Category Archives: Blog
Don’t let politics trump education
by: Angelique Power | Sep. 18th, 2025 This op-ed was originally published in The Detroit News. On Mackinac Island this month, Michigan’s Republican leaders will gather for their biennial conference to debate politics, strategy, and power. It comes at a time when Washington D.C. politics have filled the air, dividing, distracting, and drowning out many […]
Read more »Statement on Political Violence and the Fundamental Freedom of Speech
by: The Skillman Foundation | Sep. 17th, 2025 The Skillman Foundation joined more than 100 philanthropic organizations to release this statement. Acts of political violence—from the recent murder of Charlie Kirk to the murder of Speaker Emeritus Melissa Hortman of Minnesota—have no place in our democracy. Our hearts are with the families and loved ones […]
Read more »Being Proudly Purple, Not Partisan
by: Angelique Power | Sep. 10th, 2025 After all these years, I found out the other day that the color purple doesn’t actually exist. Go ahead, Google it. This is true. The reality is that within the ROYGBIV spectrum of the rainbow, there is no “P” for purple. This is because while the other colors […]
Read more »Skillman Foundation staff announcements
by: The Skillman Foundation | Aug. 28th, 2025 The Foundation has been moving and grooving into our People Powered Education strategy, supported by each member of the team. Fresh ideas and diverse skills are being offered by new staff members as well as those who have been with the organization for years. We’re learning, growing, […]
Read more »Enough about Don. Let’s talk about Ed.
by: Angelique Power | Aug. 12th, 2025 Not to break the fourth wall so early, but isn’t that a great line? We have our vice president of communications, Natalie Fotias, to thank for that. You see, as each of you are in whatever state you reside, where you may be reading this, we are in […]
Read more »The “Big, Beautiful Bill” passed. What will it mean for K-12 education & kids?
by: Natalie Fotias | Jul. 14th, 2025 On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed a massive act of legislation that he dubbed the “Big Beautiful Bill.” Approximately 900 pages long, it will impact many public systems and sectors and every person in the United States. Below is a breakdown of what the bill means for […]
Read more »Statement on the detainment of Detroit high school student Maykol Bogoya-Duarte: A call for reason and mercy
by: The Skillman Foundation | Jun. 11th, 2025 Update as of June 19, 2025:In recent weeks, many communities have mobilized in defense of Maykol Bogoya-Duarte. Despite this rapid rally of support, since being detained by ICE, Maykol has been deported to his native Colombia and he will be unable to receive his well-earned high school […]
Read more »Chicago native Angelique Power steps up as champion for Michigan schoolchildren
by: The Detroit News | Jun. 10th, 2025 This article was originally published in The Detroit News. Skillman Foundation President and CEO Angelique Power was not born in Detroit. She wasn’t born in Michigan. But in the four years the Chicago native has called Detroit home, she’s made herself known as a top advocate for […]
Read more »This is Michigan’s turning point moment in education
by: Angelique Power | Jun. 6th, 2025 This op-ed was originally published in The Detroit News. Nearly four years ago, I moved from Illinois to Michigan. While we often talk about the flow of people from Detroit to Chicago, I was part of a quieter, less conventional movement in the opposite direction. Why? First: less […]
Read more »2025 Mackinac Policy Conference: Big Moves in Education Policy
by: The Skillman Foundation | May. 14th, 2025 A panel discussion featuring Senator Darrin Camilleri and Senator Ed McBroom, moderated by Angelique Power, president & CEO, took place at the Mackinac Policy Conference on Wednesday, May 28, at 10:30 a.m. Learn where education is heading and how finding common ground is essential to get there. This […]
Read more »The New and Improved “How are you doing?”
by: Angelique Power | Apr. 30th, 2025 Hello. Have you, or someone you know, been having a hard time answering the question, “How are you doing?” If so, you are not alone. Gobs of anecdotal evidence have shown the “how are you?” customary greeting no longer leads to a simple exchange of well-worn pleasantries. Instead, […]
Read more »How Youth Helped Redesign Our Youth Council
by: Ashley Aidenbaum | Apr. 16th, 2025 Young people are closest to our education system. They hold the insights and ideas needed for education to work for everyone. As an education-focused foundation, we strive to be a go-to for Detroit youth brilliance and a model for engaging and highlighting youth, particularly through our Youth Council, […]
Read more »The Values Test
by: Angelique Power | Apr. 9th, 2025 If you don’t stick to your values when they’re being tested, they’re not values. They’re hobbies. -Jon Stewart Raising a teenager has made me quite the philosopher. It requires I make sense of the world enough to explain it, and then understand my explanation is limited by it […]
Read more »Growing our staff and board
by: The Skillman Foundation | Apr. 7th, 2025 Exciting changes are underway at The Skillman Foundation as we activate our People Powered Education strategy and collaborate with partners to transform our education system. The Skillman Foundation has welcomed four new team members to our Program and Communications departments. David Wilson is partnership manager of Ground […]
Read more »Join the Skillman Youth Council – Applications Open Now
by: The Skillman Foundation | Apr. 1st, 2025 Application Deadline Extended to Sunday, May 18, 11:59pm At The Skillman Foundation, we work to ensure Detroit youth have the tools and supports they need to design their own bold destinies. We invest in youth, teachers, parents, community members, and policymakers working together to transform the education […]
Read more »Why are our children paying the price of politics?
by: Angelique Power | Mar. 26th, 2025 Medicaid cuts and efforts to dismantle education are a direct attack on kids. This isn’t the first time healthcare has become political. Republican President Teddy Roosevelt proposed universal healthcare and later, another Republican President Dwight Eisenhower also tried to make this happen. Fifteen years ago this week, President […]
Read more »Announcing the 2025 Skillman Visionary Awards, Recognizing Education Changemakers
by: The Skillman Foundation | Mar. 19th, 2025 The Skillman Foundation is proud to announce the 2025 Skillman Visionary Awards, which honors extraordinary education changemakers. This award program underscores the Foundation’s commitment to recognizing and supporting visionary leaders who are transforming the education system to better prepare students to navigate and shape the future. This […]
Read more »Statement about the dismantling of the Department of Education
by: The Skillman Foundation | Mar. 12th, 2025 When our government takes a hard pivot in a direction that the vast majority of us disagree with, red flags fly and alarm bells ring. This is where we’re at as our new presidential administration moves to dismantle the United States Department of Education. The first thing […]
Read more »Immigration Rights: Leaders in Motion
by: The Skillman Foundation | Feb. 25th, 2025 The Skillman Foundation held an intimate conversation with our grant partners, featuring three community leaders who are at the forefront of supporting immigration rights for children and families: Each speaker shared accounts of how the federal administration’s recent orders and actions around mass deportation are impacting the […]
Read more »Changes afoot in federal K-12 policy
by: Angelique Power | Feb. 13th, 2025 We are in the early days of understanding what will happen to the U.S. Department of Education, from breaking programs apart and resettling them elsewhere, to ending programs, to trying to move forward on the threat of abolishing it. We do know there’s been a mandate to push […]
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