ann-lahrson-fisher

This is my final News and Commentary post. Leaving this job – one that I have loved doing and that embodies such important work – is very difficult for me. I am loathe to go, but the time has come to move on. I want to thank you, the readers, for your feedback and comments that [...]

Welcome to the new and improved HEM News & Commentary Blog! We have a new look, greater ease of posting (which I am gonna love!), and best of all, the blog is right here at Home Education Magazine’s resource-rich site so you can get from here to there and back again in just a couple of [...]

The Age of Autism: Homeschooled Science Daily , By Dan Olmsted , June 28

WASHINGTON, June 28 (UPI) — Where are the unvaccinated homeschooled children with autism? Nowhere to be found, says …and is knowledgeable about the homeschooled world.

  About 2 million children are being homeschooled in the United States. The number of those unvaccinated…

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House of Representatives Restores $100 Million in Funding for Public Broadcasting Association of Public Television Stations 666 Eleventh Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001 Telephone: 202-654-4200   Fax: 202-654-4236 Press Release

Bipartisan majority supports Obey-Lowey-Leach amendment to restore funding to grants to local public stations and…

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Ann:  Last month, in a post called Fear-Mongering in California , we saw how one California truant officer is choosing to misinterpret the private school rules by suggesting that homeschoolers submit themselves to his personal opinion of what the law should be.  The comments keep rolling in. *** Don?Äôt be intimidated in the slightest by…[Read more]

Ann: Like many homeschoolers, my kids rarely watched TV when young, but when they did, they thrived on Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, and all the nature shows we could find. These days, I favor public radio programming. And I am a little ashamed to say I’ve always taken this quality public programming for granted. [...]

Home-school graduations more intimate, informative StandardNet, Utah, By Michael Griffin , June 13, 2005 Michael Griffin is a home-school graduate. He will study math at BYU next fall and enjoys rockclimbing, hiking, camping and reading. My graduation was held at Calvary Christian Church in Salt Lake City. We had a grand total of 14 home-school…[Read more]

Ann: Usually a headline like the one below turns out to be a glowing report. This one? Ha! Not praise, not by any definition I know.  Take a look. Home school choice praised San Bernardino Sun , California, By Brad A. Greenberg, June 3, 2005 The California Department of Education does not know how many children are [...]

Ann: In an apparent attempt to draw at least some homeschoolers fully under the public school umbrella, possibly in the guise of a charter school, the Oregon Department of Education is now requiring that publicly funded programs for homeschooling enrichment either conform to state standards and testing or lose funding. State limits funding for…[Read more]

Online students missing exams Ohio Department of Education officials upset over skipped tests at Internet-based charter schools Akron Beacon Journal , Ohio, By doplinger@thebeaconjournal.com Doug Oplinger and dwillard@thebeaconjournal.com Dennis J. Willard, June 03, 2005 COLUMBUS – A large number of children enrolled in publicly funded…[Read more]

Seattle School District – Thanks for Listening WHO’S News , Published by Washington Homeschool Organization, by Janice Hedin, June 2005 Ann: For a very long time, possibly ten years or more, Washington homeschoolers have chafed against the organizers and staff of  public school Alternative Learning Programs (ALEs) who insisted on commingling the…[Read more]

Southeast won’t admit home-schooled student Other institutes, colleges would allow enrollment Argus Leader , Sioux Falls, South Dakota, By Brenda Wade Sschmidt

A Valley Springs teen who was home-schooled is being rejected for admission in a program at Southeast Technical Institute because the school requires a high school diploma.

Based on his…

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Path to college scholarship can be tricky for some By Sal Ruibal, USA TODAY , June 7, 2005

For home-schooled athletes trying to make the leap to a major college program, being out of the traditional loop has presented more barriers than opportunities.

But that’s changing. Some state high school activity associations and private-school leagues are…

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Texas Extra-Curricular Activities Bill Dies Texas Home School Coalition

HB 386  by  Representative Brian McCall would have allowed home school students to participate in extra-curricular activities in UIL….Representative McCall was able to amend the language from HB 386 to SB 1227 in the House Public Ed Committee, and it was voted out of…

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Maryland keeps ban against home-schoolers in face of lawsuit By Sal Ruibal, USA TODAY June 7, 2005

The executive director of the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association has drawn a line, and he’s not about to let home-schooled athletes cross it.

Although the MPSSAA is being sued over the issue, Ned Sparks is adamant that students…

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Laptop learning: Schools moving in with students Arizona Daily Star , by By Shelley Shelton , May 28, 2005

A new school is coming to a home near you, and it’s bringing a computer to every student who enrolls.

Arizona Virtual Academy, the only Tucson-based cyber school in the state, uses the K12 curriculum that was formulated by former U.S. Education [...]

Fear of home schooling unfounded The Times and Democrat , South Carolina, By RINEHART CHEWNING, Reminiscing with Rinehart, Saturday, May 28, 2005

About 13 years ago, our son and his wife informed us that they were going to home school their children….

Ann: Ah, I remember so clearly the response of my own dear parents when they learned that not [...]

Home-schoolers bask in graduation East Valley Tribune , Arizona, By Jackie Leatherman, May 28, 2005

On Friday night, "Pomp and Circumstance" ushered 117 home-schooled seniors adorned in blue caps and gowns down the center aisle to officially graduate from high school….

Dan Wisely, a parent and board member for the home education group, said he…

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Minnesota Boy Wins 2005 National Geographic Bee National Geographic News , By David Braun, May 25, 2005

The National Geographic Bee champion for 2005 is Nathan Cornelius of Minnesota.

"I think geography is my favorite subject," said in an interview after the competition. He started taking part in the National Geographic Bee four years ago, going…

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Getting legal help with homeschooling your children Gilroy Dispatch , California, By Cynthia Walker , Friday, May 20, 2005 Ann: A week after writer/homeschooler Cynthia Walker writes an article (above) about how to homeschool in California using a private school or the R-4 affidavit, attendance officer Frank Valadez comes out with an intimidating…[Read more]