Blog

A Turning Point for the Complete Life

Cornerstone Schools honored Civil Rights Icon Andrew J. Young by dedicating its new “Center for the Complete Life” in his name at a ceremony on Friday, October 29. Students, alumni, teachers, partners and community leaders gathered…

Stop….Stop….Stop!

Things overheard in my house last week: “Why do you breathe like that?”

School Uniforms – Promoting Cooperation and Positive Behavior

When you visit one of our schools, I promise you’ll be impressed by how great our students look.

Parent Engagement Leads to Student Success

At Cornerstone, our families are important to us. We love connecting with our parents and caregivers and welcoming their involvement in a variety of ways throughout the educational journey of their child.

Heritage of Valor: Black Women in Space

As we revealed in our previous “Heritage of Valor” lesson, our Cornerstone students share an important heritage with one of their own from Detroit, Major Pat Walker Locke. 

Lead With Love

Valentine’s Day is this week, and when we think of that day, we of course think of love.

A Heritage of Valor

Our Cornerstone students share a very important heritage.  They share a heritage with people that not only look like them, but whose parents look like their parents, and whose grandparents look like their grandparents.

Inside Literacy

What comes to mind when you think about literacy? Do you think about reading?

Serving Others During COVID-19

Monday, January 18, 2021 is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States. It is the only federal holiday set aside as a national day of service. AmeriCorps has been charged by the federal government…

Accountability & Celebration with iReady

iReady is a digital tool with such richness and depth that it has spawned an entire site of ideas devised by educators to maximize its use.

Give the Gift of Reading

The holiday time of year can be filled with the rush of gatherings, time with family, and in most cases a break from the norms of the day.  In all this hustle and bustle, the standard time for teaching can often be lost. 

Responding to a Child with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Educators with a scholar who has ADHD or parents of a child with ADHD face a unique set of challenges.

Mentoring in the Blended Environment

An effective mentor can often be the difference between a student succeeding or failing in an online environment.

Grateful. Thankful. Blessed.

During the month of November, the Cornerstone Community is concentrating on gratitude. It’s been shown that expressing gratitude has a wealth of benefits…the mere act of stating what you’re grateful for can…

Expressing Gratitude: Transforming the Lives of Young People

Autism Awareness in the Classroom

I began working with students identified as having Autism Spectrum Disorder as a Teacher of Speech and Language Impaired 46 years ago. 

Parent Engagement is Essential to Student Success

Parents are considered a child’s first teacher before collaborating with classroom teachers. Given this, as children develop, steadfast parental involvement and engagement is fundamental to a youngster’s lifelong learning and growth.

The Benefits of a Family Schedule

There is no job in the world quite as busy, overwhelming, or rewarding as that of a parent.  As the long lazy days of summer have come to an end, and school has started, the family calendar is getting a work out.

All Students Deserve to be Healthy, Active & Ready to Learn

It’s startling to realize that the United States ranked last out of 21 industrialized nations in child health and safety. It is imperative that students are well-fed and active if they are going to be ready to learn.

Preparing for the New School Year

Summer is ending. For many, this only means one thing.  It’s back to school time! The adjustment from summer break to school schedule can be a daunting task for any parent and child duo.

The Importance of Early Career Exposure

In Detroit and other Michigan cities, employers are struggling with a talent shortfall that limits their growth and that of the overall economy.

The Adventure of Summer Reading

“Summer slide” is not a ride at the local carnival, but a real issue, especially in lower income areas.  Children in low income areas tend to fall back two reading levels or more during summer months, which puts many children who are already below grade level at an even greater disadvantage. 

Why Charter Schools?

Schools help shape us and define our early formative years.  Given that schools play such a vital role in a student’s life, it is important that we select schools with programs that will be the most valuable for our children.

Individualized Learning

Many of us have heard of the term “Individualized Learning”, but what does it really mean? How does a teacher build individual learning structures with 30-36 students in a classroom?

The Importance of Art in Education

The Arts create joy and success in education.  Having taught art in Detroit for over 15 years, the path I choose was right.  I love what I do.  The arts are important to education because they bring a form of truth to learning and enrich curriculum while bringing joy to students.

Regular Attendance is Key to Academic Success

The quote: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit”, by the philosopher, Aristotle is on a poster on the wall next to the door that leads into my office.

Encouraging Reading

Everyone has a different preference for reading. My daughter Ashley, needed to find a series that she loved…

Finding Peace in 2020

It’s nearly Christmas, the time of year when everyone seems to be a bit more generous, a bit more kind and a bit more aware of the plight of those less fortunate. It’s usually a time of love, caring and peace.

Creating Long-lasting Success

Increasing Cornerstone Student Success with the Senior Defense Project. School districts across the country have been working on ways to increase the college retention rates of their students…

Microsoft TEALS

The class is just about to start and students are seated and logging in to their laptops. It is early in the morning on the second week of school and this Microsoft TEALS class is full of young men, and one young woman, eager to learn…

Cornerstone Student Shadows Ford Motor Company CEO

Meet Gevon. He will be a senior at the Cornerstone Health + Technology High School in the fall. This summer, he is working at Lear Corporation, thanks to connections he made as an internship participant at Cornerstone.

Durant Honored at Churchill Fellows Weekend

Students accompany Detroit honorees to Churchill Fellows Weekend for once-in-a-lifetime educational experience.

The Difference between Charter Schools and Traditional Public Schools

Cornerstone Charter Schools EducationParents choosing free public education for their children have more than one option in the city of Detroit. More than half of all K-12 students in Detroit attend charter schools…

Holli Franklin: Inspiring Every Day

Holli Franklin, a parent at Washington-Parks Academy, lost her sixteen year old son a year and a half ago in a tragic car accident.

A Checklist for Choosing A School

Before visiting a school, we recommend you make a list of the schools you wish to see. Be sure to visit all the schools on your list, if you can.

Marquette-bound Cornerstone senior Jamal Cain on mission

It always has been about the mission for Jamal Cain. “My father was in his life a lot before he passed away, and he always told him if basketball was important to him, there was a mission he had to complete…

Cornerstone Schools Featured in Detroit Free Press Story

Check out the news story featured in the Detroit Free Press on Cornerstone Schools.