Homeschoolers Garner National Attention Through Competitive Success
Home-schoolers have garnered a disproportionate number of finalist slots in academic competitions for nearly a decade. As with sports, music and performing arts, competitive academic skills are being honed at young ages. Homeschoolers are emerging as knowledge athletes because academics have been identified as an area for them to realize their full potential.
2007 is definitely the year of the homeschooler. Homeschoolers walked away with top honors in four major academic competitions: The National Geographic Bee, the Scripps National Spelling Bee, the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair, and the first GSN National Vocabulary Championship. A record 129 homeschoolers were named National Merit Scholars in 2006, an increase of more than 600 percent over1995.
Ever since Rebecca Sealfon, of Brooklyn, NY, became the first home schooled student to win the spelling bee in 1997, home school spellers have swept a myriad of regional, state, and national spelling bees. In 2003’s Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in Washington last spring, where nearly 10 percent of the 251 spellers were home schooled, representing a disproportionately high number of winners.
In 1999, David Beihl, a 13-year-old from Saluda, SC, became the first home-schooled student to win the National Geography Bee. On May 23, 2007 14-year-old homeschooler Caitlin Snaring became the first girl in 17 years to win the National Geography Bee, triumphing over a field of nearly 5 million students. On May 31, 2007 a jubilant 13-year-old homeschooler, Evan O'Dorney, was the fourth homeschooler (since 1997) to take home the coveted Scripps National Spelling Bee trophy.
They are winning big cash prizes as well. Michael Viscardi, 16, won $100,000 in the 2006 Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science, and Technology, a nationwide contest that involved 1,684 entrants nationwide. On May 18, 20007 16-year-old homeschooler Philip Streich won a $50,000 scholarship as one of the "best of the best" in this year's Intel International Science & Engineering Fair (the Intel ISEF), garnering one of the three Intel Foundation Young Scientist awards. He was the first homeschooler ever to win this top award.
On March 5, 2007 homeschooler Robert Marsland was the first homeschooler to win the GSN National Vocabulary Championship. This garnered him $40,000 towards his college education. At 17, Johanna was recognized as the first homeschool winner of a $40,000 Ruth DeYoung Kohler Scholarship for Artistic Merit in her home state of Wisconsin.
July 10th, 2008 19 students from St. Louis Missouri became the first homeschooled students to successfully introduce and pass legislation at the state level.
St. Louis is also the home of George Thampy, who won not only the 2000 National Scripps Howard Spelling Bee, but also came in second in the 2000 National Geography Bee. Thampy also tied for fourth in the national spelling bee 1998, and tied for third in 1999. Actually in 2000, Thampy was not the only home schooled speller in the Scripts Bee in the spotlight: second and third place finishers Sean Conley of Newark, CA, and Alison Miller of Albany, NY, are also educated at home.
Other big winners
Chelsea Bets Christenson won the United Nation’s High School Essay Contest in both 2003 and 2005.
Kate Siegel took first place out of 80,000 other students from the United States and Europe to become the national winner of the Veterans of Foreign Wars "Voice of Democracy" Speech Competition in Washington, D.C. in 2006.
Calvin McCarter, a fifth grader from Michigan became the youngest winner of the National Geographic Bee competition in 2002 at the age of 10.
In 2000, five home schooled students from Richardson, TX, were recognized as winners at both the state and national levels of the NASA Seeds II Science Fair.
Garrett Young, 17, won the Glenn T. Seaborg Nobel Prize Visit Award in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Detriot, May 12, 2000.
Chris Mayernik, a 12-year-old home schooled student from Fairfax, VA, won the national 1998 Lego
Deep Sea Challenge Build-a-thon. Home schooler Paul Griebenow from Tazewell, VA, is a national champion in flying battery-powered, 6-to-8-foot-wingspan aircraft
Jason Ferguson, a home school student from Texas, won third place in the 2001 National Geography Bee. Three of today's finalists were home schooled, while eight of the 55 who started the national competition on Tuesday home schooled.
Jonathan Janus, a home schooler from South Carolina, won third place in the 2000 Geography Bee.
David Beihl, of Saluda, South Carolina, won first place the 1999 National Geography Bee.
Sean Conley, of California, came in second the 2000 National Scripps Howard Spelling Bee.
Alison Miller, of New York, came in third in the 2000 National Scripps Howard Spelling Bee.
John Kizer, of Portsmouth, Ohio, won second place in the 1998 National Geography Bee.
Isabel Mariana Garcia-Delucca, a 12 year old home-schooler from Owings Mills, Maryland, was crowned Miss Maryland Pre-Teen on Saturday, July the 3rd, 2003.
Jay C. Rickel, Jr., of Kalispell, Montana in 2001 was the first home schooler to be named one the winners in the Boston Globe's annual essay contest for students in grades 6, 7, and 8. There were 3,800 contestants and 10 winners.
Amber Busha in 2002 at age 14 won the U.S. Peace Institute's National Essay Contest.
James Williams, 14, won the 2003 National Geographic's Geography Bee.
On April 17-18, 2008, a team of seven homeschooled high schoolers swept the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) World Championship in Atlanta, Georgia.
Matthew Evans, 12, took first place in National Word Power Challenge in May 2007.
In 2006, Legos in Paradise, a team of nine homeschooled boys from the Greater Grand Rapids, MI
took first place in the First Lego League Robot Challenge.
Jaymes and Jansina Grossman received the Congressional Gold Award on June 21, 2006, for educating others about Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Eli Owens was named a 2006/2007 Goldwater Scholar in March 2006.
Emily Lockwood, 17, won the National Endowment for Humanities annual Idea of America Essay Contest on October 18, 2005.
Fourteen homeschooled high schoolers won the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) Division III State Swimming and Diving Championships on February 19, 2005.
Christy Reid, a 5th-grade homeschooler from Hayden Lake, Idaho, won the 2005 National Arbor Day Poster Contest.
Jason Heki, 17, named Young Entrepreneur of the Year by the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship in their the Entrepreneurial Spirit Awards Program, 2005.
Rachel Oldsm, 18, won first place in the National Junior Miss Scholarship Pageant held in Mobile, Alabama, 2006.
Alison Miller, 14, won third place in the 2000 USA Math Olympiad Summer Program.
Eight 6th grade home schooled students in Missouri competed in the 2006 National Knowledge
Master and placed 2nd in Missouri, 5th in the U.S. and 63rd worldwide.
Hannah Goodman won the Missouri State Geography Bee held in Columbia on March 30, 2007.
St. Louis Patriot Varsity Boys basketball team who placed 3rd out of sixteen teams at the 5 state Midwest Regional Homeschool Basketball Tournament 2007.
Homeschool debate team from Alabama place first out of 500 12-to 18-year-old students who competed at the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association Debate Championships in 2005.
Four homeschooled students were named semifinalists in the Presidential Scholars competition in 2006.
Jonathan Laws, 14, was the first homeschooler picked for the Kelley Junior Executive Institute, a summer program at Indiana University that identifies 50 high-achieving, primarily minority high-school students interested in studying business.