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

Proposed 2025 Rock County Budget – Do They Really Want to Help Taxpayers In Their Time of Need?

Proposed 2025 Rock County Budget – Do They Really Want to Help Taxpayers In Their Time of Need?

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 expense of Rock County homeowners. Most people in Rock County know their property taxes are high, but few overburdened taxpayers know, Rock County’s property taxes are higher than 96% of ALL counties in the US! This is based on the percentage of income, or people’s ability to pay (Source: https://www.tax-rates.org/wisconsin/rock_county_property_tax). Suffice it to say that all local taxing authorities need to ‘tighten their belts,’ just as the citizens are forced to do in today’s inflation-ridden economy.
Rock County School Districts – A Bait and Switch

Rock County School Districts – A Bait and Switch

What is the truth about the relative performance of our Rock County school districts? School districts and DPI generally do not like district performance judged based upon the DPI scorecard results. They say it is not fair to compare one district’s performance vs another, nor is it wise to compare a district’s scorecard results from one year to the next. While there may be some truth to this, the only way people have a way to compare performance trends over time, or between districts is with a consistent test given to all students in all districts. The test DPI uses the Forward Exam, which is given to all students in the state (less the few students who do not take the test).
Education in Peril?

Education in Peril?

This November, in Rock County, four school districts will again come to the property owners seeking funds to maintain their operations and facilities. There is no doubt that voters are feeling the economic pinch this fall, and some of them will vote in the negative on school funding questions simply because their budgets are so tight. School officials argue referendums must be passed and taxes increased or the system will disintegrate.