Category Archives: Blog
About The Skillman Foundation
by: The Skillman Foundation | May. 10th, 2019 When you really love a child, you want them to have all the opportunities in the world. The Skillman Foundation loves the children of Detroit. Since 1960, we have been a fierce champion for Detroit kids, striving to ensure they have equitable opportunities to learn and to […]
Read more »DCAN Launches New Grant Program For Middle and High Schools
by: Detroit College Access Network | May. 9th, 2019 With support from the Skillman Foundation, the Detroit College Access Network launched the College Bound Detroit grants for middle and high schools in Detroit. The College Bound Detroit Grants program mimic Michigan College Access Network’s Reach Higher grants. The goal of the grant is to support […]
Read more »How Persistence Helped Me Achieve My College Dreams
by: Tyler Patterson | May. 6th, 2019 Sometimes when people are struggling and feel as if all hope is lost, they choose to give up. For the past few months I have been feeling as if I were lost – in fact, I felt as if I were going through one of the toughest challenges […]
Read more »Punita Dani Thurman Appointed to Education Commission of the States
by: The Skillman Foundation | Apr. 30th, 2019 Skillman Foundation Vice President of Program and Strategy, Punita Dani Thurman, has been appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer to serve as a Commissioner with the Education Commission of the States. The Commissioners provide critical leadership for the Education Commission of the States, as well as their own […]
Read more »Why Did You Become a Teacher?
by: Ramon Hernandez Jr. | Apr. 30th, 2019 “Why Did You Become a Teacher?” Over the course of my career as an educator, I’ve found myself being asked this question, the question, by a wide range of people for a variety of reasons. In each instance, my answer is different because there is not just […]
Read more »Share Your Feedback To Improve Attendance and Enrollment for Detroit Students
by: Siobhan O’Laoire | Apr. 22nd, 2019 In November of 2017, the Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren published a set of community priorities to advance and transform education outcomes in Detroit. The report urged policymakers, education leaders and funders to get serious about attendance and student enrollment. In order to support the stakeholders […]
Read more »Life Lessons I’ve Learned While Growing Up
by: | Apr. 17th, 2019 While growing up, I’ve learned a lot of lessons that have helped me see how I can become a successful person. The people around me, especially my family, also give me advice on how I can be successful. My dad tells me to never to fall back into bad habits […]
Read more »Student Exit, Mobility, and Attendance in Detroit
by: Wayne State University | Apr. 15th, 2019 The following was originally published by the Wayne State University College of Education. Click here to view the original post. Collaborative Policy Research This research is the result of a collaboration between Wayne State University’s College of Education and a constellation of community partners interested in improving Detroit schools. […]
Read more »Retired Military Officers Share Support for Launch Michigan
by: The Skillman Foundation | Apr. 15th, 2019 Members of the Michigan Advocacy Corps, a coalition of retired military and police leaders, recently shared their support for Launch Michigan through an op-ed in The Detroit News. Major General (Retired) Thomas G. Cutler, Major General (Retired) William Henderson, and Major General (Retired) Gerald A. Miller lifted […]
Read more »This Is Why I Teach 313
by: Kate Stevens | Apr. 9th, 2019 “Why would you want to teach in Detroit?” This was the question asked by so many when I decided to move from my small town in northern Michigan and apply for teaching positions in downtown Detroit. Teaching is one of the most challenging, rewarding, underappreciated, and life changing […]
Read more »Engaging Youth in Dialogue and Decision Making
by: Natalie Fotias | Mar. 29th, 2019 How Adults Can Help Young People Amplify Their Voice Adults should spend more time listening to kids. Too often decisions are made that impact the lives and futures of youth on a grand scale without taking the time to listen to their perspectives and insights. Young people are […]
Read more »DPSCD Launches National modEL Detroit Education Curriculum Resource Project
by: Punita Dani Thurman | Mar. 28th, 2019 The Detroit Public School Community District recently announced that modEL Detroit, a new collection of education curriculum resources developed in partnership with local and national experts, will now be available to teachers nationwide. The materials were originally designed to accelerate training for DPSCD teachers, making it easier for them to implement the new Expeditionary Learning curriculum that the district adopted last year. Now, educators across the nation […]
Read more »We Need More Black Male Teachers
by: Quan Neloms | Mar. 28th, 2019 This op-ed was originally published by The Detroit News. Click here to view the original post. As a college freshman I was invited by a youth pastor to become a volunteer at a local Detroit public school. Accepting his invitation, I found myself mentoring and tutoring male students. […]
Read more »“Get Schooled” Connects In-School Pathways to Career Competencies
by: The Skillman Foundation | Mar. 26th, 2019 Detroit College Access Network (DCAN) has expanded the Get Schooled platform to be inclusive of career-oriented content and digital badges. This presents an opportunity for concrete partnership and alignment that could provide many more young people with robust exposure to college and career readiness through schools (both […]
Read more »Nearly 17,000 educators share perspectives in Launch Michigan statewide survey
by: Launch Michigan | Mar. 21st, 2019 Results from a statewide educator survey conducted last month were released on Wednesday, sharing extensive front-line perceptions from nearly 17,000 educators across the state. View the full survey report The survey was fielded by Launch Michigan, a diverse alliance of education, labor, business and philanthropic organizations committed to […]
Read more »2019 BMe Community Vanguard Fellowship
by: BMe Community | Mar. 19th, 2019 This opportunity was originally published by BMe Community. Click here to view to original publication. BMe Vanguard Fellowships are for remarkable Black men and women whose dedication to helping others has earned them the trust of their peers, coworkers and community. Whether you lead a movement, a business, a financial institution, […]
Read more »The Skillman Foundation Appoints Bill Emerson as Board Chair; Names Punita Dani Thurman as Vice President of Program and Strategy
by: The Skillman Foundation | Mar. 19th, 2019 Bill Emerson, vice chairman of Quicken Loans and CEO of Bedrock, has been appointed as board chair of The Skillman Foundation, a two-year term that will run through 2020. He succeeds Jerry Norcia, president and COO of DTE Energy, who served as the Foundation’s board chair from 2016-2018 […]
Read more »Why I Organize
by: Naja Nile | Mar. 11th, 2019 This blog was originally posted by Our Kids. View the original publication here. If you’ve ever attended a public school, I doubt you’d call it perfect. I’m Naja and I’m a product of Detroit’s public school system. I know firsthand what it’s like to be in a class of […]
Read more »New Technology, New Learning
by: Lisa Murray | Mar. 11th, 2019 This blog was originally published by Teach313. When I asked my students what excited them about this time of the year, many of them had the same answer: spring break! While many students — and teachers — look forward to the much-needed downtime of breaks, I have been inspired […]
Read more »Three Life Lessons I’ve Learned from Basketball
by: | Mar. 7th, 2019 Basketball has always been a huge part of my life. I started playing six years ago and as I got older, I began to put a lot of time and effort in working out and practicing so that I could improve my game. All of this hard work became even […]
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