A state civics competition is being held to foster citizenship education among young people.
Winners of the games each receive a $2,000 scholarship to the Wisconsin college or university of his/her choice.
So far, participation by private schools has been minimal. But entry is easy and preparation is facilitated by a study guide provided by the game’s sponsors.
In the ongoing public vs private school debate, one popular assertion is that private K-12 education does not serve public purposes. But 2010 research from the American Enterprise Institute shows that private schools actually may be better at fostering citizenship and civic virtues.
Wouldn’t it be great if WCRIS schools had some high school teams entered to demonstrate our students’ strong civic virtues?
Deadlines: Schools have from Sept. 15 to Nov. 5 to register a team. Schools conduct their own competition in February or March and send their winning team to regional competitions at UW campuses across the state April 24. Finals will be held at the state Capitol in Madison on May 15.
The games were launched for the first time in 2018 by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, the League of Women Voters, the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, and the Wisconsin Counties Association, among others.
For more information about the games, how to set up a school competition, how to get free civics textbooks to prepare your students, and all the rules and details, go here.
