Student Advocacy Center of Michigan Inc.
Every youth is worthy of quality education
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
We are tackling the school to prison pipeline, harsh discipline and other strategies used to exclude or push students out of school.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Check and Connect
Check & Connect is an intervention program for students who are disconnected from school and learning. The heart of this program is the relationship between the student and a caring, trained individual who will advocate for and challenge each student academically, while partnering with families, schools, and communities to encourage positive communication and problem solving.
Education Advocacy and Support
SAC provides youth-driven, collaborative education advocacy and support, at no cost, for low-income families in Washtenaw, Wayne, Jackson and other counties. Professional and trained volunteer advocates are available to help students in both general and special education get back on a safe and engaging learning path, address barriers to school enrollment, develop behavior plans, prepare for school meetings and disciplinary hearings and much more.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Goal 1: Incorporate anti-racist practices.
Goal 2: Elevate student/family voice through community organizing.
Goal 3: Reflect social justice values in hiring and benefits.
Goal 4: Build deeper connections and impact in local and statewide work.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
- Target limited resources to strategic, priority populations and advocacy case types that promote high school graduation and address unmet community needs.
- Provide academic support for students to promote high school graduation.
- Provide support for parents and guardians to encourage school success.
- Continue to explore and invest in evidence-based practices to help determine new and innovative ways to improve educational success.
- Invest in ongoing staff professional development in education law and policy, youth development and community resources.
- Enhance relationships with school personnel and community partners to enhance effective advocacy.
- Challenge the systemic problem of push out in our nation's schools and advocate for the right of every child to a quality education and to be treated with dignity.
- Educate and involve students, families and partners on policies and best practices.
- Seek and compete for funding resources to serve priority populations and advocacy case types that promote high school graduation and address unmet community needs.
- Increase unrestricted funds to ensure overhead is covered.
- Expand the use of high-quality volunteers to support the organization.
- Document and publicize program effectiveness.
- Seek out strategic partners in priority counties.
- Pursue funding that will support our work in that targeted locales.
- Develop a sustainable, high-quality response to calls from around the state.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
- Passionate, committed, creative staff and interns willing to go the extra mile.
- Education advocacy is a known strength. We are the go-to agency to call for education advocacy and many partners reach out to us for support in this area.
- We are one of the only organizations providing general education advocacy in the state.
- SAC's work with court-involved youth (both delinquent and abuse/neglect) was recognized as cutting edge by the Ford Foundation, which provided five years of funding. The Department of Human Services has been so impressed with SAC’s work with court-involved youth that they chose to decline education planners from the state and use local funds to contract with SAC since 2007. Staff have presented at national and state meetings, providing expertise to the Michigan Governor's Task Force on Permanency Planning for Youth Aging out of Foster Care. Moreover, the SAC model was one of the recommendations sent to the Michigan Legislature for implementation.
- SAC provides needed and meaningful support to parents.
- Have a “do-what-it-takes” attitude to engage and support students and parents.
- We are tackling systemic, important problems with lifelong consequences (for instance, high school dropout).
- Our credit recovery program for foster youth and other at-risk teens has garnered support from Speckherd-Knight and Kiwanis, and been praised by Department of Human Services.
- Ypsilanti Community Services has expressed gratitude for our partnerships, including Check and Connect and a contract to provide home bound education.
- History of meaningful and unique policy contributions that highlight student voice (such as Nowhere to Go).
- Executive Director is an active member in the Washtenaw Alliance for Children and Youth and actively cultivates and values community partnerships. Partnered with Washtenaw Area Council for Children to share accountant.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
SAC 2020-2021 Strategic Action Plan Wins
Goal 1: Incorporate Anti-Racist Practices
Completed and Ongoing Objectives
Cultivate an anti-racist identify within the SAC team (staff and board)
Action Step: Regularly assess board commitment anonymously to the values of diversity, inclusion and equity in our board self-evaluation.
Board survey revised, administered, analyzed and shared. Governance reviewed and acted on identified issues, such as creating a tool to facilitate personal growth with board members.
Action Step: Have at least 1 staff/board conversation about power dynamics (with a focus on dismantling white supremacy).
Board-Staff Townhall done in May.
NEW Center facilitated conversation with the Board in May 2021.
Action Step: Provide professional development opportunities for board members in diversity, inclusion and equity issues.
Done in May 2021. Committees continuing conversations.
Action Step: Dedicate PD resources for staff to educate themselves on nationwide and global practices of anti-racist action, etc. to share with team.
Several staff engaging in ERACCE trainings.
Create community engagement strategies that promote anti-racist practices.
Action Step: Identify at least 3 organizations that serve underrepresented communities and ways the board and/or staff may support them pre- and post-COVID (attending events, presenting to their staff, etc.)
List created by Leadership in fall of 2020. Intern gathered annual event and other details. Fund Development has discussed but what the ask should be to the full board and not wanting to stretch people too far. Also few events due to COVID.
Action Step: Make sure materials and websites are translated to all languages used by the populations the organization serves.
Tina has C&C Welcome Packet Translated. Releases are translated. Jenna is also working on getting the goal sheet translated. Peri secured an interpreter for Telling Tales.
Action Step: Work with website consultant to redesign website in a more accessible way that clearly elevates our values.
Done. Accessibility audit done. Still need to get videos captioned.
Improve external messaging with our support of BIPOC communities
Action Step: Create a staff-board media committee.
Committee has formed, written goals and will meet quarterly.
Action Step: Identify training needs for media committee and staff/board/students, as well as partners to complete the trainings.
Trina created a media training tool for parents/students. Next step is implementing regular storytelling trainings for our families. MEJC will partner with us.
MEJC has helped building relationships with media and connected us with media partners.
Goal 2: Elevate Student/Family Voice Through Community Organizing
Completed and Ongoing Objectives
Secure sustainable funding for statewide organizer, racial justice / parent organizer and youth organizer.
Action Step: Develop job descriptions for each position, develop budget for each position, identify 2-3 funding sources,
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Student Advocacy Center of Michigan Inc.
Board of directorsas of 11/12/2022
Rossi Ray-Taylor
Ray-Taylor & Associates, LLC
Term: 2025 - 2016
Peri Stone-Palmquist
Student Advocacy Center
Craig Hernandez
Brittney Barros
Youth Member
Robyn Cook
Youth Member
Katie Hoener
Community Mental Health
Rossi Ray-Taylor
Ray-Taylor & Associates, LLC
Amy Frontier
Ann Arbor Public Schools
Keisha Blevins
University of Michigan-Dearborn
Francisco Sanchez
Ford
Maria Montoya
Faye Askew-King
David Watkins
Kathyrn Hall
Domonique Weston
Kaitlin Drago
Alicia Davis
Lear
Mike Steinberg
U-M Law School
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 04/29/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.