August 15, 2002
EDUCATION EXCELLENCE NOW
EdEx Utah's Monthly E-mail Newsletter

Welcome to Education Excellence Now, a monthly e-mail newsletter devoted to bringing you the latest news and information on school choice in Utah and the nation. 

With a new school year fast approaching, public attention in Utah turns to educational standards after a steady stream of reported problems with the public education system.  News of 22 failing schools in Utah was followed by accusations that the Utah State Office of Education and local districts were dragging their feet in complying with the new federal law for failing schools.  The announcement that Utah's high school graduation test would be dumbed down to allow more students to pass, and a recent revelation that Utah's teachers are cheating to help their students on statewide tests add to the concern that Utah's public education system is in dire need of reform. 
to read more

May 2002
Calvin McCarter, the youngest competitor in a field of 55 youthful
geography experts, won the National Geographic Bee
 Wednesday.  McCarter, a 10-year-old Michigan home-schooler, prevailed by knowing that the Lop Nur nuclear testing site is in China.
Find the story at: http://www.msnbc.com/news/755745.asp

"Thirteen-year-old Timothy Mackie knows almost every capital city in the world and can name the largest island in the Netherlands Antilles.  But he has never set foot in a classroom."   
http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20020521-81829932.htm

May 2002
Separation of School and State Alliance President Marshall Fritz publishes The School Liberator via email.  In April of 2002 Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family encouraged parents in California to remove their children from public schools.  Radio personality, Dr. Laura, seconded his suggestion.  To read an issue of The School Liberator, click here.

May 2002
. . . . summed up by Paul Blanchard, while he was the contributing editor of a magazine called The Humanist, with the following statement: "I think that the most important factor moving us toward a secular society has been the educational factor. Our schools may not teach Johnny to read properly, but the fact that Johnny is in school until he is 16 tends to lead toward the elimination of religious superstition."
http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/washingtontimes/200205200.asp

June 2001
High school graduate Ben Crowder spoke at the LDS Home Educators Assn Convention.  Ben earned a perfect 36 score on his ACT and was awarded the Hinckley Scholarship, the highest scholarship awarded by BYU.  The newspaper article is no longer archived, but you can read the article Tina Crowder, his mother, wrote for the LDS Home Educators website.  click here

Sep 2000
Affirming that "parents have a fundamental right to direct the education and upbringing of their children," the U.S. House of Representatives has unanimously passed a resolution honoring home-schooling families.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=17974

Oct 2000
An interview with John Taylor Gatto, a former New York State Teacher of the Year who now writes and lectures about the negative effects of compulsory, government-controlled schooling.
http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2000/10/10/fp21s2-csm.shtml