About Us

All students, pre-K through college, can learn and achieve at high levels if they get a high-quality education. But many young people — disproportionate numbers of students from low-income backgrounds, Black and Latino students, English learners and students with disabilities among them — continue to be denied access to the high-quality learning opportunities they need. Our mission is to change all that in Michigan: to close our state’s gaps in opportunity and achievement that consign too many students to the margins of the Michigan mainstream.

The Education Trust-Midwest works in partnership with policymakers, educators, advocates, parents, business and civic leaders, community groups and others to advance the development and implementation of policies and practices that improve the educational outcomes for all of Michigan’s students. We serve as a nonpartisan center for education information, data and policy expertise.

Ed Trust-Midwest does work in a variety of ways:

• We serve as a center for non-partisan data and research. We conduct research and mine national, state and local data to identify best practices across the nation and state to help build a broader understanding of opportunity gaps and how to close them. 
• We conduct public reporting – and lead and support public engagement campaigns – to inform education stakeholders of key facts and data on pressing education issues. We publish regular reports, policy briefs, newsletters and blogs, providing additional opportunities for educators, policymakers, and advocates to stay up to date with research and learn new ways to leverage their voice to work toward opportunity for all students. 
• We serve as a voice for students in policymaking, especially children who are the most underserved. 
• We celebrate what’s working in our public education system.  
• We work alongside state leaders and many other stakeholders to bridge the gap between research, practitioners and policymakers.  
• We provide technical expertise and assistance to a variety of leaders and stakeholders, and also serve as a trusted consultant to a variety of organizations. 
• We regularly convene thought leaders and organizations from around the state and country who are working on some of America’s most pressing educational challenges. Lasting and powerful movements for systems change require knowledgeable, informed leaders and organizations that can work well together to mobilize and empower others and press for an equity-centered public education system. Our work is focused on convening, building and supporting those organizations and leaders — regardless of geographic area, professional sector and political background — and empowering and supporting them to have a voice in major decisions that impact their communities.

•  The power of education to reinvent Michigan for the 21st century and to close the gaps that separate students from low-income backgrounds, English Learners, students with disabilities and and students of color from other young Americans.
•  Longstanding gaps in opportunity, achievement, and attainment have roots inside and outside of schools. And though we know these gaps are stubborn, we also know they are not inevitable.
•  A strong education improves the lives of young people, is vital to sustaining our democracy, and strengthens America.

The Education Trust-Midwest is fortunate to have the support of a strong and diverse group of funders. Their belief in our work – and their vision of a nation where all students have the opportunity to achieve at high levels – sustains and encourages us to stand up for what’s right.

The work of The Education Trust-Midwest is made possible through the generous support of the following Michigan-based funders:

• Ballmer Group
• Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
• DTE Energy Foundation
• Grand Rapids Community Foundation 
• The Kresge Foundation 
• Jandernoa Foundation 
• The Joyce Foundation 
• The Skillman Foundation 
• W.K. Kellogg Foundation