Fox Valley Initiative (FVI) held its monthly public forum on July 14, 2025 at Freedom Project Academy in Appleton, hosting Laura Ackmann, Winnebago County Chair of the national nonprofit organization Moms for Liberty (MFL).
Laura explained the five-year evolution of MFL, started by two mothers in Florida during COVID and now continuing to grow, currently at 320 chapters in 46 states. There are MFL chapters in 20 Wisconsin counties; they have 2,700 registered Wisconsin members and 31,000 email subscribers.
The emphasis of MFL is to empower parents in the oversight of school districts and government at all levels. MFL wants school districts to focus on improving education and not indoctrination of the students.
MFL is working to protect girls in sports, preventing boys from playing in girls sports and being in girls locker rooms. MFL also emphasizes improving competency scores of our students in reading, math, and science, all of which have been in an unfortunate decline. Students who are not performing at grade levels are passed to the next level and graduate from high school reading at 4th grade levels. Schools lose money if they hold students back, meaning they are financially motivated to move students along even if they are not meeting grade competency levels.
Laura discussed the goals of expansion and positive influence of MFL, of winning more seats for school boards, of adding more county chapters in Wisconsin and nationwide. She referred interested citizens who may want to start county chapters or donate to the effort to the website MomsforLiberty.org.
Fox Valley Initiative understands the importance of K-12 education in the formative years of our children and will continue its series of public forums on K-12 education August 4 and September 8, both at Freedom Project Academy in Appleton, from 6:30 to 8:00 PM.
On 8/4/25 Dr. Duke Pesta—Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and a nationally recognized expert on education reform—will review the current state of K-12 education, the overemphasis on DEI, the decline in competency scores, and possible solutions.
On 9/8/25, Wisconsin State Representative David Murphy will discuss the state budget and other financial aspects of K-12 education in Wisconsin. Are Wisconsin taxpayers getting a return on their investment in education? Are other states (Mississippi) doing better?
The public is invited to these forums and to become involved in these issues critically important to our children and to the future of our state and nation.
For more information, visit the Fox Valley Initiative website at www.foxvalleyinitiative.com or follow the group on Facebook.
