind of memory that walks out the door every June when the board changes. She knew exactly what that lost support cost a classroom.
Mark spent his career on the business and communications side — and served on school boards and PTSOs, where he watched volunteer service harden into status and politics until the mission of partnership got lost. Between them, they had seen every way the school–business relationship breaks down, and exactly how it should work. So they built the tool they both wished existed: one shared record where the school proves it delivered and the business sees the value it earned. Two sides of the same table, finally looking at the same page.
Two sides of the partnership, one family.
Heather brings the school; Mark brings the business. Together they built the shared record in between.
Mark Kaley
“A partnership only lasts when both sides can see it working — and that's as true in a boardroom as it is in a cafeteria.” — Mark Kaley, Co-founder & President
Mark has served on school boards and PTSOs, where he saw first-hand how volunteer service can harden into status and politics until the mission of community partnership gets lost. That experience became his book The Boardroom in the Cafeteria — a sharp look at how governance, power, and trust collide under the fluorescent lights of a school cafeteria.
For more than fifteen years he's worked as a public-relations, branding, and business strategist, advising 300+ clients and 800+ small businesses on getting to market, securing financing, and growing. An entrepreneur and small-business advocate, his work and commentary have appeared across outlets including Forbes, CNBC, Fox Business, Time, and The Wall Street Journal. He holds a B.A. in communication arts and a J.D. from St. John's University and an M.B.A. from Strayer University. Mark brings the go-to-market, brand, and growth engine to myschoolpartner — the business side of the same partnership Heather champions from the school side.
- School board & PTSO service
- 15+ years PR & brand strategy
- 300+ clients advised
Author of From Pennies to Millions & The Boardroom in the Cafeteria · Creator of Those Days: A Rock Musical.
Heather Kaley
“I've sat in those meetings. I've made those asks. I've hung those banners. I built myschoolpartner so the next volunteer doesn't have to hold it all in their head — and so the businesses who show up for our kids get the recognition they earned.”— Heather Kaley, Co-founder
After fifteen years leading sponsor programs the hard way — across PTOs and PTAs, on a school board, and as a licensed educator — Heather knew the work intimately, and knew every volunteer after her was about to repeat it from scratch. myschoolpartner is her answer to a simple question she kept asking: why isn't there one shared place where the school and the business can both just see what's been done?
- 15+ years PTO/PTA leadership
- School board service
- Licensed educator
Author of Educational Perspectives — on professionalizing the work of educators.
The principles behind the product.
Partnerships, not transactions
A sponsorship is a relationship between people who care about the same kids. We build for the relationship, not the receipt.
Proof builds trust
When both sides can see what actually happened, nobody feels forgotten — and people keep showing up year after year.
Built for volunteers
Made for busy parents doing this on top of jobs and families — not for a full-time development office. Simple wins.
Local makes us stronger
Thriving local schools and thriving local businesses build the same thing: a stronger community. We help them help each other.
Because that's the whole point.
Not a vendor. Not a line on a donor list. A partner — someone you build something with, and keep building with. The name is the promise.
Built for both sides of the partnership.
Whichever side you're on, you're one click from the other.