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HOME-SCHOOLER WINS
NATIONAL
SPELLING BEE
This year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee winner is Evan
O'Dorney, a 13-year-old homeschooler from Danville, California.
The winning word was "serrefine,” a noun describing small forceps.
But
as exciting as it was to win the national spelling bee, Evan seems even
more enthusiastic about his upcoming math camp this summer and the
calculus class he’s registered for at the University of California at
Berkeley.
Conducting Talk Show interviews on the topic of home
schoolers winning national competitions, are spokesmen from Home School
Legal Defense Association.
During your interview our spokesmen
give such statistics as how homeschoolers only represent about 3% of
the school age population but, on average, 15% of the finalists in both
the Geography Bees and Spelling Bees are homeschoolers.
Last week a homeschooler won the National Geographic national geography
bee.
How
long can the average tax-and-spend politicians “put up” with such
stellar performances by homeschoolers? Interview a representative from
Home School Legal Defense Association and ask them about the legal
battles to keep homeschooling legal in the U. S. and abroad.
A
list of interview guest spokesmen follows this article.
All is 'Serrefine' For Spelling Bee
Champ
Home-Schooled Math-Whiz
Looks Forward to Calculus
After Winning
Scripps National Spelling Bee
By JOSEPH WHITE
The Associated Press/ WASHINGTON
Having
spelled "serrefine" to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Evan
O'Dorney is ready to tackle an even more unusual challenge for a
13-year-old boy.
"In the fall," said his mother, Jennifer, "he'll be taking calculus."
Evan,
a home-schooled eighth-grader from Danville, Calif., breezed through
the competition Thursday night to become the nation's top speller. He
said he knew the winning word a noun describing small forceps the
moment the pronouncer said it, but he was more enthusiastic when he
spoke about an upcoming math camp this summer and the calculus class
he'll be taking at the University of California at Berkeley.
"My
favorite things to do were math and music, and with the math I really
like the way the numbers fit together," he said. "And with the music I
like to let out ideas by composing notes and the spelling is just a
bunch of memorization."
Evan won a tense duel with Nate Gartke
of Spruce Grove, Alberta, who was attempting to become the first
Canadian to win the 80th annual bee. Evan and Nate went head-to-head
for three rounds, matching each other's correct spellings until Nate
flubbed the medical word "coryza" by adding the letter "h."
Until
then, Nate had been quite the showman, waving celebrity-like to the
audience after each word and basking in the cheers from a row that
waved red-and-white maple leaf flags.
"I didn't know I could
make it this far," said Nate, who planned to cap his week in Washington
with a tour of Mount Vernon on Friday.
Evan, who tied for 14th
last year, won $35,000 cash, plus a $5,000 scholarship, a $2,500
savings bond and a set of reference works. His victory came even though
he wasn't able to stick to one of his superstitions: He didn't have his
usual pre-competition meal of fish because chicken was served instead
at the Spelling Bee dinner.
Asked if he liked the bee more now
that he's won it, Evan said: "Are you saying I'm supposed to like it
more? Yeah, I do a little bit."
Evan's father, Michael, is a
subway train operator in the San Francisco area. His mother, Jennifer,
is in charge of Evan's schooling. Jennifer said Evan's spelling prowess
has given him some balance in a life that's been dominated by the love
of numbers.
"I believe it's made him more well-rounded," she said.
Evan
was virtually unflappable on stage. The kid who juggles balls around
the room at home while his mother calls out words appeared to be in
trouble only once during the finals, when he had to restart
"schuhplattler" a German-based word describing a dance. At one point,
Evan calmly cleaned his glasses while Nate spelled a word.
The
day began with 59 spellers remaining from the record 286 who started
the competition Wednesday. The field was narrowed to 15 finalists, but
eight were gone after the initial round and two more faltered in the
next round, leaving a fivesome of Evan, Nate, 14-year-old Joseph
Henares, of Avon, Conn., 13-year-old Prateek Kohli of Westbury, N.Y.,
and 14-year-old Isabel Jacobson of Madison, Wis.
Joseph faltered
on "aniseikonia" (a visual defect), while Prateek missed "oberek" (a
Polish folk dance) and Isabel was out on "cyanophycean" (a kind of
algae).
The big surprise was that perennial favorite Samir Patel
wasn't around for the finals. The 13-year-old Texan, in his fifth and
final bee because he can't participate once he's past the eighth grade,
had the audience gasping in disbelief when he misspelled "clevis."
After
placing third, 27th, second and 14th in his previous bees, Samir ended
his bee career with a tie for 34th. He wiped away tears as he talked
about his gaffe.
"The first thing I thought was c-l-e-v-i-s, and
if I had been slow and cautious like I always am, I would have got it
right," he said. "But I just outsmarted myself. It was an easy word. I
just made a stupid mistake."
Samir's mother, Jyoti, appealed his
dismissal, based on subtle differences in the way the word's final
syllable could be pronounced. The appeal was denied.
"In the
end, I think I said it right," pronouncer Jacques Bailly said. "I
really wanted him to get it right, and I'm really sorry that he or his
family have some questions about it."
On the Net: Scripps National Spelling Bee: http://www.spellingbee.com
Copyright
2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Copyright © 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures
HSLDA EXPERT SPEAKERS
AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS:
The
following guest experts are available to discuss home schooling and
various education issues in the news. Each speaker’s geographic region
is listed below.
 About Dewitt T. Black III, Esq.
Speaker
for interviews from: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware,
Georgia, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota,
Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Dee Black received
his Juris Doctorate degree in 1973 from Memphis State University School
of Law and his Master of Laws degree from Georgetown University Law
Center in 1979.
Mr. Black has been practicing law for 32 years
and is licensed to practice in his native state of Arkansas, in
addition to the District of Columbia and South Carolina where he was in
private practice for 11 years just prior to joining Home School Legal
Defense Association. As Senior Counsel at HSLDA for the past 15 years,
Dee
is responsible for legal matters involving the Association’s members in
13 states, including Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware,
Georgia, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota,
Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and the territory of Guam.
Dee and his wife, Ricci, have four children, all of whom have been
taught at home.
 Christopher J. Klicka, Esq…
Spokesman for national shows and as a substitute speaker for states
where the official designated spokesman is unavailable.
Christopher
J. Klicka is Senior Counsel of the Home School Legal Defense
Association as well as Director of State and International Relations.
Chris
earned his B.A. from Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania,
and his Juris Doctorate from O.W. Coburn School of Law, Tulsa,
Oklahoma. He is a member of the bars of the Virginia Supreme Court, the
United States Supreme Court, the Fourth Circuit District of Appeals,
and the U.S. District Court of Virginia (Eastern Division).
Since
1985, he has represented thousands of HSLDA member families with their
legal conflicts both inside and outside of the courts. He has provided
expert testimony before numerous legislative and regulatory bodies on
behalf of home schoolers.
A frequent speaker, Chris has
addressed home school conferences throughout the country and is often
interviewed by the media. He is also author of several books including
The Right Choice: The Incredible Failure of Public Education and the
Rising Hope of Home Schooling, Home Schooling in the United States: A
Legal Analysis, and The Right to Home School: A Guide to the Law on
Parents’ Rights in Education.
Chris and his wife Tracy are home
schooling their seven children, including a set of twins (Bethany,
Megan, Jesse, Susannah, Charity, Amy, and John).
 Thomas
“T.J.” Schmidt.
For interviews from Arizona, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York,
Oregon, and Washington State.
Thomas
J. (Tj) Schmidt is the eldest of nine children and was home educated
for nine years, much of that time spent on foreign mission fields.
Tj
received his J.D. from Oak Brook College of Law while serving as a
Legal Assistant at HSLDA. Now, as an HSLDA Staff Attorney, Tj answers
general legal questions and assists members experiencing legal
difficulties.
Tj and his wife, Susan, have two children, Josiah and Suzanna. They
look forward to teaching all of their children at home.
 Michael
Smith, Esq.
Spokesman for interviews in California and Puerto Rico.
J.
Michael Smith is the President of Home School Legal Defense
Association, an organization which he cofounded with Michael Farris in
1983 to protect the right of parents who choose home education as their
way to satisfy the compulsory attendance law in the various states and
Canada. Home School Legal Defense Association now represents over
54,000 member families.
Michael Smith is an attorney licensed
to practice in the states of California, the District of Columbia and
Virginia. Mike received his undergraduate degree from the University of
Arkansas and his Juris Doctorate from the University of San Diego.
After
serving two years as a Deputy City Attorney assigned to the Criminal
Division in San Diego, he went into private practice specializing in
personal injury and criminal defense.
After he and his wife,
Elizabeth, decided to home school their children, Mike became involved
in defending the rights of home schoolers in California. It became
glaringly apparent that home educators could not afford attorneys, and
as a result, Home School Legal Defense Association was established to
defend and advance the constitutional rights of parents to direct the
education of their children and protect family freedom.
He and
his wife have four children. Their oldest daughter, Kari, is a
paralegal in San Francisco. Their next daughter, Chrissy, was their
first homeschool graduate and is a graduate of UCLA. Their two youngest
children, Andrew and Erin, were also homeschooled and graduated from
George Mason University. Mike has a simple purpose and message for his
life work: Faith, family, and freedom.
 Scott
W. Somerville, Esq.
Spokesman
for Talk Show interviews from Washington, DC, Massachusetts, Minnesota,
Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming.
Scott
Somerville is Executive Director of the Center for the Original Intent
of the Constitution, and brief writer for the litigation team at the
Home School Legal Defense Association, where he has worked as an
attorney since 1992. He entered Harvard Law School in 1989, and
graduated with honors in 1992.
Scott graduated from Dartmouth
College in 1979 as a Phi Beta Kappa, where he met and married Marcia
Lawrence Somerville (Dartmouth, 1980). Before Harvard, Scott worked as
a computer programmer. He and Marcia have home schooled all six of
their children, with two now in college.
Scott handles special
projects for HSLDA’s President, writes briefs for many cases, and
directs the Center for Original Intent. When Scott isn’t writing
briefs, he’s writing action adventures for kids like his first novel,
Olympus.
 About
Scott A. Woodruff, Esq.
Spokesman for
Talk Show interviews from Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland,
Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South
Dakota, and West Virginia.
Scott A. Woodruff has been a staff
attorney for Home School Legal Defense Association since 1998. He has
defended thousands of homeschool families when their rights were
threatened by social workers, school superintendents, state departments
of education, law enforcement officials and others. He is currently
responsible for helping HSLDA members with homeschool legal issues in
13 states.
He has testified on behalf of HSLDA members at
hearings before legislative committees in nine states. His articles
have been published in the Peabody Journal of Education and the
Washington Times and he has been a guest on numerous radio shows.
After
finishing law school at the University of Virginia in 1980, he worked
for three years under John Ashcroft, then the Missouri Attorney
General, and later U.S. Attorney General. He is a member of the bar of
the United States Supreme Court.
He and his wife of 22 years,
Jane, live in Lincoln, Virginia. Their son, who was homeschooled, is
attending Baylor University on an academic scholarship. They continue
to homeschool their two daughters.
Michael P. Donnelly, Esq.
Speaker for international and U.S. interviews on the German
Homeschooled girl taken from her family.
Mike
Donnelly gain national prominence conducting Talk Shows on the topic of
the German Home Schooled girl who was taken away from her family for
psychiatric evaluations for alleged “school phobia.” Mike valiantly
exposed the dark deeds overseas to the light of international scrutiny.
Mike Donnelly joined Home School Legal Defense Association
after nearly 10 years of corporate and private legal practice. Before
his legal career, Mike served in the United States Army including
combat service as a cavalry officer in the first Persian Gulf war. Mike
attended law school at Boston University where he graduated with honors
and was recognized for being in the top 10 in his class. Mike is a
member of the New Hampshire and Massachusetts Bar Associations.
Previous
experience for Mike includes founding a top-30 Internet marketing and
advertising firm where he served as chief operating officer and general
counsel followed by a private business consulting and law practice.
Serving
on the board of CheNH (Christian Home Educators of New Hampshire) and
the Marketplace Network, Mike is able to help Christian workers
integrate their faith and work. CheNH is a Boston-based ministry.
Mike
resides with his wife Patty and five children in Charles Town, West
Virginia where they homeschool all five of their children.
HOMESCHOOLING: FASTEST
GROWING U.S. EDUCATION SECTOR
Homeschooling
is growing rapidly - private and government estimates show that
homeschooling is growing between 7 and 15 percent per year.
There are an estimated 2 million homeschooled children which is almost
4 percent of the school age population.
Reasons people homeschool:
1. Concern about the safety of their children in public school, crime,
drugs, and negative peer socialization.
2. The ability to teach from a religious perspective.
3.
The belief that parents, in conjunction with a homeschool support
group, can provide a better education than either a public or private
school.
4. Desire to spend more time together as family for better quality of
family life.
Homeschooled
children consistently score well on standardized achievement tests. The
most comprehensive study shows a 20 - 30 percentile point gap in favor
of homeschoolers. For example if the public school average is the 50th
percentile a homeschooler will on average be in the 70th or 80th
percentile.
Homeschool graduates are more involved in community activities than the
average public school student.
Homeschool
graduates are significantly more politically active than the average
public school student. Over 74 percent of homeschooled graduates aged
18-24 voted in an election in the past 5 years. Compare this to a token
29 percent of public schooled graduates who voted during that same time
period.
Homeschooled students consistently win national geographic and spelling
bee contests.
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