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Beth Widner is a mother who lives in Canton, a middle-class suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. She has four kids, whom she homeschools while her husband, Glenn, telecommutes. In August of 2018, the Widner kids—then ages 13, 11, nine, and seven—were members of a swim team at their local YMCA, which was about two blocks from their house. One day, after swim practice, the 7-year-old, Jackson, lagged behind while the rest of his siblings walked home, and stopped by the grocery for a free cookie. A store employee thought it was so unusual to see an unaccompanied 7-year-old that a store...

<p>"I've never been to school. I grew up homeschooled, stayed homeschooled, never was not homeschooled."</p> <p>"I've never been to school. I grew up homeschooled, stayed homeschooled, never was not homeschooled," says Billie Eilish, the 18-year-old musician who took home five statues—including ones for album of the year, song of the year, and best new artist—at Sunday's Grammy Awards.</p>

The daughter of two college athletes was hand-picked by Serena Williams' coach to train in Nice, France in 2015, when she was just 11. The 15-year-old took a science test at 11 PM the night before she played one of the three qualifying matches at Roehampton to make the main tournament at Wimbledon. Gauff told CNN she ended up getting a 'B' on the test, and that only one of her teachers even knew she played tennis, but are now all cheering her on. She was homeschooled by her mother, a former teacher. Gauff's mother, Candi, ran track at Florida...

A congressman says the suspected Austin bomber left a confession calling himself a "psychopath" and saying he felt no remorse for his actions... Investigators have declined to release the recording, saying they are still looking into Conditt's motive and whether anyone else was involved.

The White House Rose Garden got a touch up Friday morning by 11-year-old Frank "FX" Giaccio. He is homeschooled, recently started his own business and lives with his family Falls Church, Virginia. Frank recently wrote a letter to President Trump saying it would be his dream and honor to do yard work at the White House. Today, his dream came true and President Trump stopped by to personally thank him for his efforts. "Maybe he’ll be president,” Trump said after inspecting his work. Frank “FX” Giaccio-On behalf of @FLOTUS Melania & myself, THANK YOU for doing a GREAT job this morning!...

Homeschooled, conservative, pro-life -- he's the Left's worst nightmare Some people run before they learn to walk. I’m referring to Sam Oosterhoff, who was sworn in yesterday as an MPP (Member of the Provincial Parliament) in Ontario, Canada. The 19-year-old is the youngest MPP in Ontario’s history after winning in a special election earlier that month. The young conservative lawmaker is already under attack by the Left in his home country.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A 6-year-old U.S. girl will become the youngest contestant ever in the Scripps National Spelling Bee after winning a regional competition in Virginia. Lori Anne Madison, of Woodbridge, Virginia, won the Prince William County spelling contest earlier this month, beating out 21 top elementary and middle school competitors. Her winning word: "vaquero," a word of Spanish origin meaning cowboy. "My parents quiz me. I read lists and I have a really good memory," Madison, who is home-schooled, told Fox's WTTG-TV, a Washington-area station. Madison was believed to be the youngest competitor ever, the Cincinnati-based National Spelling Bee...

A trio of local home-school students cleaned up at Saturday’s Yellowstone County Spelling Bee, taking the top three places in the competition. Ryan Campbell, 13, who is part of the Yellowstone Coalition of Home Educators, took the day’s top honor over 64 other local students, from fourth through eighth grades, when he correctly spelled “parmesan” after 17 rounds. “I feel great,” he said afterward. “It’s a good feeling.”

HOME SCHOOL MOMS QUESTIONAIRE FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. DECLARATION OF NON-PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOL FORM FOR HOMESCHOOLERS-OUR RIGHTS 101 FY (SCHOOL YEAR - INDEFINITE) Can the school board guarantee my child’s safe return home from school each day. This includes the time that they are entrusted to your care during school hours. This includes but is not limited to safety in the rest rooms, in the hallways, on the stairways, in and under the bleachers, in the lunch room, in the class rooms, on the playgrounds, or on any school property. COMPLIANCECan the school board guarantee that a member of it’s...

Though some artists struggle for recognition their whole lives, two young Lake Los Angeles girls already have made a name for themselves with an inventive local comic strip that started at home on a lark. Alex Gonzalez's "At the Zoo" follows two tigers who mistakenly believe that it's the humans who are in the zoo, and they themselves are on the outside looking in. "At the Zoo" has been published in Tidbits of Santa Clarita Valley, a free paper, since just before Gonzalez turned 12. "At age 12, she had a job - that's pretty important," mom Angela Gonzalez said....

A bill that would allow private-school and home-schooled students to participate in public school activities such as sports is stirring controversy as it goes to a public hearing today by the Senate Education Committee in Montgomery. The bill, known as the "Equal Access to Extracurricular Activities Act," was introduced by state Sen. Henry E. "Hank" Erwin, R-Alabaster. Opponents include state school Superintendent Joe Morton. Currently, 22 states allow some form of participation by home schoolers and students who take classes online in public school activities.

New Jersey is the perennial loser in the student migration wars: more of its residents leave the state to go to college than anywhere else in the country. On the other end of the spectrum, so many students have decided that sunshine, mosquitoes and the Marlins are the essential elements of the college experience that Florida is the state with the highest “net migration” (the number who enter minus the number who leave). Source: Interstate Commission for Higher Education; number of students in 2005 and 2015 are projections based on 2001-2 data... The swelling population of 18-year-olds — members of...

PITTSBURGH - Jessica Meeker is not your average MBA. She’s a black-clad, punk rock fanatic whose hair has seen more colors than the average rainbow. She’s also 18, and on Saturday, she will be the youngest student ever to receive an MBA from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, school officials said. She’s not caught up in being a prodigy, though. “It just feels so good to finally be done,” Meeker said Friday. “I have been in college for so long.” At age 12, Meeker became the youngest student to enroll at Pennsylvania State University and, at 16, she was the youngest...

A 16-year-old California boy won a premier high school science competition Monday for his innovative approach to an old math problem that could help in the design of airplane wings. Michael Viscardi, a senior from San Diego, won a $100,000 college scholarship, the top individual prize in the Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology. Viscardi said he's been homeschooled since fifth grade, although he does take math classes at the University of California at San Diego three days a week. His father is a software engineer and his mother, who stays at home, has a Ph.D. in neuroscience,...

RALEIGH -- If homeschooling families want to draw attention to their lifestyle and education methods when their children excel -- as in academic competitions -- they've got to accept that they will draw unwanted scrutiny when one of their own does something horrible. Such is the case with 18-year-old Pennsylvania murder suspect David Ludwig, who abducted his 14-year-old secret girlfriend Kara Borden Sunday after he allegedly gunned down her parents in their home. Ludwig was arrested in Indiana Monday with Borden in tow, after crashing his vehicle. Both were homeschooled and, according to some media reports, "deeply Christian." The nature...

After the arrest of a man accused of abusing a daughter who had not been in school in five years, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano said she plans to examine the state's laws on homeschooling. The Tucson man, who's name has been withheld to protect the daughter's identity, was arrested Tuesday and accused of sexually abusing his 14-year-old daughter while holding her captive in his home for more than a year. KGUN-TV in Tucson, an ABC affiliate, notes the popularity of homeschooling in Arizona, which legally requires only filling out a simple affadavit. "With no accountability and irresponsible parents, it's easy...

Thursday, April 1, 2004 Home-schooled students win 'Envirothon' Winners move on in competition to foster environmental awareness By BERTRAND M. GUTIERREZ News Virginian STAUNTON - If your city had a river that constantly flooded, causing expensive property damage, what would you do about it? The question was one of many hurdles Valley high school students faced during the heated Envirothon competition in Gypsy Hill Park here Thursday. They may be students, but they could teach elected officials how to down-zone, hire an arborist or use hydroponics. These are the future stewards of communities, parks, lakes and forests, said Sandy Greene,...

The government educational system leaves much to be desired, in terms of results. This is unarguable, and even the greatest supporters of government education realize this. However, it not only fails with test scores, but concerning the way the system handles students, specifically young students. "Zero tolerance" is a policy that always clashes with young people. You simply cannot treat all children the same for all problems. Coupled with a lack of communication and thinking, the result is disastrous. For your reading pleasure, here are more examples of the government's inept stab at teaching American school students. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In Grand...

State wants home-schooled kids in class State school officials have drawn the line for home schoolers: either get a teaching credential or get your kids into school. The Department of Education says kids who are home schooled are truant and their parents are ignoring the law. Earlier this summer, Deputy Superintendent for Public Instruction Joanne Mendoza sent out a memo to public and private schools state wide warning them not to issue a key certification to home schools. "In California, 'home schooling' is not an authorized exemption from mandatory public school attendance," she wrote in a memo. "Those parents who...