WASHINGTON, May 1997 —Rebecca Sealfon of Brooklyn, New York, became the first home school champion of the National Spelling Bee sponsored by Scripps Howard. Rebecca was one of 17 other home schoolers in this year’s competition out of 245 total contenders, a record number of home schoolers for the spelling bee.

After a marathon 23 rounds, the 13-year-old won the competition by correctly spelling “euonym,” which means an appropriate name for a person, place or thing.

Winning the title came after a year of intensive study. “I was very determined I was going to win,” said the eighth-grader, recalling how she studied up to three hours every day with books on language and word roots.

Spurred on by her eighth-place finish in the 1996 spelling bee, she decided to try again in 1997. Rote memorization did not make the difference, she said, but knowing the roots of tough words helped to make her a spelling champion. Her advice was: “Don’t study the dictionary.”

Rebecca has two younger siblings who are also home schooled. Rebecca’s parents, Dr. Stuart Sealfon and his wife, Cynthia Gelernter Sealfon, decided to home school in order to tailor the education of their children to their specific needs.

In conventional school, Rebecca said, “I found things moving too slowly. In most subjects in home schooling, I’m well above grade level. If I want to slightly digress from a subject and do something a little different, but related, and I can do that at home. Home schooling gave me more time and flexibility to study spelling.”

The 1997 spelling bee offers more evidence that home schooling works. While home schoolers comprise only three percent of school-age children, seven percent of the contestants, as well as the overall winner, were home schooled.

The Home School Legal Defense Association is an advocacy organization for home schooling families. If you have questions about home schooling or HSLDA, please call the Media Relations Office at (540) 338-8663.

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