2nd Annual Golf Outing at TPC Michigan – June 21, 2021! 
Save the date and join us! Sponsorships needed. This has been an unimaginable year for our students, their families and our educators. Let’s support them. Golf remains a safe outdoor activity and what better way to gather with friends while supporting our important work.
Thank you to our early sponsors: Snethkamp Automotive Group, Renaissance MyOn, Gregory Terrell & Company, Process Controls & Instrumentation, LLC, and the Detroit Children’s Fund.
Please visit our website at https://give.classy.org/dpsfgolfouting2021 to learn more and or contact Amy J. DeWys, Director of Development for Sponsorship Opportunities (adewys@dpsfdn.org or 313-910-8956)
Menta
l Health Focus: Are you Okay? We can help. DPSCD Cares
This health and wellness campaign features strategies and activities for students and families such as increased home visits, small group counseling sessions, mental health referrals for families and additional Parent Academy sessions. Whether students need minimal support, like what can be managed through the Expect Respect campaign or social emotional learning programs like SandfordHarmony and Overcoming Obstacles, or they need more intensive support, like small groups or one-to-one counseling, resources are available. The mental health and wellness of staff is equally important. Staff are encouraged to attend Employee Wellness Programs offered through Employee Assistance Program partners.
Prior to schools closing, other resources including Henry Ford Health System and Ascension Michigan, which already operated clinics at seven schools, found ways to also bring support to DPSCD Hubs. Vision to Learn and the Detroit Health Department reworked their screening schedules to continue identifying students in need of glasses and hearing aids. Development Centers, Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network’s Children’s Center, Family Medical Center of Michigan, and Wayne State University’s Center for Health and Community Impact all provided virtual services, including critical mental health support, to students across the city. We thank these wonderful partners for addressing the needs of our children.
Please visit www.detroitk12.org/areyouok to learn more.
Did you catch the Obsidian Theatre Festival last week?
If not, go to “Broadway HD” site for selected features available on their YouTube site until April 29th.
Nicely Theater, in collaboration with GhostLight Productions, held their inaugural Obsidian Theatre Festival last week, co-produced by David Carroll and John Sloan III. Produced by Detroiters and entirely in the city of Detroit, the Festival was rooted in the enduring legacy of storytelling within the Black community, and was created to uplift stories and storytellers while using the power of art to change lives. The complementary production featured virtual performances from emerging Black voices over the course of 3 days to an audience all across the country.
Over 3,800 participants watched the Festival on Facebook, YouTube and Vimeo!
According to David Carroll, “I started Nicely Theatre Group in part to produce shows that educate people and foster thinking and conversation. And in our country and in Detroit in particular, issues of race are at the forefront and that’s where I want to focus. I think there are many talented Black artists in the area who have a lot to say, and they deserve a platform from which to say it.”
Find out more about the Festival at https://www.obsidianfest.org/.
Additionally, ONEHOPE Napa Valley Winery has partnered with the Production to donate 10% of sales to the Detroit Public Schools Foundation through April 15th by using this link – https://www.onehopewine.com/event/cca85ca6-3fca-4d17-85fe-1f6d5cbc363f. So there is still time to support us!
Cycle I Mini-Grants – Applications due May 14, 2021 by 5pm!
The DPS Foundation is accepting proposals for programs that require funding to begin between July 1, 2021 and November 30, 2021. Preference will be given to DPSCD applications. Priority Areas: a) Literacy and Early Childhood Education; b) STEAM (Science, Technology, Arts, Engineering, and Math); c) Career Pathways; d) Beyond the Classroom (includes Basic Needs). Typically, our mini-grant awards range from $500 – $5,000. Please visit our website at www.dpsfdn.org to learn more and/or find application guidelines and materials/forms!
Congratulations to all PSL City Champions!
MLK Boys Basketball beats Pershing!
As the saying goes, “defense wins championships.” That proved true when MLK outlasted Pershing 56-48 to win its first Detroit Public School League City Championship in nine years. Coach George Ward is proud of his team, which has gone undefeated in the PSL this year. The team also honored Kings’ girls basketball coach, William Winfield Jr, who passed away earlier this week after coaching King’s girls basketball team to five state championships across a nearly 40-year career.
The Cody Lady Comets girls Basketball took their first PSL City Champions title!
Detroit Cody Girls Basketball Champions took their very first Detroit PSL City Champions title after a no-contest was declared against Cass Tech. Cody defeated Detroit Denby 56-42 in the semifinals and downed Detroit Southeastern 65-23 in the quarterfinals. Defending PSL champions Detroit Renaissance did not compete in the PSL tournament due to a COVID-19 quarantine. The Cody Lady Comets ended their regular season 6-1.
Detroit’s King Crusaders boys team swam their way to be the City Champions Too!
Congratulations to the King High School Boys Swim team on their City Championship win! Detroit Martin Luther King Jr. beat out two-time defending champion Detroit Cass Technical to earn the 2021 Detroit PSL championship. The King team pulled off the win with only seven (7) members on the swim team, led by their coach Gary Peterson who was named PSL Boys coach of the year.
Frederick Douglas Academy of Young Men-PSL Champions!
The DPS Foundation also sends a big congratulations to the Frederick Douglas Academy of Young men who won the 2021 Regional State Championship! Way to go Hurricanes!
Donor Alumni Shout Out: The Henry-Morris Foundation Fund
The Foundation and the District are very appreciative of our donors who support athletics! The Henry-Morris Foundation Fund is the charitable giving outlet for Karla Henry-Morris and W. Howard Morris, both former DPS athletes and proud DPS graduates contributing to a number of DPS high school athletic programs including MLK since 2011! Their donations continue to create future opportunities for these dedicated athletes, thank you!
“We are very pleased to support DPS Athletics because we think competing in athletics is part of a well rounded educational experience. We want DPS students to have every opportunity to succeed not only in athletics but in every aspect of their lives.”