EXODUS MANDATE-WV
The GOOD NEWS
The news concerning Christian schools and homeschooling is overwhelmingly good!
Below are some samples. I do not often add to this page because there are other sites such as Homeschool Daily Planet that extensively cover the news of this type.
Study Shows Homeschoolers Succeeding in College
There is a growing body of research demonstrating the academic success of homeschoolers. The most recent major study is the Progress Report 2009, which surveyed over 11,000 homeschooled students, and showed homeschoolers K–12 scoring an average 37 percentile points above the national average on standardized achievement tests. However, as the homeschool movement has grown—by 7% per year for each of the past 10 years according to the National Center for Education Statistics—there has been little research on the academic performance of homeschoolers once they reach college.
http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/201008030.asp
Home schoolers headed to world finals
Odyssey of the Mind is an educational program in which students from around the world use creative techniques to solve problems ranging from building devices to interpreting history and literature.
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=1953088
Homeschool boy receives congressional medals
An article in a 2007 edition of “The Home School Court Report” sent a rural Mendota boy on a path that culminated in the presentation of the Congressional Award bronze and silver medals by U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson (D-Crete) on Saturday.
Timothy McNally, 16, independently pursued the award through a program open to youth ages 13-1/2 to 24. The award is based on personal development and public service. http://www.newstrib.com/articles/news/nci/default.asp?article=20389&aname=
VIDEO%2C+STORY%3A+Mendota+boy+receives+congressional+medals
Area Homeschooled Students Are National Merit Semifinalists
Two Harrison county homeschooled students have been named semifinalists in the 2010 National Merit Scholarship Program.
http://www.chewv.org/InTheNews.html
HOMESCHOOLERS BEAT NATIONAL AVERAGE ON ACT
Homeschoolers taking the 2009 ACT, a standardized test assessing high school achievement for college admission, scored a full point higher than the national average. http://www.christianexaminer.com/Articles/Articles%20Oct09/Art_Oct09_11.html
Hurricane Home Schooler wins West Virginia Symphony Orchestra Symphonic Fellowship Competition
Christian Smith, a Hurricane home schooler, won the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra Andrew and Amy Vaughan Symphonic Fellowship Competition. This competition was open to all West Virginia high school students who study piano, saxophone, or an orchestral instrument.
http://www.chewv.org/InTheNews.html
12 Year Old Boy Wins NYSE Contest
A 12-year old homeschooled boy, Fabian Fernandez-Han, won the 2009 Financial Future Challenge. It was sponsored by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and K-12. Fabian and his family was just flown to New York City for a special ceremony on January 11, 2010 where he was awarded a $2,500 check. http://www.homeschool.com/news/article.asp?title=12+Year+Old+Boy+Wins+NYSE+and+K12+Contest&p=782
Home-Educated Canadian Adults Excel
A (2009) study reveals that home-educated adults in Canada excel in all measured areas of adult life, including education level, religious observance, civic and community participation, life satisfaction, and income.
The study found that, when measured against the Canadian average, home-educated adults were more socially engaged and almost twice as likely to have voted in a federal election. Their average income was higher, with more self-reliant sources of income, such as investments and self-employment. In fact, of all respondents, there were no cases of government support as the primary source of income.
The respondents were happier in their work and about their lives in general. They also have more varied recreational pursuits. The study notes, for example, that the respondents “were much more likely than the comparable population to have read books and attended concerts of classical music or theatrical performances.” Overall, when reflecting on the value of being home-educated, most felt that it was an advantage in their adult life. http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/dec/09120305.html and http://www.hslda.ca/cche_research/2009StudySynopsis.pdf
Nobel Prize for Physics goes to a man that was homeschooled
The Nobel Prize Winners for 2009 were announced this past week. One of the winners of the Noble Prize for Physics was a man who was homeschooled in his younger years, Dr. Willard S. Boyle.
Dr. Boyle was raised in the logging community of Chaudiere (Canada), where his father was the resident doctor. His mother homeschooled him up through the 8th grade; after which he attended Lower Canada College in Montreal through graduation.
http://www.homeschool.com/news/article.asp?p=715
Homeschooler Wins First Place in an Essay Contest
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) announced the winners of this year's high school essay contest, "Freedom in Academia", on December 15, 2009. The first place winner was (homeschooler) Nathaniel Cornelius.
http://www.homeschool.com/news/article.asp?title=Homeschooler+Wins+First+Place+in+an+Essay+Contest&p=758
Harrison teen wins national Bible Bee
Daniel Staddon, a homeschooler from Harrison County, has never competed in a spelling bee. He's never competed in a geography bee. But earlier this month he became the first-ever winner of the National Bible Bee - taking home a sizable trophy and $100,000.
http://www.dailymail.com/News/200911260440
Homeschoolers beat average on entrance exams
Homeschoolers, who have scored an average of 37 points higher than all students on standardized tests, now have been shown to get better results on college entrance exams, too.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=108131
Home schooling up: family bonds, religion cited
According to the U.S. Department of Education's National Household Education Surveys Program, about 1.5 million children were being homeschooled in 2007, compared to 850,000 in 1999 -- a 74 percent increase. http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=thetowntalk&sParam=31385515.story
New Nationwide Study Confirms Homeschool Academic Achievement
In short, the results found in the new study are consistent with 25 years of research, which show that as a group homeschoolers consistently perform above average academically. The Progress Report also shows that, even as the numbers and diversity of homeschoolers have grown tremendously over the past 10 years, homeschoolers have actually increased the already sizeable gap in academic achievement between themselves and their public school counterparts-moving from about 30 percentile points higher in the Rudner study (1998) to 37 percentile points higher in the Progress Report (2009).
As mentioned earlier, the achievement gaps that are well-documented in public school between boys and girls, parents with lower incomes, and parents with lower levels of education are not found among homeschoolers. While it is not possible to draw a definitive conclusion, it does appear from all the existing research that homeschooling equalizes every student upwards. Homeschoolers are actually achieving every day what the public schools claim are their goals—to narrow achievement gaps and to educate each child to a high level. http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/200908100.asp
NCAA Scholarships
During the 1998-1999 academic year, the NCAA approved the academic eligibility of 49 homeschool students to receive scholarships at Division I schools and 20 homeschool students to receive scholarships at Division II schools. These homeschool athletes went on to play college basketball, baseball, volleyball, football, wrestling, track, and virtually every sport. Over the last several years, hundreds of homeschool sports leagues have sprouted throughout the states culminating in several annual national homeschool athletic tournaments. A major breakthrough for homeschool athletics recently occurred in Florida when homeschool teams were allowed to compete against public school teams.
http://www.home-school.com/Articles/phs34-chrisklicka.html
The news from government schools is not so good.
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