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by Ingrid Kelley 

POSTED:SEP 21 2015 05:49PM EDT

UPDATED:SEP 21 2015 05:49PM EDT

What do you want to be when you grow up? Everyone is asked that as a child but for some Detroit students hoping to get into law enforcement, they get a unique opportunity with cops.

The new program is about more than just hitting the books. Detroit students are now getting a unique opportunity to start training for a job on the city’s police force before graduation.

Students like Tia Curtis. The University Prep high School sophomore says she has always dreamed of being a police officer.

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Students run denim drive to help homeless

Watch the Live in the D feature here.

Engage Monthly Special: The World of Nonprofits with Special Guests Lisa Dietlin and Margaret Trimer-Hartley

Episode Description

This week on Engage with Andy Busch, we begin a once-a-month special dedicated to the world of non-profits. Nonprofits are the 3rd largest employer in the United States and expanded even during the Great Recession. Helping us explore and understand the wonderful nonprofit sector, we are joined by co-host Lisa Dietlin of Dietlin & Associates to share her expertise as a philanthropic agent. In segment 2, we have Teresa Bartels and Karen Kay of The Gateway for Cancer Research to share their experience with cancer research innovation and funding. For segment 3, we have Sarah Berghorst of OneGoal – Chicago, a nonprofit aimed to support underperforming high school students reach their full potential and graduate from college. And lastly, we end the show with Margaret Trimer-Hartley of University Prep Schools in Detroit to talk about her work in the city’s longest-standing tuition-free public charter school system.

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Katherine Cockrel
Ignition Media Group
Katherine@ignitionmediagroup.com // 313.550.4483

University Prep Schools Celebrates International “Hour of Code” with Students

Detroit charter school system recognizes Computer Science Education Week with coding activities

 Detroit, Mich. (December 10, 2014) – University Prep Schools, one of Detroit’s longest-standing charter school systems, will host “Hour of Code” events within both of its districts at University Prep Academy Middle School (UPA M.S.) on Thursday, Dec. 11 and University Prep Science& Math High School (UPSM H.S.) throughout the week of Dec. 8 through Dec. 12. A global endeavor, there are currently 65,013 of these events scheduled to take place this year in an effort to bring awareness to the importance of computer science.

Although both districts will be engaged in the movement, each school will offer its own supplemental features. UPA M.S. has partnered with Kidpreneur – a Michigan-based organization that provides kids classes on how to code, program robots and design websites – to help its 250 seventh and eighth graders perform hands-on activities and write code in place of math for the day. Additionally, Marlin Page, founder of Sister Code, a global social enterprise, will host a discussion for UPA parents on the importance of coding and how to better engage students in science, technology, engineering, arts and math fields. In its second year of participation, UPSM H.S. will host the hour for all of its 395 students within each of their computer classes throughout the week. The high school is writing a computer game based on the Disney film, “Frozen,” which is the same program that President Obama created on Monday, Dec. 8, in celebration of the movement. Both districts will also be using drag-and-drop programming to make their own Flappy Bird game, and then customize it to look different (Flappy Shark, Flappy Santa, etc.).

“Despite the fact that this is University Prep Academy’s first year participating in the campaign, our students are already eager to jump in and learn the basics of coding,” said Aisha Scott, principal of University Prep Academy Middle School. “Computer science helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic and creativity, and it’s an invaluable skill for these kids to have as they move toward successful careers in any field.” Continue reading →

Lisa M. Dietlin

CEO, Lisa M. Dietlin and Associates, Inc., philanthropic advisor, author

In my line of work, helping people do philanthropy better, I am invited and asked to attend numerous fundraising events for all types of nonprofit organizations. On any given night of the week, or weekend for that matter, I could attend at least one if not two or three events. My guess is many readers can relate. Most of us know, we go to a fundraiser for a nonprofit organization attending the reception prior to the chicken dinner (it is almost always chicken) to listen to a few speeches and see a few awards given to some deserving individuals. This has been my usual experience until a night about a month ago in early October. Continue reading →

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MEDIA CONTACT
Katherine Cockrel
Ignition Media Group
Katherine@ignitionmediagroup.com // 313.550.4483

Detroit charter school celebrates science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics education

Detroit, Mich. (Oct. 8, 2014) – Celebrating its commitment to science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) education, University Prep Schools, one of Detroit’s longest-standing charter school systems, co-hosted a fundraiser with local philanthropist, Cynthia Ford and media celebrity, Nolan Finley, to benefit its schools’ STEAM programs. The event, titled “Full STEAM Ahead,” was held on Tuesday, Oct. 7, at the University Prep Science & Math High School in Detroit.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled with the outcome of our first fall fundraiser,” said Margaret Trimer-Hartley, Chief External Relations Officer of University Prep Schools, which oversees operations at UPSM and its sister district, University Prep Academy. “The tremendous amount of support we’ve received from the Detroit community is invaluable to our schools and most importantly, our students.”

Among other memorable moments throughout the evening, a popular highlight was the “Movers, Shakers and Bakers” auction, during which, local celebrities such as Huel Perkins, Rochelle Riley and Finley, among others, live auctioned baked goods that they had personally made. Of the $26,000 in donations that the fundraiser ultimately generated for STEAM education, approximately $7,000 was acquired through the sale of auctioned cakes and pies. Other high-ticket items that garnered large donations included a Genze electric scooter and Mackinac Bridge/Lear Jet experience.

“There are many worthy causes that deserve the community’s time and attention, but investing in the proper education of our youth is among the most important,” said Finley, conservative editorial page editor and columnist at the Detroit News. “It was truly rewarding to be a part of this event and contribute to the advancement of STEAM programs for Detroit students.”

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National Sailing Hall of Fame
Inducts Eight to the Class of 2014

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CONTACT: Jan Harley, Media Pro, 401-849-0220

Eight of the sport of sailing’s significant contributors, as members of the 2014 Class of Inductees, were inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame at ceremonies that were the culmination of a weekend of activities co-hosted by Bayview and Detroit Yacht Clubs: Yachtsman, historian and senior statesman of the sport Henry H. “Harry” Anderson, Jr. (Newport, R.I./Mystic, Conn.); mathematician and navigator Nathaniel Bowditch (Salem, Mass.); boat builder and U.S. Olympic Sailing Team boatwright Carl Eichenlaub (San Diego, Calif.); brothers Olaf Harken and Peter Harken (both Pewaukee, Wisc.), respectively, boat builder and sailing hardware designer; naval architect and prolific writer L. Francis Herreshoff (Bristol, R.I./Marblehead, Mass.); 1960 5.5 Metre Olympic Gold Medalist and boat builder George O’Day (Brookline, Mass./Dover, Mass.); and Grand Prix yachtsman John B. “Jim” Kilroy (Marina del Rey, Calif.), the recipient of the NSHOF’s first Lifetime Achievement Award.
Detroit YC, with a history dating to 1868, located in Belle Isle State Park, was the setting for the formal Induction of the class of 2014, which was full of laughs, as well as tears.

As Gary Jobson, NSHOF President, pointed out, the common thread uniting the eight Inductees – including a mathematician, a historian, an engineer, a naval architect and an Olympic Gold Medalist – was their service to the sport. “They made sailing better for so many people,” said Jobson. Continue reading →

Candice Williams, The Detroit News 4:59 p.m. EDT September 24, 2014

Attorney General Bill Schuette announced Wednesday a new anonymous hotline students can use to report potential harm or criminal activities in school.

OK2SAY, a student safety initiative, is available to Michigan students starting this school year.

“Our students learn best in a safe environment, but dangerous behaviors threaten to disrupt our schools, and in the worst cases, take the lives of our students,” Schuette said in a statement. “OK2SAY will create an early warning system in our schools and communities to stop tragedies before they start. We cannot sit and wait for the next Columbine or Sandy Hook. We must be proactive to ensure our kids are safe, both inside and outside the classroom. If even one child is saved, this program will be a success.”

Schuette made the announcement Wednesday at University Prep High School in Detroit. He was joined by Detroit Chief of Police James Craig, University Prep Schools CEO Mark Ornstein, Michigan State Police Lt. Mike Shaw, Sandra York, executive director of Michigan PTA, and recording artist Keenan West, an anti-bullying advocate who wrote the OK2SAY theme song.

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