Saturday, June 23, 2007
 

Homeschoolers in Utah


They've won national spelling bees, earned perfect college entrance test scores and created their own field trips, dance studios, choirs and proms.
West Jordan mom Alison Maynes, in background at right, home-schools her six children. The children attend school year-round. (Scott G. Winterton, Deseret Morning News)
Scott G. Winterton, Deseret Morning News
West Jordan mom Alison Maynes, in background at right, home-schools her six children. The children attend school year-round.
Home-schoolers seem not so far off the beaten path anymore. Some even participate in an online curriculum, complete with standardized tests and a Utah-certified schoolteacher — a sort of public-school, home-school hybrid.
"I've home-schooled for 14 years, and when I first started, people thought we were wacko. I don't live on a compound, I don't have different religious beliefs ... I just wanted to spend more time with my children," said Laura Belnap, director of Washington Online and former director of Utah Online Academy. Read more...

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