The Skillman Foundation

We wake this morning with news of a nation in the midst of change. There are uncertainties in the air and a wealth of emotions on all sides.

Sitting at my kitchen table I suddenly started writing a note. To you. To others. To me.

Here it is.

Every morning at The Skillman Foundation we wake up and ask ourselves what can we do to not just remediate one issue but to transform our most important public system—our public education system—into a driver of prosperity and progress for all. That’s the question we ask with our morning coffee.

The public education system has been built over time, across administrations, and it is complex and active.

Here’s the thing though… this public system belongs to us. It is ours; we power it, we shape it. Inside our city and state, we get to feed it and nourish it into something that works for all of us. And that means that the massive bonus we have on our side is each of us. When values drive people, when faith in something better underpins the work, the results are exponentially better. And our faith in the future of education is paramount.

Here’s another thing… when we work with people across this great, real, seen-it-all-and-then-some-and-still-believe city, then you can never count us down or out. Detroit is a city of trailblazers, in culture, industry, civil rights, and yes, in education. Our story is one to know and to follow.

Even better when we work with those who are different than us, but aligned in values. That is when we transform systems for the long term, no matter the politics, no matter the fickle whim of the moment, no matter what.

And a big important thing—we GET to do this work. We get to go in, alongside others, and build wonderful new possibilities, emblazoned in policy, benefiting those who come after us for generations.

We get to do our work not just for but most importantly WITH Detroit youth. It is the honor of a lifetime.

And one final thing—we’ve GOT to do this work. The spaces that are for our youth must be the safest spaces, boldest spaces, the incubators of dreams. They must be.

We get to, we got to, and we will.