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| Date: From: Subject: | 5/5/2005 12:15:41 PM Home School Legal Defense Association New Hampshire--CHENH Convention - A Personal Invitation to Waterville Valley |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== May 5, 2005 New Hampshire--CHENH Convention - A Personal Invitation to Waterville Valley Dear HSLDA members and friends: My family is excited about driving to Waterville Valley a week from now to meet homeschoolers at the 2005 Christian Home Educators of New Hampshire Convention. It will be a longer drive for us than for most of you, but it's worth it. You see, it will be a homeschool homecoming for the Somerville family. We officially started homeschooling in Durham, New Hampshire in 1986. That was in the "bad old days" when you needed "approval" from the school superintendent to stay out of jail. I still remember one Sunday afternoon when we were picnicking with friends from church on our front lawn-the assistant superintendent came walking across our grass with some papers in his hands and Marcia and I both looked at each other in terror and wondered if there was time to grab the kids and run. There wasn't. However, we managed to start homeschooling-despite all our fears and the legal hassles-and we are still going strong. We were not the only ones who got our start in the 1980's. The Christian Home Educators of New Hampshire was formed a couple of years later, when the Department of Education announced its intent to triple the regulations on homeschoolers. A friend within the Department encouraged Christian homeschoolers to start a statewide organization in order to get a seat on the committee that would rewrite the rules. We had two frantic weeks to meet with homeschoolers across the state to put a whole new organization together. When the dust settled, CHENH got the right to put a representative on the "Rules Revision Subcommittee." As the first President of CHENH, I then spent the next seven months fighting for truth, justice, and the homeschool way with the Department of Education. There were eleven members on the Rules Revision Subcommittee. Eight of them were from the public school system, and five of those were lawyers. The ACLU lawyer that was supposed to represent the private schools showed no interest in defending homeschool freedom. That left the good fight to me and an unschooling housewife. Through the next seven months of meetings, Christian homeschoolers across New Hampshire relied on prayer and HSLDA's expert advice. God was good to us: He kept New Hampshire from enacting the proposed regulations. That experience changed me. It led me to quit my job, put my house on the market, and move my dear wife and five children to Cambridge, Massachusetts to attend Harvard Law School. When I graduated (with six children) I went straight to HSLDA, where I have been fighting for family freedom ever since. So much has happened in the years since 1986. The original battle for the right to homeschool has expanded to include children with special needs, single parent families, and equal access to college and employment for homeschool graduates. Although school officials have grudgingly accepted the legality of home education, many people still think of homeschooling as child neglect-or even abuse!-so that social workers are now more likely to shut down a homeschool than a truant officer. It has been my privilege to defend thousands of families who should not have needed to be defended; godly parents who got into trouble for their principles, not their lack of them. While I have been helping families fight for the legal right to teach a child at home, my dear wife Marcia has been figuring out how to make it work in practice. If you are one of the thousands of families already using Marcia's integrated "K-Mom curriculum" called "Tapestry of Grace," you won't want to miss this conference. Marcia will be speaking from her heart in Waterville Valley as she shares the secrets she has learned over the past 19 years. We are all so eager to come home to New Hampshire and see old friends and make new ones. If you haven't already made plans to join us, please check out the convention at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?ID=2314 . I hope to see you there. Very truly yours, Scott Somerville HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> There may be a shortage of the flu vaccine, but there's no shortage of legal protection for homeschoolers. HSLDA is 80,000 families standing together for the right of each family to teach their children at home. You don't have to stand alone against those who think homeschoolers should be regulated and controlled. Joining a team of home educators who will stick with you may be just what the doctor ordered for your homeschool . . . and your peace of mind. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1934 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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