Thirty-five years ago, newly installed Roman Catholic Archbishop of Detroit Adam J. Maida addressed 400 luncheon attendees at the Economic Club of Detroit, including Mayor Coleman A. Young. His speech, “Partners in Building a New City,” received a standing ovation.
During his presentation, Maida challenged business leaders to “help create a private nonsectarian school in the inner city that would be a joint venture by the business, civic, and religious communities. Such a school would not be a threat to the public school system, but an alternative model.”
In what became a lasting comradery, Detroit-area business leaders and companies helped launch Cornerstone Schools in the city and continues to support the educational mission be it through philanthropy, the mentoring of students, internships, and, in some cases, providing educational experiences on campus or at company facilities.
Yet in recent years, Cornerstone Schools — like many K-12 educational institutions — have struggled with dynamic family trends including a rise in one-parent households; absenteeism, partly caused by families that move often due to the loss of a job or other challenging economic conditions; and low morale among students who trail their classmates.
“A child may be in the third grade but they don’t come back for the fourth grade, or we take students from other schools who have poor reading skills,” Clark Durant, president of the New Common School Foundation, and co-founder, current chair, and now retired CEO of Cornerstone’s charter management company, says. “If a student falls behind for whatever reason, it affects the student and his family.
“To turn that around, we’ve brought in new reading programs supported by our business community and others. What we hope to find and create is that the parents and their children are more engaged, and it leads to even more positive results and a better overall culture — but it wasn’t easy, due to social circumstance beyond our purview.”
At the time of Maida’s address, Durant, a 41-year-old attorney, was campaigning for statewide office and wasn’t in attendance. However, when The Detroit News’ editorial page editor Tom Bray told him about Maida’s speech, Durant drove to the archdiocese, obtained a copy, and read it right there in the lobby.
“When I read the paragraph about his vision for a new kind of school, my heart leapt and I knew I was born to help him create it,” Durant says. “I started my law practice representing people in Detroit who couldn’t afford a lawyer. I knew the other side of life for kids in the city.”
In February of 1991, Maida convened a meeting of 85 people who had responded to the call to start a school. Ultimately, the archbishop selected 13 people, including Durant, to meet every two weeks.
Two months later, Archbishop Maida (he was elevated to Cardinal in 1994) asked Durant to head the institution, now named Cornerstone Schools. Durant had previously served as a vice president at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, and had been nominated by President Ronald Reagan, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, to serve on the Legal Services Corp. board, a nonprofit that provides civic legal aid to the poor. Durant served as chairman for four years.
Within a few months, Durant and a friend, Mike Timmis, raised $1.2 million in scholarship pledges from four families to start the school.
Later, Durant secured $1.6 million in scholarship pledges for the new school from companies, foundations, and individuals to offset the cost of private-school tuition.
By September 1991, in 10 months’ time from Maida’s original address, Cornerstone opened two “Christ-centered” schools in Detroit and enrolled 167 students. (Three years later, in 1994, Durant was elected to the Michigan State Board of Education and served as president of the board before stepping down after five years to focus more on Cornerstone Schools.)
Today, the schools continue to grow, thanks to the continuing philanthropy of businesses and multiple donors, large and small. However, in 2008, during the global economic crisis, Durant was forced to change direction.
“During the economic tsunami, Rick Wagoner (chairman and CEO of General Motors) told me that ‘GM can’t support you in the same way anymore, and neither can the suppliers. Cash is tight.’ ” Durant recalls. “I then asked Bill Pulte (founder of Pulte Homes) to chair a strategic planning group with Tony Earley, Walt Czarnecki, David Baker Lewis, and others. That plan recommended public-funded charter schools.”
Today, the six Cornerstone charter schools, all named after an American founding father and a civil rights leader, are tuition-free, and have a total typical enrollment of 3,000 students chosen on a “first-come, first-served lottery system.” Ninety percent of the students come from Detroit families living at or below the poverty line.
The K-5 school is Adams-Young Elementary; the K-8 schools are Madison-Carver Academy, Jefferson-Douglass Academy, and Washington-Parks Academy; the school for grades 6-8 is Adams-Young Middle School; and the high school is Lincoln-King.
According to Durant, although the charter schools aren’t religious, their mission is largely influenced by the teachings of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his call to live the three dimensions of “The Complete Life.”
“Such a life is of Length (to live for a purpose), of Breadth (to be a person for others), and of Height (to know God),” Durant says.
He proudly recites the schools’ overall mission quickly: “We seek to prepare ourselves and our students, faculty, and families to live The Complete Life, a life of excellence and virtue in the unfolding of the American Promise.”
Over the years, Durant has adeptly worked closely with numerous business executives and companies to secure philanthropic and programming support for Cornerstone. For example, Livonia-based Roush Industries CEO Evan Lyall and his wife, Laurie, have been involved with Cornerstone for nearly 20 years.
“We were first impressed with the good work and positive impact that Cornerstone Schools were having on people’s lives, and then we got more involved with our personal philanthropy,” says Lyall, whose company bio states, in part, “Evan and his wife are active supporters of the Cornerstone Schools. Laurie has also mentored students and met with teachers.”
The company, in turn, continues to donate funding and has provided internship opportunities to Cornerstone students.
In 2014, Durant reached out to Lear Corp. in Southfield for philanthropic support, and he also asked if a top executive would sit on its board.
“For more than a decade we’ve been proud supporters of Cornerstone Schools and their mission to inspire and educate Detroit’s next generation of leaders,” says Ray Scott, CEO of Lear. “Through their involvement in literacy initiatives, STEM programs, mentoring, and internships, our employees are deeply engaged in providing opportunities for Cornerstone students to learn, grow, and succeed.”
Earlier this year, Madison-Carver Academy Principal Markisha Stovall partnered with Lear to conduct a “Shark Tank” like competition for third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders. Following a presentation by Lear seating engineer Brianna Williams about design and the variety of careers at the company, over the next two weeks the students designed their own seats before presenting their renderings to a team of seven volunteer Lear judges.
“We have several initiatives we expect to roll out in the next year, like ‘Tech Talks,’ designed to give students information on technology, science, and engineering so they have knowledge of different STEM careers,” says Williams, Lear’s liaison to Cornerstone.
Jason Cardew, senior vice president and CFO at Lear, has sat on the Cornerstone board since 2014.
“The broader STEM initiatives will hopefully help build the pipeline for Detroit-area companies because there aren’t enough students going into STEM programs and careers,” Williams says.
“I think these types of programs help make the math and science classes more real and makes learning more exciting. It’s been incredibly rewarding working with Cornerstone for me and hundreds of Lear employees who have been involved over the years.”
Beginning this year, at the forefront of priorities for the Cornerstone Schools is the need to increase reading proficiency, particularly in the lower grades.
The results of Michigan’s latest reading scores showed that just 38 percent of third-graders and 42.4 percent of fourth-graders scored proficient in the state’s English language arts tests, down from the previous year. Scores are typically much lower in inner-city schools.
According to Durant, reading proficiency scores for grades 3-7 at Cornerstone fall between approximately 12 percent and 15 percent. Those scores aren’t uncommon for most inner-city schools across the country, yet Durant says they’re still unacceptable.
Research has long concluded that students who aren’t reading proficiently by third grade are significantly disadvantaged, and are at a higher risk of dropping out of school. Illiteracy also can trap individuals in a cycle of poverty.
This year, Cornerstone adopted an ambitious new reading program, in partnership with the Baltimore-based Success for All Foundation, after raising $1.6 million in funding.
“Our team goal is that within three years, Cornerstone students will become the best readers in Detroit and this will lay the foundation for lifelong habits of learning,” Durant says.
In short, the plan calls for every student to be tested to see what reading level they’re at, and then for 90 minutes every day (and longer, if a tutor is needed) they will read alongside their peers who are at the same reading level regardless of grade. From there, students will be assessed regularly and can move up as they progress.
In addition, parents are asked to have their children read to them at home, and if that isn’t possible, the student is to read to any adult at school — whether it’s a teacher or a custodian.
“It’s the most comprehensive, systematic, and rigorous program that I’ve ever seen, and it encompasses the entire school culture,” says Joshua Speyers, one of Cornerstone’s Success for All facilitators.
At a private dinner held in September at the historic Country Club of Detroit in Grosse Pointe Farms, a capacity of 86 invited guests, primarily prominent Cornerstone supporters, heard a 30-minute discussion about the new reading initiative from a panel that included the school principals and Superintendent Taiwo Da-Silva.
The discussion was moderated by Fred Ridley, a partner at Foley & Lardner and chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters tournament, and sports broadcaster Mike Tirico. Both men were named the honorary co-chairs of Cornerstone’s 21st Annual Turning Point Invitational, a golf fundraiser for the schools.
During the panel discussion, Lincoln-King High School Principal Andy Anuzis reiterated the importance of Cornerstone’s new reading initiative.
“As a high school principal, it’s not unusual for me to have a student show up from a Detroit or Cornerstone School who is at the fourth- or fifth-grade reading level,” Anuzis says. “We now have Lawrence Technological University (in Southfield) that wants to provide the opportunity to earn associates degrees in cybersecurity and computer sciences at the school, and companies like Lear and Roush that have given our students so many amazing opportunities.
“But for our kids, they must read to grasp those opportunities. The reading program isn’t just for college-bound kids or (those who want to get into the) skilled trades. This is going to help our families and have a huge impact on our city.”
Roush CEO Lyall and his wife, Laurie, attended the dinner and came away impressed.
“The Q&A session was inspiring and clearly demonstrated how committed the school principals and faculty are in seeing that the literacy initiative is successful,” Lyall says. “We’re supporting it and hope it will grow and catch fire. Cornerstone has a good track record of trying to improve and help students do better.”
Adds Lear’s Cardew, who also was in attendance: “It’s such an important initiative, we would be happy to steer future financial support both from the company and personally.”
Tirico, an Ann Arbor resident for 25 years, closed out the discussion on a positive note.
“We’ve brought people here from all over the country working (for NFL games held at Ford Field) and they say so many nice things about Detroit,” Tirico said. “What you’re doing is building on this foundation. It’s not brick and mortar, and another Dan Gilbert-financed project, (although) those are all great and important.
“What’s important is that people are being raised in Detroit and taught, and they will spread the word by what they do — whether they go to the trades or college. You are truly touching hundreds of lives every day and making a difference.”
A week before Principal Anuzis participated in the roundtable, he and Durant provided a tour and overview of Lincoln-King High. In most cases, when groups like donors arrive, they are greeted by a small group of students wearing uniforms.
Anuzis explained the school’s educational philosophy.
“At the high school, I believe students need to learn experientially to be able to try different things, perhaps build a robot, take a culinary class, see how culinary businesses are built, or work on construction projects at school,” he said.
“That’s why we have clubs and encourage students to take different electives, so they can taste a bit of everything and see what they like. We have students going to college, trade schools, the military, and law enforcement, and we don’t deem any of those paths to be better than the other.”
Cornerstone’s high school doesn’t have a highly structured STEM program, but instead draws in the business community to share what’s in the real world, Anuzis explains.
“We went to some businesses and said that we want to launch a strong career tech program and it was a real eye-opener for us because they said, ‘Don’t overtrain them in high school, we’ll do that; we’re looking for students who know how to work on a team, communicate, and have good soft skills.’
“It’s very nice to have a nice, shiny lab with lots of equipment, and that’s helpful, but the more important thing is to give students exposure and experiences so they develop a general interest in the area.”
Tasja Bovee, who has been a culinary health and science instructor at Lincoln-King High School since 2022, a year after the curriculum was created, says the program “prepares our youth for higher education, workforce readiness, or entrepreneurship, and in that process we teach them how to make nutritious and healthy meals, how to be better leaders, and to improve their own community by their own efforts.”
Bovee attended Cornerstone Schools in the seventh and eighth grades, and later received a degree in culinary arts and hospitality management from Henry Ford College in Dearborn. She also operated her own cake decorating business and previously worked in all departments at several hotels in the area.
Bovee says Lincoln-King opened a student-led cafe this school year with the goal that a full commercial kitchen will be built so that, in two or three years, students will provide freshly made lunches that will feed Cornerstone Schools’ 3,000 students. It will replace eating prepackaged meals.
“Being a part of this program has really shown me that our students are able and capable to be the best versions of themselves, because I came from the same situations as our students,” Bovee says. “So I can say to them, ‘I was in your shoes once, and if I can do it you can do it.’ ”
This fall, in an effort to broaden student learning, the high school developed a special partnership with Lawrence Tech University.
“My husband and I went to high school with Andy Anuzis, and we began talking to Cornerstone off and on,” says Lisa Kujawa, vice president of enrollment management at the university.
“We invited Clark Durant to have lunch with our president, Tarek Sobh, and they had a two-hour discussion. They are both creative and innovative leaders who share the same vision for educating students from disadvantaged school districts and families.”
As a result of the initial meeting, Lawrence Tech began offering different courses at Lincoln-King High this year.
“We will then be moving to an early college program with Cornerstone where a student can earn a high school diploma and, at the same time, earn an associates degree — all in four years,” Kujawa says.
Lawrence Tech currently has 75 partnerships in metro Detroit high schools, with dual enrollment programs.
“The second phase in our relationship with Cornerstone will be to move to an early middle-college dual enrollment program, where a student earns their high school diploma and receives an associates degree in computer science and cybersecurity, all in five years,” Kujawa says.
She adds that Lawrence Tech has a number of Cornerstone graduates who attend the university. “You can tell from working with high schools if the students are organized and proficient, and with Cornerstone grads we found they are. They also have a vision and stick with it,” she says.
Over the years, scores of executives from different companies have helped Cornerstone in some significant ways.
They include Mike Dixon, senior director of HR business partners at Corewell Health; Frank Migliazzo, managing director and private wealth adviser with the MG Group at Merrill Private Wealth Management in Bloomfield Hills; Tatiana Grant, co-founder of Flash Hub Delivery and a principal with 2050 Partners Inc., an integrated marketing company; and Andrew Berenzweig, CEO of Hylant Group Inc., an insurance firm that has its headquarters in Toledo.
“In 2015, Cornerstone approached us at (what was) then Beaumont Health to help with a health care curriculum and provide students with some experiences at the hospital, which we have done over the years,” says Dixon, who for 10 years has been a board member of Cornerstone’s Lincoln-King and Adams-Young schools.
“We’ve also done career and health fairs, provided some internships, participated in readings at the elementary schools, and we continue to provide hospital tours.
“To see the students’ eyes light up while observing mock surgeries is special. I grew up a mile from the school, so it’s been an honor to go back to my roots and give back. It’s been a special experience for me and our volunteer employees. I encourage senior executives all the way down to frontline employees at other companies to get involved. The kids are our future.”
Dixon also attended the Turning Point Invitational dinner in September and came away impressed with Cornerstone’s new reading proficiency initiative.
“We have a lot of work to do, but I’ve never been so optimistic,” Dixon says. “It’s like a renewed commitment, and I’ve never seen the principals and the faculty so excited about a new program.”
Merrill wealth adviser Migliazzo first became involved with Cornerstone more than 20 years ago when he began mentoring students, one of whom he has worked with for 15 years and says “is doing great.”
Even when Cornerstone became a charter school system, Migliazzo and his wife continued to philanthropically support the schools, including the new reading initiative.
“This new school year my wife and I, and a couple of my partners and their wives, read to Cornerstone second- and fourth-graders. Going forward, it’s going to include having the students read to us,” Migliazzo says.
“Clark Durant and his board are great visionaries and get so many people involved. It has really changed people’s lives. Education is so important, and I’m a big fan of Cornerstone’s spiritual component. It’s a win-win, and it’s fun to be a part of it.”
Grant, CEO of Grant Ventures, has served on the board of the Cornerstone Schools Association since 2020, and continues to philanthropically support the school.
“For a time, Cornerstone was a client of mine, and I became impressed with the mission and saw firsthand the impact of their work and that they were really doing it,” says Grant, who on occasion talks to students about careers.
“As the daughter of an immigrant mother and an African-American father, my parents instilled in me at a very young age that the only way you can accomplish things is by being educated,” Grant adds.
“The long-term skills you need to develop and be successful stems from the ability to read and comprehend, and that’s why the effort to improve reading proficiency is so important. Cornerstone is seeing this as a challenge and an opportunity for the children and families of Detroit, and this is something that we all need to be standing behind.”
Hylant Insurance has insured Cornerstone Schools for some time, and according to CEO Berenzweig, about a year and a half ago, Durant approached him knowing that he was a golf fan.
“Clark told me about the Turning Point Invitational and dinner, and we formed a relationship,” Berenzweig says. “The Hylant Family Foundation is helping to fund the reading initiative.
“We have a passion to support the inner-city community, many of whom have been underserved. It’s important to give them the same opportunities that others get. We look forward to seeing the results, and that the reading initiative is working, because that would be even more of a reason to continue to support Cornerstone.”
For Durant, the challenging work at Cornerstone Schools continues.
“I’ve been very blessed with a number of different experiences — but, without question, being able to do this work has been the most rewarding and satisfying. … I want these children to experience the American Promise of self-determination, opportunity, and the ability to create a better future for all.”
