D-300 sidelines home schoolers, 25 July 2007, Northwest Herald, McHenry County, Illinois The closest that Hampshire home-schooler Eric Bender will get to high school football this fall is the stands after District 300 officials announced Monday that they would not change the policy on participation in extracurricular activities. Bender’s parents had asked the district to let their son, a district resident, play on the team.

The district’s legal counsel recently advised against opening district sports to nonstudents, saying that the district should avoid giving even tacit approval to any home-school program or curriculum.

This contrasts with another Illinois school district: Illinois town vote allows homeschooler sports participation.

posted by Valerie

Vote includes home-schooled students, 23 July 2007, Northwest Herald, Crystal Lake, Illinois Home-schooled students living in Richmond-Burton Community High School District 157 will be allowed to participate in district athletic programs and extracurricular activities next year.

The District 157 school board voted, 6-0, Thursday night to let home-schoolers become members of district sports teams and clubs. However, the board will re-examine the issue for 2008-09.

See:

• My standard opinion on sports for kids.
• My standard opinion on “homeschoolers pay taxes.”

posted by Valerie

<blockquote

Home-schoolers allowed one sport, 11 July 2007, Valencia County News Bulletin, Belen, New Mexico

A new law passed by the New Mexico Legislature in its 2007 regular session allows home-schooled athletes to participate in one sport per school year.

Senate bill 1098 permits home-schooled athletes to participate in “one school district athletic activity at the public school in the attendance zone in which the student resides,” in accordance with New Mexico Activities Association guidelines, the bill states.

…

On the NMAA’s Web site, a page called “Handbooks and Forms” contains the NMAA handbook, which devotes Section 10 to issues regarding home-schooled, alternative and charter school students.

Marquez said NMAA administration would explain the new law at an athletic directors’ meeting in late July or early August, and then again at the association’s annual meeting in October.

Marquez, like Chavez, said only so much planning can go into the new arrangement. Changes and adjustments will have to be dealt with on the fly.

“At this time, we do not know what impact home school students will have on the NMAA,” she said. “Most coaches and athletic directors are not aware of the new law.”

New Mexico Senate Bill 1098

New Mexico Activities Association (NMAA): Section X Charter School/Alternative School/Home School Student Participation

posted by Valerie

Red tape blocks goal line, 1 July 2007, Northwest Herald, Crystal Lake, Illinois

Illinois High School Association rules allow students who are home-schooled to play on public school sports teams if they meet certain qualifications, but leaves the final say up to individual school districts.

But District 300 doesn’t allow it. Its policy says only students enrolled full-time at their base school can participate in extracurricular activities.

Ray and Vicki Bender, Eric’s parents, have asked District 300 to allow Eric to play on the Hampshire High School football team for the past two years. On Monday they asked again, speaking at the School Board Policy Committee.

“For the past three years, Mr. Bender has been contacting me,” Associate Superintendent David Scarpino said.

This year, a few more home-school parents have asked for their children to play on teams.

“Right now, I’m trying to ascertain whether we should continue with this,” said Scarpino, who asked the board committee to address the issue.

posted by Valerie

Braves dads relish time with kids, 17 June 2007, Savannah Morning News, Savannah, Georgia

“It’s one of the toughest things that players struggle with,” Jones said. “And it’s something that I think about on a daily basis: What can I do where they’ll think of me as a good dad?”

Certainly, baseball players do not face the same parenting difficulties as active military members or even traveling professionals who lack the luxury of an offseason. But among the major team sports, baseball is the least compatible with being a dad.

…

Braves closer Bob Wickman avoids the pressure of having to make the most of off days by taking his wife and three children virtually everywhere with him. His wife, Sue, homeschools the children and takes them to spring training and on just about every team road trip.

When the team is in Atlanta, the children – ages 10, 8 and 3 – attend a local private school. And after the season, the family returns to its home in Wisconsin, and the children go to school there.

“We pull them in and out,” Wickman said. “Right now they’re probably getting tired of it, they’ve done it so much. I think they just want to get settled with some friends.”

Like Wickman, many players enroll their children in private schools that allow their wives to homeschool the kids during spring training and occasional road trips. But few, if any, families travel as much.

Many prefer the stability that comes with leaving the kids at home. Though the opposite extreme can be just as difficult.

posted by Valerie

A different kind of sport: Homeschooled siblings win statewide scholastic skeet shooting contests, 15 June 2007, Hudson Reporter, Hoboken, New Jersey While home-schooling all seven of his children in North Bergen, Bill Koehler has searched for positive activities for the kids to get involved with, much like the extracurricular groups children do at conventional school. Some became interested in gymnastics. Others got involved in martial arts.

When Koehler heard of the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s Scholastic Clay Target Program for children, he thought it would be great for three of his kids – Sarah (17), Benjamin (15), and Rebecca (12).

“It was a national program designed for students from sixth grade through high school,” Koehler said. “One of the members of our home school association asked me if I would be interested in coaching the home-schooled kids. I didn’t have any expertise in that area. I only worked with a rifle and a pistol before. Trap shooting was a whole new area for me, but I found it to be interesting.”

This article was interesting as well. Good read.

posted by Valerie

This is an ambitious article that includes not only profiles of homeschooled athletes in Iowa and Iowa information, but descriptions of homeschooler participation in school sports in other states, and reasons for opposition to allowing homeschoolers to participate.

Iowa opens athletic doors to home-schoolers, 27 May 2007, Des Moines Register, Des Moines, Iowa

“We faced some challenges initially from the school district but ultimately rules were changed to allow kids who were being home-schooled to participate in sports,” Taylor said in an e-mail interview. “I believe firmly that a parent should be able to instill their ethics and values and educate their child at home without the kid being punished for that decision. As long as the proper guidelines and lessons are being followed, that child should be able to join his or her friends and neighbors on the playing field.”

…

Opponents feel allowing home-schoolers to play can create a competitive advantage in individual sports.

“The major opposition is from the country club sports – golf, swimming and tennis – where kids can practice all day and don’t have to go to school the same amount of hours as other kids,” Hester said.

Another conflict is the use of sports as a reward for doing well in class, although given many of the health problems afflicting today’s children, perhaps going to class should be a reward for doing well in sports.

Would failing students use home-schooling to stay in the game?

“That’s a legitimate concern,” said Troy Dannen, executive director of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. “This is one of the potential pitfalls of the no-pass, no-play rule that was voiced prior to the state adopting it. We’re so early in the rule that I don’t know if we can see that happening or not.”

posted by Valerie

Science expo results, 21 April 2007, Billings Gazette, Billings, Montana On March 23-24, more than 400 students particiapted (sic) in the Billings Clinic Research Center Science Expo.

More than $12,000 in cash and prizes were awarded to students who placed in the top 10 percent of their age group as well as those who met criteria for the special award areas such as Industry, Art, Craftsmanship, Future Scientist and Montana State University Scholarships. …

Grade 2: Katelyn Upchurch, Upchurch Home School, Hardin …

Grade 8: Robin Byron, Byron Home School, Hardin

Coterie’s Young Playwrights’ Festival, 21 April 2007, Kansas City Infozine, Kansas City, Missouri

The Coterie Theatre, is proud to present the 14th Annual Young Playwrights’ Festival: A Celebration of New Works April 26. During the festival, each short play or monologue is given a staged reading by professional actors, directors and designers. …

Boy Meets Girl, by Andi Enns (Home schooled) . . . These two “tweens” at the school bus stop are the same age, yet one is on the teenager side of 13 and the other is on the little boy side.

Cologne, by Zachary James Van Benthusen (Home schooled) . . . A suspense play taking place on a car trip near the Belgium/German border.

HEAT burns up Region 4-1A track meet, 21 April 2007, Miami Herald, Miami, Florida

With a sweep of the 100 (12.95), 100 hurdles (15.83), 200 (PR 26.40) and triple jump (34-2) at the Westminster Academy Sports Complex, Sims led the upstart home school program to its first region title in school history.

“In the beginning I dreaded today,” said Sims, who was buoyed by a vocal HEAT cheering section. …

The HEAT — which stands for Home Education Athletic Teams — scored 99 points to edge perennial track power Dade Christian (97). Westminster Academy, won the 1,600 meter relay and finished second in the 3,200 meter relay to finish third with 58 points.

Sims said she hopes the HEAT’s rapid ascent under coach Bob Bemis will help erase some of the stereotypes of home school programs.

“It definitely puts us on the map, it puts us out there,” said Sims. “It says that home-schoolers are not some social freaks or something. We have talent and we have drive and do whatever we can with emphasis. So many people feel that we are bogus. We are here to win.”

posted by Valerie

Homeschoolers playing on public school teams seems to be a hot topic. In this report from Wyoming, a rule change will mean that homeschooled kids will need shots for public school sports participation.

Gillette News Record, Gillette, Wyoming, 13 April 2007, Kids taught at home may need proof of vaccines

Under Wyoming law, children attending public or private schools have to provide documentary proof of immunization unless they receive a waiver from the state or county health officer based on religious objection or medical recommendations.

Home-schooled students haven’t had to meet those requirements if they’re involved in public school athletics. But that would change in 2008-09 under the proposal brought before activities directors throughout northeast Wyoming at a meeting in Gillette on Thursday.

That proposal, if passed, will require school districts to keep track of not only physical exam results, but also of immunizations for students involved in sports. All public school students have to meet that requirement already.

With more public school participation, come more rules addressing homeschoolers.

posted by Valerie

Dateline Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama, 12 April 2007, Panel mulls letting home-schoolers play sports in public schoolsThe Senate Education Committee heard public comments Wednesday on a bill that would allow home-schoolers to participate in extracurricular activities like athletics and band at public schools.

…

State Superintendent of Education Joe Morton said the current rules of only allowing full-time public students to participate in extracurricular activities are “very fair.”

“Public school students have a lot of things they have to adhere to like ‘no pass, no play.’ How do you apply that to a home-schooled child who is educated by mom or dad or a tutor?” he said in an interview. “That’s just the tip of the iceberg of 9,999 questions that public schools and coaches and assistant coaches would have. We wouldn’t have to have any questions if the student would just enroll (in public school) full-time.”

You wouldn’t have any questions either, if sports were divorced from schools and opened to all the kids in the community. Are the sports for the kids, or are the sports for the school’s P.R.?

posted by Valerie