Announcing the 2025 Skillman Visionary Awards

Category Archives: Blog

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 […]

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Share Your Feedback To Improve Attendance and Enrollment for Detroit Students

Map of Detroit

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 […]

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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 […]

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Student Exit, Mobility, and Attendance in Detroit

Wayne State Detroit schools report

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. […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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. […]

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“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 […]

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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 […]

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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, […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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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The Power of New Ideas

by: The Skillman Foundation | Mar. 5th, 2019 Complex challenges require creative solutions. More importantly, they inspire passionate people to dream big and discover innovative ways to make a difference for the communities and causes they care about. To catalyze the growth of opportunity for youth of color in Detroit, the My Brother’s Keeper Detroit […]

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Five Tips to Strengthen Your Literacy Funding Proposal

by: Terry Whitfield | Feb. 21st, 2019 The Skillman Foundation is seeking funding proposals to support literacy programs to be delivered this summer to Detroit youth aged 9 years old and younger. Below are five tips to ensure your application is strong! Watch our informational webinar from Friday, February 22, 2019. It is a great way […]

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Request for Proposals: Detroit Summer Literacy Programs

by: The Skillman Foundation | Feb. 15th, 2019 A Request for Proposals issued today by The Skillman Foundation will make $360,000 available for programs that improve reading proficiency for Detroit students in kindergarten through fourth grade. The funding will support literacy programs delivered over the summer of 2019 by nonprofit organizations working in partnership with […]

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Introducing the Five MBK Detroit Innovation Challenge Finalists

MBK Detroit Innovation Challenge Crowd

by: The Skillman Foundation | Feb. 13th, 2019 Hundreds of Detroiters were in attendance as five new ideas to support youth of color in Detroit were awarded $50,000 each through the second My Brother’s Keeper Detroit Innovation Challenge Tuesday night at the Michigan Science Center. Twenty semifinalist teams showcased their ideas through an interactive expo, […]

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