Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Dioni Duran
Essence of a crisis
It is not hyperbole to call the status of black and brown boys in this country
a crisis. Statistic after staggering statistic reflects the dire plight facing boys
of color. Im glad theyre calling it a crisis, says Keith Bennett, director
of the Detroit job and mentoring program Flip the Script.
Because thats exactly what it is.
It is a crisis in virtually every indicator of child well-being: education,
criminal justice, health care and a host of others. The summary and charts
on Pages 18 to 24 reflect the start of a statistic-based analysis of how the
children of Detroit are being affected. This effort, the State of the Children
Report, will be an ongoing inquiry into where we stand on issues
facing our children and will reflect the progress being made.
The boys whose images appear on our cover, and who are detailed on the
inside back cover of this publication, are all from Detroit. But the crisis of
black and brown boys is by no means unique to this geographic area.
This crisis affects everyone in metropolitan Detroit,
says longtime Skillman Foundation Trustee and former
Board Chair Lillian Bauder. As President Obama said
in his A More Perfect Union speech, the children of
America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we
will not let them fall behind.
Lillian Bauder
We have been talking about it for a long time, making careful plans
on how to recognize it, and yet marking The Skillman Foundations
50th anniversary is something that has not quite sunk in yet.
As the Foundation looks back at a
half-century of work on behalf of children,
we take undeniable pride in what we have
accomplished. That work is reflected to a
degree in the programs for children we
have established through the years. But
to a greater degree, it is reflected in the
thousands of Detroit kids we have touched.
website and A Rose for Detroit blog named after our founder. New
Skillman Foundation logos feature a
rose in the design for the first time
throughout this Annual Report.
end point. Our job is to focus day in and day out on the beneficiaries
of Rose Skillmans vision.
And so we move on. Proud in our history, but never content in our
accomplishments. As we pass the date of our 50th anniversary in
December 2010, we will pause to look back and to reflect on the
meaning of the great mission that our founder Rose Skillman has
placed before each of us involved in the Foundation.
We celebrate ever so briefly. There are many challenges ahead.
There is much work to be done.
Schooled in hard knocks, young men of color reclaim lives, offer lessons for others to follow
By Eddie B. Allen Jr.
Lessons in life
In a small classroom at Osborn High
School, Frank McGhee speaks about
global economics.
Its like this, he tells a group of
attentive teenagers. When I was
young and I thought about places
From left, Troy Taylor, Antario
Montgomery and Xzavier Mazyck
are regulars at Youth Initiatives
Project leadership sessions at
Osborn High School.
But the gun and violence aspects of the crisis facing young men
of color are more commonplace than many realize, says Bennett.
Despite the headlines, its not only gay kids who get bullied.
More and more males are having contact with the criminal justice
system, and so were trying to reduce that pattern of kids entering
the adult system, but also help them become positive members of
our community, Small says. We call that restorative justice.
You can actually tell a young man or a young woman whos being
bullied in school, because they go through a behavioral change at
some time, the Flip the Script leader says. Theyre typically happy
Along with course work that incorporates life skill lessons, Don Bosco
Hall brings in speakers to help drive home the Academys message.
Calling All Men: Truth Sessions is a series that connects youths with
members of the community to address matters of mutual concern.
Lunch and Learn invites mainly ninth and 10th grade boys,
including some from nearby Cody High School, to Don Bosco.
We ask that everybody be truthful and lets talk about issues, says
Small. We talk about fatherhood. Why is it that we dont get along?
Why do we sometimes interact with each other in a violent way?
What is the importance of respecting females?
For the full report, Yes We Can: The 2010 Schott 50 State Report
on Black Males in Public Education, including national summary
and detailed state data, go to www.blackboysreport.org.
How many of you learned something new in the last few moments?
McGhee asks.
Disappearing acts
Long removed from early adolescence when he didnt always feel
confident to do the right thing, today Ramons voice conveys a
wisdom senior to his 17 years.
When you hate yourself, its easy to take out your hatred on another
young man who looks just like you. The only difference is the color of
the rag on his head, says Reyes.
Detroit River.
Weve had people come to our organization to learn English and get
arrested on their way home, she says. (Agents) sometimes wait
outside of our building.
The problem is that when the parents get disappeared, kids are left
behind. They get put into the (child welfare) system, says Reyes.
Dont give up on them. When they deserve love the least is when they
need it the most, he says. Secondly, we need to train the trainers.
There should be parenthood classes and home economics programs
like what used to be required in schoolto better prepare young
men to raise their children.
Dont give
up on them
Although their talking
points differ slightly, both
Flip the Scripts Bennett
and Don Bosco Halls Small
say the future for black and
brown boys must hold
three components.
About 75 percent of
VIPs pairings with
mentors last a year or longer. Of particular interest to the program
are youth who have an imprisoned parent. Just as in the black
community, another issue burdening Latinos is disproportionate
incarceration, says DHDCs Reyes.
To me, its a huge civil rights issue. We cannot have our families
heal when so many of our men are locked away, she says.
Progress, nonetheless, requires positive action by the youths
themselves, leaders say.
Marquis Golly began hanging out with the wrong crowd before
he turned 10. Through intervention by his father, the community
service and development organization Vanguard and the University
of Michigans Leadership Academy, Golly, now 18, is a freshman at
Eastern Michigan University.
11
12
14
Ralph Alswang
15
Is this work hard? Its extremely hard. But good things dont come
easy. Is there a great way to go? Of course there is, but we are committed to staying the course.
Thats atrocious and downright criminal, he says. While its not our
intent to be indicting, the statistics speak for themselves. The village/
16
To learn more about the film and see how you can get involved, visit
www.beyondthebricksproject.com.
By Tammie Jones, a Skillman Foundation public policy fellow
A key takeaway from the film is that successful futures are possible
for all children. As Dr. Pedro Noguera said in the film, When we
create the right conditions, we can produce healthy young men who
are bright, intelligent, capable, confident and defy all the stereotypes
out there.
The films creators hope that by telling the boys stories through
media, they can spark a national community engagement project.
The screening of the film on this fall Saturday was just the beginning
of the days events.
Following the film, Robert Thornton, Skillman Foundation program
officer, moderated a panel of community leaders who spoke
specifically to the needs of Detroits African-American young men.
Thornton opened the panel by noting that the graduation rate of
African-American males in Michigan is 47 percent, as compared to
76 percent of white males. In the city of Detroit, the graduation rate
of black boys drops to 27 percent, according to the The 2010 Schott
50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males.
Charles Small, Don Bosco Hall president/CEO, said
there is a need to provide opportunities for young
people to see everyday role models that represent
opportunity. He argued that the presence of such a
positive force would allow boys to see that success
is not just a far-off dream.
There is a need to
provide opportunities
for young people to see
everyday role models that
represent opportunity.
Charles Small,
Don Bosco Hall
president/CEO
17
adjusted for inflation, and over half of Detroit children live in families
with incomes below the poverty line. Compounding the problem is
the high rate of children of color being born to unwed mothers (over
70 percent) and an increasing share of children living in singleparent families, primarily female-headed. This results in fewer men
involved in the lives of black and brown boys and a general lack of
male role models. Black and brown boys fall furthest behind in the
area of education.
desired outcomes we all want are going to take a lot of time. However,
encouragement is everywhere around usin the people, organizations and programming that are working to make a difference. A
strong emphasis on reaching kids under four (and their parents) has,
based on all the research, the best chance of making a real difference.
The emphasis on early childhood and preschool reading, childcare
experiences, and so on, is encouraging. Our efforts have to start
before birth by working with young mothers. We can make a big
impact at the early development stages. The Excellent Schools
Initiative has brought a new emphasis on education in Detroit, and
thats really important. I feel that we are moving in the right direction
and now have to develop the systems of measurement that will
guarantee success. The Promise Neighborhoods Initiative in the
Osborn and Southwest Detroit Neighborhoods emphasized continuous outcome measurement tied to program delivery. Real-time,
detailed data collection and sharing is key. We have the people and
programs to turn things around. All we need is the coordination
and collaboration across partners and the willingness to openly
share data.
KM. I live with these data, so to be honest, no. One set of data that
WH. What is the State of the Children Report, and how did it come
about?
KM. The report represents an inaugural effort at developing a
I dont think has been explored to date comes from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They survey high school kids
18
(Grades 912) across the country every two years. The results from
Detroit show that increasing numbers of black and brown boys are
involved in fights at school, and a significant share report that they
view school as an unsafe placeoften leading to their staying away.
I know that The Skillman Foundation and others have discussed the
issue of violence in schools. These
results demonstrate a critical need
to do more now.
children in general?
findings or trends?
KM. I believe that all the excep-
The following charts on pages 2024 show a sample of the data collected
by D3.
19
2009
350,000
245,611
250,000
295,709
300,000
200,000
124,252
145,666
100,000
121,359
150,043
150,000
50,000
0
Total
Male
Female
The number of children under 18 years declined by 17%. There are an estimated 245,611 018 year olds
in 2009, with slightly more females (51%) than males (49%).
2009
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
5%
9%
White
85%
78%
6%
African American
10%
Hispanic/Latino
4%
3%
Other Race
Although still comprising three-quarters of the under-18 population, the number of African-American youth
declined while the Hispanic/Latino and white youth populations increased.
20
2009
1%
Nonfamily households
1%
56%
58%
9%
10%
34%
Married-couple family
31%
0%
15%
30%
45%
65%
Nearly 60% of children live in female-headed households and an additional 10% live in maleheaded households. The percentage living in married coupled households continues to decline.
50.8%
44.9%
40%
30%
34.5%
20%
10%
0%
2000
2005
2009
The economic downturn, that began for Michigan in 2001, has resulted in an increasing number of Detroit
children living in poor households. [In 2009, the poverty threshold for a family of 4 was $21,954]
21
2009
24.8%
20.4%
26.6%
Physical Fight
30.9%
9.7%
20.8%
9.5%
Carried A Weapon
9.2%
0%
10%
20%
30%
The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention conducts a bi-annual Youth Behavioral Risk Factor survey of
high school students in districts across the country. DPS students report that instances of being in a physical fight
on school property and not going to school due to issues of safety increased significantly between 2003 and 2009.
-40%
80%
60%
-36%
40%
20%
-12%
12%
0%
Detroit School
Students
HS Dropout/
Transfer
Do Not Attend
College
Do Not
Complete College
College
Graduates
Utilizing a variety of data sources, the Parthenon Group produced a model of outcomes for a typical
Detroit Public Schools class of 9th graders that estimates a college completion rate of 12 percent, as
compared to the national average of 29 percent.
22
2009
100,000
71,036
87,288
80,000
95,469
111,328
120,000
60,000
8,342
6,243
20,000
6,349
5,850
40,000
0
Total
African American
Hispanic/Latino
White
The decrease in Detroits 018 population occurred primarily within the African-American community, as
Latinos and whites (many of whom are of Middle Eastern ethnicity) increased their numbers.
Hispanic/Latino
White
Other
19,706
27,558
23,772
25,000
24,725
30,000
20,000
15,000
379
1,244
667
3,543
530
652
2,985
3,555
2,697
2,133
3,946
5,000
3,267
10,000
0
Under 5 years
5 to 9 years
10 to 14 years
15 to 17 years
An analysis of male youth by age demonstrates the growing diversity in the younger age groups as Hispanics,
whites and other races increase in number with decreasing age.
23
At or above Basic
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Reading
4th
Reading
8th
Math
4th
Math
8th
More than 7 of 10 4th-grade boys in Detroit are failing to pass either the math or reading MEAP test. While
reading outcomes improve slightly in 8th grade, math outcomes get worse.
Michigan
National
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
African-American
Males 2008
African-American
Males 2006
The graduation rate for African-American males in Detroit Public Schools increased between 2006 and 2008,
but remained well below state and national averages.
24
25
News briefs
including business, organized labor, government, education, media, civic groups, health
services and community organizations.
LEADERSHIP DETROIT
NAMES SKILLMAN STAFF
TO COMMUNITY PROGRAM
Ed Egnatios, senior program officer for neighborhoods, and Sharnita Johnson, senior program
officer for change making, were selected to
participate in Leadership Detroit Class XXXI
and XXXII respectively. Leadership Detroit is
a year-long community leadership program to
enhance leadership skills and gain insight and
knowledge of regional issues among senior
level executives in southeast Michigan.
Egnatios, Johnson, and four neighborhood leaders
associated with the Foundations Good Neighborhoods strategy, were selected to participate in the
program this and last year. Neighborhood leaders
and executives include: Nicole Aikens, City Mission;
Rev. Jerome Warfield, Brightmoor Alliance;
Kenyetta Campbell, Cody Rouge Community
Action Alliance; and Scott Alan Davis, Vanguard
CDC. Overall, Leadership Detroit participants
represent a cross-section of the community,
Ed Egnatios
FOUNDATION WINS
COMMUNICATIONS AWARDS
THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR
Sharnita Johnson
Tonya Allen
26
Kristen McDonald,
Skillman Foundation
senior program officer
for education, was
selected as a member of
PNC Banks Growing Up
Great national advisory
program to improve
early childhood programs
Kristen McDonald
across the country. Ed
Egnatios, senior program
officer for neighborhoods, was elected to the Neighborhood
Funders Group, a national group of foundations and donors
interested in advancing neighborhood revitalization and community engagement strategies.
27
2009 2008
42,907
410,983
3,345
457,235
39,410
359,416
35,677
434,503
2009
2008
Interest
Dividends, other
Investment management fees
Total income
12,117
967
(978)
12,106
11,025
1,557
(1,211)
11,371
EXPENSES
Grants paid
Grant-related expenses
Administrative expenses
Federal excise and other taxes
Total expenses
Grants and expenses in excess of income
Realized gain on securities
Change in unrealized market appreciation
Increase in unrestricted net assets
Unrestricted net assets, beginning of year
Unrestricted net assets, end of year
21,123
372
4,720
10
26,225
22,585
466
5,066
(1,755)
26,362
(14,119)
(8,795)
24,566
1,651
421,564
423,215
26,362
(5,642)
(128,041)
(148,674)
570,238
421,564
30
Grants summary
Search our grants database for detailed information on what we fund
www.skillman.org/browse-grants/
2009 Grants
Number of grants approved
Grants awarded
Small grants*
650
$19,062,420
114
$383,311
29
Total: $3,235,000
How to apply
What we fund
http://skillman.org/grants/how-to-apply-for-a-grant/
Our Mission
A voice for Detroit children since 1960, The Skillman Foundation is committed to providing resources to improve
the lives of children in metropolitan Detroit by improving their homes, schools and neighborhoods.
30
History
A Rose for Detroit for
half a century and beyond
Rose and
Robert
Skillman
After a long career at 3M, Robert retired and moved with Rose to
31
Skillman staff
Senior Management Team
Carol Goss, President & Chief Executive Officer
Tonya Allen, Vice President, Program
Alan H. Harris, Vice President & Chief Investment Officer
William Hanson, Director of Communications & Technology
Danielle Olekszyk, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer
Office of the President
Arnett Parham, Executive Assistant to the President
Program
Alex Allen, Program Officer
Marie Colombo, Senior Program Officer, Knowledge Management
Edward Egnatios, Senior Program Officer, Good Neighborhoods
Sara Plachta-Elliot, Evaluation Fellow
Harry Gaggos, Public Policy Fellow
Christina Hampton, Administrative Assistant
Sharnita C. Johnson, Senior Program Officer, Change Making
Tammie Jones, Public Policy Fellow
Rhonda Jordan, Program Associate
Henry McClendon, Program Officer, Education
Kristen McDonald, Senior Program Officer, Education
Suzanne Moran, Grants Manager
Tamalon Overton, Program Associate
Lan Pham, Program Associate
Simonne Searles, Administrative Assistant
Robert Thornton, Program Officer
Communications & Technology
Shirley Ingraham, Technology & Operations Manager
Dorrian L. McGhee, Communications Manager
Holly Elsner, Administrative Assistant
Investments
Steve Catallo, Investment Officer
32
The young men pictured on the cover of this publication, and in full profile below, are some of Detroits tough boys.
They are tough in the sense that they have all seen difficulties in their livestough economic times, tough home
situations or tough patches in their schooling. But with the help of some caring adults and some of the programs
funded by The Skillman Foundation, and others, they have put themselves on productive and promising paths.
Will they all make it? No one knows. They all still face the numerous hurdles outlined in this report. But give them
credit. So far, they have cleared those hurdles, and are moving forward with life. Tough boys, indeed.
Ramon Mendez
Antario Montgomery
Monta Hall
Xzavier Mazyck
Edgar Rios
Nathanel Adams
Lamont Williams
Troy Taylor
Gerardo Montalvo
OPPORTUNITIES
@skillmanfound
skillmanfoundation