Building Our Future Together

The future of a community depends on the success of its youth, and Kenosha County is dedicated to ensuring that our community succeeds.  

In Kenosha County, there are over 100 organizations emphasizing the development of the individuals in the community by focusing on skills such as reading and math.  These educational programs work diligently to prepare our youth for their future careers; however Kenosha County is still struggling in many areas.  

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s Forward Exam, a state assessment,  from the 2015-2016 school year found only 47% of 3rd Graders are reading proficient and 30% of 8th graders are math proficient.  

StriveTogether, the national partnership and model for Building Our Future, has found that students who perform well in 3rd-grade reading and 8th-grade math typically have a more successful academic career.  

In 2015, the United States Census Bureau also found while 90.3% of Kenosha County residents had received a high-school diploma, only 34.5% have received an associate’s degree or more, according to their Quickfacts Data & 2015 ACS 5-Year Survey.  

The advanced manufacturing jobs most frequently coming to Kenosha County will require advanced education skills.

Building Our Future focuses on the idea that communities are often "program rich and system poor,” meaning they often have excellent programs, but need to find a more efficient way to align these programs to realize their full potential.  Our goal is to align all sectors in Kenosha County around cradle-to-career success for all children.   

StriveTogether was created for better outcomes through community empowerment.  The StriveTogether model has shown that, when communities follow this philosophy and focus together on the critical outcomes and indicators that impact a student’s future success, the partnership’s reach can be significantly increased, measured, and scaled.

When a community has a higher rate of educational success, it thrives.  A highly employed and engaged workforce lowers a community’s tax burden, provides innovation and creativity, bringing with it more job opportunities and economic success.  

Imagine Kenosha County as a place where the community unites, students succeed, and everyone prospers.  The future of the Kenosha County community depends on us, the community members.  Let’s build our future together. To learn more and share your thoughts, visit buildingourfuturekc.org.

Connect With Us at Harborfest 

Building Our Future will be at Harborfest ’17 hosted by Leeward Business Advisors! 

Harborfest is an annual event where community organizations from Kenosha and Racine come together to share what they have been working on, their impact on the community and ways you can be involved.   There will also be food and music to enjoy.  

The event will be held on Thursday, September 21st of 2017 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Festival Hall, 5 5th St. Racine, WI 53403.  Admission is free, but registration is required.  If you would like to attend, please register at LeewardBA.com. 
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We hope to see you there!

Article written by Marley Uran
Communications Intern
University of Wisconsin Parkside
​Published in The Kenosha News

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