ARTS

Skillman-Kresge arts project praised by new national group director

June 2009

The Skillman-Kresge community arts project is garnering national attention as Grantmakers in the Arts executive director Janet Brown placed the project in the spotlight recently.

In Brown's blog on the Grantmakers in the Arts website, Brown discusses how the project that invites residents in underserved Detroit neighborhoods to select an artist and project for their community is exciting and inspiring.

"This is community arts at its finest," Brown says.

The community + public arts: DETROIT program is a two-year initiative focusing on The Skillman Foundation's six targeted neighborhoods. To read more about the CPAD project, visit www.cpadetroit.org .

To read Brown's blog post, click here .

CHILD WELFARE

How proposed budget cuts will affect Michigan's children and families

March 2009

In February, Governor Jennifer Granholm released her proposed state budget for the fiscal year 2010, which begins in October 2009. The governor proposed budget cuts totaling $670 million and government reforms to address a projected deficit of $1.4 billion. Michigan's Children outlines the proposed cuts in this document. Additionally, the organization examines which cuts will affect the state's children and families in this comprehensive breakdown. For more information regarding the state budget and its impact on children, visit the Michigan's Children website at www.michiganschildren.org .

Concerning Kids: A Skillman Study

2002-2005

Concerning Kids: A Skillman Foundation Study was the first-ever comprehensive series of polls on what residents of metropolitan Detroit think, feel and know about issues concerning children and youth. Below is a sample of some of what the Foundation learned from 2002 to 2005. Our polls showed people in general cared deeply about kids.

Concerning Kids Series: Affirms Public Priorities Identified in Community Meetings, Feb. 2005

Change Over Time: Follow-up -- Benchmark Survey Results, Feb. 2005

Concerning Kids: Healthcare Survey Results, April 2003

Parents and Kids: Summary Reports, Nov. 2003

Baseline Survey Results, April 2002

Education Survey Results, Sept. 2002

Violence and Youth Development: Issue Survey Results, Nov. 2002

EDUCATION

Editorial: Real story behind state's high school curriculum

September 2009

Thousands of the state's freshmen are arriving on college campuses this fall under-prepared and enrolled in remedial classes. Some experts believe this is a sign that Michigan school districts aren't implementing the new high school curriculum that state leaders approved in 2006. The Detroit News' Amber Arellano examines the myths and realities behind a tougher high school curriculum. Read more.

Bobb says board can't block academic reform

July 2009

Robert Bobb, the state-appointed emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools, writes in this Detroit News editorial that it's important to examine the facts and relevant issues with the Board's attempt to block academic reform. Read more .

Council of the Great City Schools report

September 2008

Detroit Public Schools leaders sought help from the Council of the Great City Schools , the nation's primary coalition of large urban school districts, to gain an outside perspective on some of the most serious issues facing the district and recommendations on how to handle them.

The council presents Reforming and Improving the Detroit Public Schools , which offers findings and recommendations for improving student achievement, finances and selected operations to the district.

Click here to read the pdf report.

First Class Schools analysis

August 2008

Recently, the state legislature began addressing Detroit Public Schools' status as a First Class District if enrollment falls below 100,000. The ramifications of losing that status include issues such as:

• Allowing neighboring suburban districts to open schools within city boundaries;
• The roles and required responsibilities of the school board and school system will change;
• Increased opportunities for charter schools.

The Skillman Foundation commissioned Public Sector Consultants to prepare a nonpartisan analysis on what will happen if enrollment in Detroit Public Schools drops and the district loses its status.

Click here to read the pdf report.

HEALTH

Improvement made in maternal

and infant well-being

June 2009

Maternal and infant health indicators improved in six of eight areas statewide according to a new report released Tuesday.

The Right Start in Michigan 2009 report, by the Kids Count in Michigan project, noted progress in the rates of teen births and mothers who smoke.

"We found some very big improvements," said Jane Zehnder-Merrell, Kids Count in Michigan director and senior researcher associate at the Michigan League for Human Services. "Michigan has made a lot of progress when it comes to reducing smoking among pregnant women, reducing the rate of teen births and the rate of repeat teen births -- those teen mothers who have another child before the age of 20."

Smoking during pregnancy declined 34 percent, and the rate of births to teens declined 26.2 percent.

To read the full report, click here .

Study urges immediate help for Detroit's asthma problem

October 2008

Asthma is 50 percent more prevalent among Detroit adults than that of the state of Michigan, according to the Michigan Department of Community Health's Bureau of Epidemiology's latest chapter in its comprehensive report on asthma in the state. The report, entitled "Detroit -- The Epicenter of Asthma Burden," urges public health efforts to focus on improving asthma control and preventing severe outcomes.

Click here to read the pdf report.

HIGH SCHOOL REFORM

How one program worked to rebuild Hope

March 2009

The Providence Journal profiles Providence's Hope High School, which is working to reform itself and escape educational blight. This three-part series by Julia Steiny, the co-director of Information Works!, Rhode Island's school-accountability project, can be read at www.projo.com/education/juliasteiny .

Consequences of dropping out of high school

December 2008

This comprehensive report examines the losses Michigan incurs because of students not completing high school in this state. The report, commissioned by the Mott Foundation, assesses the labor market, income, social, health, civic, incarceration and fiscal consequences.

To read the summary version, please click here.

To read the complete report, please click here.

Ferndale's University High deserves praise, not attacks

November 19, 2008

In this Detroit News editorial, the newspaper recognizes the innovative and successful approach of Ferndale's University High School, which graduated its first class last spring. To read the editorial, please click here.

NEIGHBORHOODS

Community change with the help of data systems

February 2009

Tom Kinglsey, director of the National Neighborhoods Indicator Partnership, recently spoke to a group of 50 people at The Skillman Foundation on how to use information for community change. A senior researcher at the Urban Institute, Kingsley discussed how advanced data systems can be beneficial for organizations, city leaders and community members during rebuilding and local policy making.

To read Kinglsey's presentation, please click here .

To learn more about Kinglsey, please read his bio here .

Examining foundation readiness in community change

Winter 2009

Skillman senior program officer Marie Colombo collaborates with independent consultant Prudence Brown and Della M. Hughes of the Center for Youth and Communities at Brandeis University to examine how a foundation prepares and evolves in real time while working toward community change. To read the article from The Foundation Review, please click here.

Exploring Chicago's New Communities Project

This article examines the New Communities Project, a $52 million, 10-year effort by the MacArthur Foundation and Local Intiatives Support Corporation to improve the lives of residents in some of Chicago's most distressed neighborhoods. To read this article in Miller-McCune, please click here .