Prairie State Wire

The Foundation for the Restoration of America (FFROA) is awarding $100,000 in academic scholarships this year for completion of its Constitutional Study Program. FFROA has partnered with Chicago Hope Academy to offer the no-cost program, which seeks to encourage young Americans to learn more about America's founding and history beyond what is taught in their school.

"Foundation for the Restoration of America envisions a future in which America’s present and future generations know, cherish and respect the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and American history, so that the American republic is strengthened and resilient and individual liberties and freedoms are protected," FFROA Executive Director Christine Altenberger said. "We encourage all Americans to learn about the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights to better understand what makes America the greatest country in the world!"

According to its website, FFROA "is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating Americans that the principles of our nation’s founding should continue to serve as the foundation for our future."                  

FFROA's Constitutional Study Program is free, and once the courses are completed, students are able to apply for a scholarship of up to $10,000, if they fulfill certain criteria, the website said.

A total of 39 applicants will be awarded scholarships including two $10,000 scholarships for those who complete the "Constitution 101" course as well as one additional course from a list of choices including: The U.S. Supreme Court, The Federalist Papers, The Presidency and the Constitution, Congress: How it Worked and Why It Doesn’t, among others, according to the website. 

These online courses are provided through Michigan-based Hillsdale College.

“Our online courses reach millions of Americans who want to learn about our shared culture and history, but it is particularly important to help shape the young minds who will carry our nation into the future,” Kyle Murnen, director of Online Learning at Hillsdale College, said. “We are grateful to the Foundation for the Restoration of America for their support of this work, and gratified that Chicago Hope Academy sees the merit in our online courses.”   

Additionally, Chicago Hope Academy will integrate the Hillsdale courses into its history and civics curriculum, with juniors and seniors completing the courses.

“We are proud to partner with Chicago Hope Academy to make sure our Founding principles are taught and preserved,” FFROA Founder and President Doug Truax said.     

In its most recent annual impact report, Chicago Hope Academy pointed out the success of its students compared to those attending Chicago’s public schools (CPS). The average American College Testing (ACT) score at Chicago Hope was 20% higher than the CPS average ACT score. In addition, the report found that while 33% of CPS students were unaccounted for last year, Chicago Hope had a 100% head count. Chicago Hope also had a 100% college acceptance rate.                 

A report released by Wirepoints earlier this year highlighted problems in the Illinois school system. It found 30 schools in Illinois where not a single student could read at grade level. Chicago was the location of 22 of these schools. The report also determined that in 53 Illinois schools, not a single student was proficient in math.      

Additionally, the report revealed there were 622 schools in which only 1 out of 10 students or less can read at grade level, and 930 schools in which only 1 out of 10 students is proficient in math. Respectively, this represents 18% and over 25% of Illinois' 3,547 schools.             

The report said the "failure isn’t about money," noting data from the Illinois State Board of Education on Spry Community Links High School in Chicago. According to the report, none of the 88 students at Spry are proficient in math or reading, despite the expenditure of $35,600 per student, which is in excess of $15,000 more per student than before the pandemic.