Rock County First Youth Development Fund To Award Grants Supporting Education in Civics 

October 13, 2022

ROCK COUNTY FIRST NEWS RELEASE
CONTACT: Rock County First
608-313-5025
info@rockcountyfirst.com

Rock County First Youth Development Fund
To Award Grants Supporting Education in Civics 

Rock County, WI (October 13, 2022) – Rock County First’s (RCF) Board of Directors approved funding for a new Rock County Youth Development Fund at its September 14th meeting. “The new Rock County Youth Development Fund is an invigorating next phase of the RCF Vision. With a focus on Civics and U.S. History, RCF strives to strengthen the foundation of a social science education in the Rock County community” said RCF’s president. 

The State of State Standards for Civics and U.S. History in 2021, by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute (Institute), evaluated the quality of Wisconsin’s standards for Civics and U.S. History based on content, rigor, clarity and organization. Wisconsin’s overall ranking was “Inadequate,” with its Civics and U.S. History standards both earning ‘F’s’ from the Institute. 

According to the latest Nation’s Report Card (2018) published by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), “Across social science subjects one quarter or less of Wisconsin eighth graders perform at or above NAEP Proficient.” NAEP’s assessment of eighth grade proficiency in Civics averaged 24%, Geography 25% and U.S. History 15% (NAEP). 

In 24 years, cumulative achievement levels (1998 – 2018) of eighth grade Civics testing show progress in Civics education has not significantly improved, trending 22% in 1998 to 24% in 2018 (NAEP). 

The RCF Youth Development Fund supports young adults in developing and applying foundational knowledge of American Civics and U.S. History to include skills that are critical to maintaining the constitutional republic of the United States. 

MORE 

“Through the generosity of our 1200 plus members, RCF has created and financed this exciting new RCF Youth Development Fund. Our board is currently in the

process of planning how to effectively administer the funds to benefit the youth of our Rock County community in support of civic and social sciences,” says RCF’s treasurer. 

Look for future Rock County First Youth Development Fund news releases to learn more about the grant process. 

______________________________________________________________________ ________ 

About Rock County First, Inc. 

Rock County First (RCF) is a non-profit organization (501c4) in Rock County, WI whose vision is to protect liberty and freedom in its local communities by empowering the citizens of Rock County through education and greater government accountability. RCF is located in Rock County, Wisconsin. The phone number is 608-313-5025. The Web address is www.rockcountyfirst.com. 

###END##

You can also view the press release here.

Other Articles From Our Blog

Rock County School Districts–What’s Going Up and What’s Going Down

Rock County School Districts–What’s Going Up and What’s Going Down

Educational freedom refers to the ability of parent’s to select the best educational opportunity for their children. It recognizes that all children are unique, full of potential, and deserving of a high-quality education that meets their individual needs.  For someone to be truly free, they must receive a high-quality education which allows them to maximize their full potential in life.   Recently RCF announced the top performing public school districts and schools in Rock County.    RCF recognizes and thanks teachers and students for their commitment to excellence, and to educational freedom! Financial freedom from a local perspective is largely driven and controlled by local taxation.  Most notably property taxes - School District, County and City - are a major annual expense for Rock County homeowners and indirectly, renters.  With school districts being the highest portion of one’s property taxes. Most people in Rock County know their property taxes are high, but few realize Rock County’s property taxes are higher than 96% of all counties in the US!  This is based on the percentage of personal income, or people’s ability to pay (Source).
Do Your Homework & Turn it in on Time!

Do Your Homework & Turn it in on Time!

What happened in the August primary election has me a bit perplexed. I’m not referring to the candidates who won their respective partisan races at this point. I’m wondering about the results of the two state referendum questions that effectively continue to allow the Governor to spend federal monies received by the state with virtually no state or local oversight.
Who Needs Your Money More, the County, or You?

Who Needs Your Money More, the County, or You?

Update on Ongoing 2025 County Budget Plans The Rock County Board of Supervisors (BoS) are currently in the 2025 budgeting process. There is more work and discussions to take place between now and the November vote on the budget. So far, it appears the BoS’s have taken your Financial Freedom to heart as they appear to be much more focused on reining in tax levy spending (which is responsible for a significant portion of your property taxes), and not dipping into other pools of taxpayer money (i.e. the general fund or sales taxes, as they have the last three years) to fund their significant spending.