by: Jennifer Mrozowski, EdTrust-Midwest | Dec. 16th, 2025 Michigan’s students succeed when they learn from strong, diverse, and well-supported educators. Decades of research underscore how important teachers are in students’ lives. They are, in fact, one of the most important factors contributing to student success in the classroom. Teachers, particularly highly qualified and effective teachers, […]

by: Angelique Power | Dec. 9th, 2025 *steps to the mic* We did it. We are rounding that last base and heading with relief toward the end of this year. I’ve been so moved by how many have tuned into work being done in Detroit, at The Skillman Foundation, and especially by our wide-ranging, incredible […]

by: The Skillman Foundation | Nov. 21st, 2025 For this year’s Thanksgiving parade float design contest, we asked Detroit 4th-8th graders to show us what their dream for the world looks like. On November 19, 2025, we celebrated six amazing young artists who are casting their visions for the future. Fifth-grader Lyric Weathers’ float design, […]

by: The Skillman Foundation | Nov. 19th, 2025 Detroit fifth-grader Lyric Weathers was named the grand prize winner in The Skillman Foundation’s 34th Float Design Contest today at a special unveiling event at the Parade Company in Detroit attended by students, parents and educators from the Detroit Public Schools Community District. Images are available here. […]

by: Angelique Power & Gerry Brisson | Oct. 31st, 2025 This joint op-ed was originally published in The Detroit News. Right now, as the federal government remains shut down, nearly 42 million Americans are wondering how they’ll put food on the table.  SNAP benefits, the nation’s largest nutrition assistance program, hang in limbo. For many families, that means […]

by: Jen DeNeal | Oct. 13th, 2025 On October 7, Governor Whitmer signed a state budget that included $20+ billion for Michigan’s public schools. The highly anticipated School Aid budget comes three months late—after legislators missed their self-imposed July 1 deadline earlier this year. For context: school districts operate on a July 1 fiscal year, […]

by: The Skillman Foundation | Oct. 9th, 2025 The Skillman Foundation partners with people to transform education systems—teachers, parents, community organizers, policy and systems leaders…and most importantly, youth. Youth are the closest ones to our education system. They hold the insights and ideas needed for education to work for everyone. Since 2020, The Skillman Foundation […]

by: Children’s Foundation | Sep. 18th, 2025 The Skillman Foundation announced a $1.1 million gift in support of the Michigan Central Station Children’s Endowment Initiative, providing $100,000 to each of the 11 participating Detroit area youth-serving organizations. The Skillman Foundation is the first of the campaign’s original funders to equally support all 11 organizations in […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]