Truancy issue squashed with Parent-School Compact

When our daughter was 10 years old, the truant officer arrived at our home. To make a long story short, we were 'squealed on' by the state's home-study coordinator (also a homeschool mom) who was jealous of the attention we were receiving from the media and organizations inviting us for speaking engagements. She felt, as Home-Study Coordinator, it was her job to speak for homeschooling in Vermont, not us. Along with the principal of our local school and its superintendent, she knew were were not enrolled in the state's home-study program. After that green-eyed bee in her bonnet stung her repeatedly, she figured it was time to grab some attention for herself and her Department of Education cronies.

Once the truant officer left our house without my signature on his Failure To Attend School Notice, I decided to compose my own contract for the local school officials. I call it the Parent-School Compact. I met with the school principal a few days later and presented him with my document. I also informed him I'd be happy to fight the truancy (which we were not) on the front page of the local paper, recruit other parents to homeschooling while hanging out at his school, and my child would have her own personal bodyguard while attending his little prison. Needless to say, he refused to sign my contract and basically told me that if, in the future, we didn't bother him, he wouldn't bother us.  We never heard from our school district again and we didn't enroll in the state's home-study program either.

The following is a copy of that contract, without our personal information and composed so that others may copy and use this document to their own advantage. Feel free to copy, make adjustments, add or subtract your own requirements, and use as you see fit.

---------------------------------------------

Parent-School Compact

(parents)

Name:

Address:

Telephone #:

(school)

Name:

Address:

Telephone #:

Re: (child’s name)

2012-2013 School Year

In the cooperative interest of ensuring a positive partnership between your school and we, parents, and by pursuing great expectations for the success of our son/daughter as a student at (name of school), we agree to support the following Parent-School Compact:

The Faculty and Administration of (name of school) will:

-refrain from any form of discipline towards our son/daughter since we are being forced to send our child to you under the threat of imprisonment and fines;

-under no circumstances prevent our son/daughter from learning freely and with an open, inquisitive mind;

-treat our son/daughter with the respect and dignity they would wish for their own family;

-provide a minimum of two hours of recreational reading time each day for our child;

-refrain from any form of grading including grade-level, group-level or team-training;

-refrain from using report cards, portfolios and other forms of assessment;

-refrain from assigning any form of homework, research or the equivalent thereof;

-refrain from giving or presenting any form of oral or written questions, quizzes and testing or the equivalent thereof, including SAT’s;

-provide a quiet and orderly area for the purpose of eating meals or snacks and refrain from sending our child to the school cafeteria for such a purpose;

-provide a minimum of 2 hours of computer access time daily;

-provide a minimum of 3 hours of private music, voice and dance lessons weekly;

-provide instruction in Latin, U.S. Constitution, U.S.Government & Law, American History, World History, Greek History, Roman History, Advanced Math, Advanced Science, Business & Marketing, and Classic Literature;

-refrain from discussing or presenting any pagan, school version, or commercial holidays and symbols such as Kawaanza, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Jack-O-Lantern, Leprechauns, etc.;

-refrain from presenting or discussing any such topics as sexual intercourse, puberty, sexuality, AIDS, homosexuality, sexually transmitted diseases, peer pressure, self-esteem, career counseling, values clarification, personal and family history;

-refrain from requiring our son/daughter to raise his/her hand for permission or conversational purposes;

-refrain from denying our son/daughter restroom privileges, water and food sources at any moment or time of day;

-refrain from allowing our son/daughter to be in the presence of any school health counselor, career counselor, or psychological counselor at any time before, during, or after school hours;

-refrain from restricting our son’s/daughter’s choice of clothing and apparel;

-refrain from testing our son/daughter by special education instructors or to determine the need for special education classes or services;

-refrain from placing our son/daughter in any special education classes and/or subject them to any special education instruction.

The parents of this (school name) child will:

-attend school orientations, open houses and parent-teacher meetings;

-treat school personnel with the respect and dignity they’ve earned;

-encourage independent reading;

-guarantee regular attendance, promptness and readiness to pursue a meaningful education;

-minimize medical/dental appointments whenever necessary;

-volunteer in the classroom and/or school in a way that supports our child’s education;

-provide an escort of our choosing at all times for our child during the hours he/she is in attendance or public school.

I agree with this Parent-School Compact and pledge to do everything in my power to enhance student achievement and promote effective home-school communication.

_________________________________________     Date____/____/____

(signature of parent/guardian)

_________________________________________     Date____/____/____

(signature of child/student)

__________________________________________     Date____/____/____

(signature of child’s teacher)

__________________________________________     Date____/____/____

(signature of principal)

 ---------------------------------------------

A stop on one of our many homeschool excursions to explore the country

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Is your child "damaged goods already marked for failure"?

In 1992 Mark Tucker, known as the Music Man of Education Reform, wrote his famous 18 page letter to Hillary Clinton to congratulate her on winning the presidential election. Not much has changed since he penned the letter and education in this country has gone from bad to worse under Bush-1, the Clintons (yes, they thought of themselves as a team), Bush-2 and now Obama. It seems the only reform education gets in this country is the catchy little name put on the programs that are implemented by each administration: Goals 2000, Outcome Based Education, School-To-Work, No Child Left Behind, etc.

For those of you who remember this letter, it caused quite a stir. Once this idea took hold of the public schools in the form of OBE, homeschooling took off like a greyhound out of the starting gate. Tucker's cradle to grave idea is still around and much has been written about it. OBE was regretfully legislated into many states but here in Vermont it was allowed into our schools through the back door, thanks to a few old codgers looking to get their names engraved on some state owned buildings.

The most offensive part of Tucker's ideas that the politicians were thrilled to go along with, was his idea that children were simply considered as human resources. You know, sort of like chattel to be herded about and whipped into conformity. Everything was planned out for your child from birth because the government wanted to make sure (and still does) your child is prepared for the work force. If you didn't comply and your child wasn't properly primed using state standards, or if your child had learning disabilities, then your child could be considered "damaged goods already marked for failure". What happens to damaged goods? Take a look around. Just who, exactly, is creating the damaged goods? How much longer can America survive when its public schools continue to follow this path of non-education?

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New Hampshire mom persecuted for teaching religion in her homeschool

You may have first heard about Brenda Voydatch here. She's the homeschooling mom in Meredith, New Hampshire who was forced to send her life-long homeschooled daughter into public school because her ex-husband decided she was too religious.

Douglas Kennedy has done a follow up on this case for Fox News. For those of you who remember the Karen Maple case here in Vermont, Douglas covered that story for Fox News as well.

We'll be keeping an eye on this story to see the outcome, especially now that the New Hampshire legislature recently introduced House Bill 301, the Homeschool Freedom Act.

Let's all hope Brenda's daughter can return home and learn in peace!

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10 Reasons School is Prison & 5 Ways to Break Free From Captive Thinking

http://www.swissarmywife.net/2010/04/10-ways-school-is-prison-and-5-ways-to-break-free-from-captive-thinking/10 Reasons School is Prison & 5 Ways to Break Free From Captive Thinking

Heather writes a great article on a subject dear to my heart...public schools are nothing more than camouflaged prisons. Today, however, the schools are much more blatant about their status with lock downs, legally drugging children into submission and the handcuffing of little children. I am so happy to see young moms like Heather take up the cause for homeschooling since I'm sort of out of the loop now that my children are 19 and 22 years old.

"3. Trust yourself. You must trust in yourself, before you can truly trust in your child."

This was probably the best advice I ever received as a new homeschooling mom over 22 years ago. I needed to learn to trust my myself to teach my own and trust that I knew what was best for my children and for my family as a whole. I needed to trust that what I saw in the public school was pure poison to children and families. I needed to trust my instincts telling me that sending a child into a public school was no less than a death sentence for that child!

Kudos to Heather for sharing her thoughts and discoveries! Be sure to visit Heather's blog to read her article in its entirety.

The War on Kids...Public Schools Or Prisons? You decide!

It seems like every decade a pattern of bizarre behavior surfaces in our public schools. I'm not talking about the students here but of the schools themselves and their policies. When we first started homeschooling and I became a home education advocate parents would come to me complaining about the behavior modification and indoctrination in global community their children were being subjected to in public schools. We were finally able to put our finger on it and pinpoint the culprit...OBE...outcome based education.

What is it now? What is it called today? Zero tolerance? Not sure but take a look at this documentary titled 'The War on Kids' directed by Cevin Soling. This is chilling!

Be sure to check out the trailer at youtube along with several other amazing clips here and here.

Fortunately, many parents are finally catching on. They're reworking their priorities and finances in order to rescue their children from the grips of public schooling. For some it's too late but we need to keep up the pressure to get children out of these dangerous hell holes. People who work in these public schools are only prolonging the problem and should be ashamed of themselves for perpetrating such a horrific injustice on these innocent children. What is happening in public schools is nothing short of criminal and unconstitutional.

The gauntlet is laid before your feet. It is a war and I for one am willing to lead with the battle cry....GET THE CHILDREN OUT NOW!

State takes custody of 7-year-old over homeschooling

State takes custody of 7-year-old over homeschooling

Make a stink over this folks! It doesn't matter this is happening in Sweden. This is a familiar scene in America as well, I know, I've seen it first hand.

"In an online statement at the time, Johansson said, "While we may do things differently than most Swedes, we have not broken any laws and we have not harmed our son. We decided as a family that we wanted to move to India where we could be near my wife's family. But the government has taken over my family, and now we are living in a nightmare. I fear for the life of my wife under this torture and for the well-being of my son who has only been allowed to see his parents for a few hours since he was taken. The government is alienating my son from me, and I am powerless to do anything."

Social workers think they are GOD! All the ones that I've met are miserable, self-serving, bitter elitist. They are some of the most dangerous people to walk this planet because they abuse their authority and know how to get away with it. I haven't met a social worker yet that gave a rat's ass about the welfare of children and I've met many of them. They were all on some sort of ego trip and were more concerned about their job security and the power that comes with it!

Make a BIG stink over this!!!

World Net Daily has done a great job of following this story and has a long list of links so that others can learn more.

A must see video for beginning homeschoolers

Review:

If you are simply thinking about homeschooling your child or are a beginner homeschooling parent you may want to consider watching the following 3 part video titled You Can Homeschool, Part 1; You Can Homeschool, Part 2; and You Can Homeschool, Part 3, produced by HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association). This video is informative and encouraging. The parents and home environments appear to be a little over polished but the gist is don't be afraid to follow your instincts. Only you know what is best for your own child so don't let the so-called public school experts tell you otherwise.

Parents interviewed for this video give some rather compelling reasons to homeschool and some have good insight into parenting in general. Part 3 heavily promotes the HSLDA but, afterall, it is their video. Over the years HSLDA has brought attention to the fragility of our rights as parents and, by its sheer presence, has emboldened many families to choose homeschooling. Try to overlook the school rooms that have been recreated in the homes in this video, since many of us threw off those institutionalized trappings long ago and 'unschooled' our children.

Homeschooling has changed much in the last 20+ years. I know, I was one of the front runners who helped pave the way for other families. We fought many battles and enlightened many skeptics but the journey was well worth it. Tough lessons were learned by both child and parent but parental and constitutional rights were restored or maintained. Even though our children are now grown many of us are still out there on the front line making sure a whole new generation experiences the ultimate homeschool benefit...FREEDOM!

Why some countries welcome children being taught...

http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15469407

This story about the Romeike family from Germany is an eye opener. Many of us take for granted that homeschooling is welcome everywhere in this world. Not so!

"Under Germany’s stringent rules, home schooling is allowed only in exceptional circumstances. Before emigrating, Mr and Mrs Romeike had been fined some €12,000 ($17,000); policemen had arrived at their house and forcibly taken their children to school. The Romeikes feared that the youngsters might soon be removed by the state."

Kudos and the best of luck to the Romeikes!

Homeschooling Missouri mom receives custody

This homeschooling Missouri mom deserves kudos. Why? Throughout divorce proceedings she fought a long and difficult battle to keep her constitutional, parental and God-given right to homeschool her children. She eventually WON!

"A St. Charles County mother now has the final say in whether she continues to home-school her children, but a judge's ruling in a divorce case also suggests she find work to support herself."

Finding 'work to support herself' is the least of her worries. Lisa Payne-Naeger and her former husband were awarded joint legal custody but Lisa was granted the right to make the final decision if she and her ex-hubby cannot agree on educational issues. This is a BIG deal because most cases don't end this way.

Kudos to Circuit Judge Rick Zerr too! Hopefully, this will set a precedence for future cases. Zerr wrote in his brave and wise ruling: "For a case that was said at the start to 'not be about home schooling,' a substantial portion of the trial time, by both parties, centered on the concept and practice of home schooling."

Homeschool graduate fights to become firefighter

Way to go Derek! This homeschool graduate had to fight to become a firefighter even though he was doing well in his training and ranked at the top of his class. Another homeschooler paves the way for others. Thank you Derek for your efforts and we wish you much success!

Truancy court? Since when?

When did this country start setting up truancy courts? Is Texas the only state with one? Hmmmmmmm.

Didn't give up my rights in the first place

Judy Aron seems to think we need to grovel for our rights in her article Arresting Developments.

The US Constitution supersedes state law. These parents were well within their constitutional, parental and God-given rights to homeschool without state interference...no matter what state they were living in. The state of NY is WRONG and so were the school officials and cowardly sheriff who arrested the parents.

Laws change constantly. One day you can't teach a negro to read and the next day you can. One day you can't marry your same sex lover and the next day you can. One day you can hang a murderer and the next day you can't. One day you can take a cow up in an air balloon and the next day you can't. We all know laws are written and passed for the pleasure and power of the few who have deceitfully brokered their way into the legislative assemby. Authorities only pay attention to the archaic laws that will garner them the most power, prestige and money.

More parents should stand their ground and refuse to give up their constitutional, parental and God-given rights. Only then will those in power understand their tyranny will not be tolerated and THEY must change the laws to favor the rights of the people or eliminate the laws that hinder those rights. It is NOT up to the people to grovel and hound legislators into allowing us to keep our rights.

Fortunately, a situation like this in NY serves to expose the corruption and lies of the school, the sheriff and the legislature...and the ignorance of Judy Aron.

Aron quotes Deborah Stevenson saying: "It is time for all parents to wake up and look at what has been happening and to take back their right to control the education and upbringing of their own children." Well, excuse me, but I never gave up my rights in the first place so why should I grovel to take them back? We simply kept our children out of public school and their rules be damned.

Six year old facing 45 days in reform school...

The only crime committed here occurred when Zachery's mom enrolled him in public school. So now she's 'homeschooling' him (temporarily) until the matter can be resolved. C'mon mom, wise up! You knew the rules when you sent your baby off to school. Stop blaming the school for enforcing its rules no matter how absurd they are about applying the punishment across the board. We can only hope that Zachery's mom will wise up and decide to homeschool him permanently.

Archives 9/28/06: Need a good laugh? From the Democratic Underground.com: The Onion That is Home Schooling by Michael Harris

While poking around on the net I found this 9/28/06 ignorant article in the archives of the Democratic Underground. Michael Harris attempts to portray homeschoolers as racists and separatists with The Onion That is Home Schooling. What a hoot! Check out some of the nitwit responses after the article.

I guess I'm a separatist since I kept my children out of public school so they wouldn't be subjected to idiot teachers and the kids in the neighborhood known for destroying private property, their inabilities to read, write or calculate, and for harassing elderly citizens in the middle of the night. That isn't exactly the sort of education or socialization I wanted my children exposed to.

Mr. Harris wins a belated Dork Award for his writings.

Handcuffs for homeschoolers???

Read another opinion here about the recent California court decision that would turn thousands of that state's homeschooling parents into criminals.

Homeschoolers not taking California court decision lying down

It seems everyone is weighing in on the recent California court decision that would require homeschooling parents be credentialed. Kelly Boggs at Baptist Press had his say and a right good argument against the stupidity of the court's decision.

Luis Huerta at Teachers College Columbia University weighs in...

HSLDA says no reason to panic...YET!!!

It's all about the teacher's union and their death grip on America's children. The public schools are not doing such a terrific job but, heaven forbid, parents who can do a better job should be allowed to teach their own children. I, for one, am sick of these union thugs whose only interest is their own job security and job comfort.

Homeschooling parents don't need advice from old hags either...

"They can't tell me how I can cut his hair"...wannna bet?

This mom is upset her 6 year old was tossed out of his charter school for having a Mohawk haircut. According to mom there is nothing in the school handbook that prohibits it but it appears that information is open to interpretation. The school ruled against her and sent the child home.

What did she expect? Once you sign your name on the dotted line to enroll your child in any form of institutionalized schooling you've given up your constitutional and parental rights. When you sign your name to the enrollment form it is your way of saying you will abide by the school's every rule, policy and whim without question. Some parents only learn this after much embarrassment and trauma to their child.

No, the Mohawk is NOT a big deal and mom is trying to do what is best for her son. However, once again a parent is caught in the web of outlandish and paranoid rules and regulations in a system that cares more about behavior modification, attitudinal adjustment and political correctness than it does about reading, writing and arithmetic.

What is guerrilla homeschooling?

What is guerrilla homeschooling? You've heard about homeschooling. You've heard about unschooling. Now you are hearing about guerrilla homeschooling. We're the ones who placed the word homeschooling on the tip of everyone's tongue and made homeschooling mainstream.

We are the home based educators who have paved the way for others through trial and error, through thick and thin, through the good times and the bad. We began in earnest and finished as proud parents of literate, intelligent, well adjusted and successful young adults who are now making their own way in the world. These children are of good character and are contributing members of their communities.

We are the home based educators who fought for and maintained our God-given, parental and constitutional rights. We are the home based educators who created an awareness that parents were meant to raise their own children, not some cockeyed version of a 'village' doing it. We took back our children and raised them as we saw fit to do, without interference from the so-called experts and without the public school's influence. We started from day one when our children were born. We stood our ground and didn't cave in to so-called child expert theories and shenanigans.

Our children have grown up free of labels, psychological and medically induced stupors, and whiney, self-absorbed peer pressures. Our children have grown up in the real world away from the artificial, institutionalized and self-destructive world of forced public schooling. It wasn't easy but it was worth the battle to maintain our sanity and safety of our children.

A new generation of children is emerging. A new generation of children who are educated not schooled, informed not indoctrinated, and whole not a hollowed out shell of what was once a loving, inquisitive child.

You'll read some rather frank and honest opinions here but feel free to jump into the debate. Don't be afraid to share your views or ask questions. Don't take things personally and do express your views.

You'll eventually see and understand there is a common thread here that joins us all. We all want what is best for our own children and we all want to maintain our rights, whether God-given, parental or constitutional. We all learn by trial and error. If we didn't we wouldn't be human. Instincts tend to play a huge roll in guerrilla homeschooling. Follow your instincts but arm yourself with knowledge. Question the policies, whims and propaganda that flows from the NEA controlled public schools. Learn the difference between getting an education and being schooled. Read, read, read and discuss.

The beauty of homeschooling, whether unschooling or guerrilla, is that you can learn right along side of your growing, inquisitive and loving child. Take back your child. Give them a fighting chance in this ruthlessly schooled world.

Cindy Wade
Home Education Advocate &
Guerrilla Homeschooler

The Public School Did The Crime But Karen Maple Did The Time!

Digging deep into the photo archives I found this. This is a group photo taken during the Karen Maple case here in Vermont. This is from the day Fox News interviewed Karen at her home in Bakersfield, Vermont. Douglas Kennedy of Fox News and his camera crew spent the day with us interviewing myself, Karen and her son, Trevor. That's Karen in the pink dress and Trevor in the shades. Douglas is standing to the left of Trevor. The two younger children are mine.

It turned out to be a beautiful sunny day and was a great learning experience for everyone involved. It was truly a pleasure to meet Douglas, who is no stranger to politics and controversy, and his crew. Douglas was very kind to Karen and very thorough in his interview. He fairly gave both sides of the issue but most importantly he gave Karen the opportunity to have her story told.

Basically, the matter boiled down to a U.S. citizen being denied her constitutional rights while still operating within the law. It was the local school and Department of Education who were violating those rights and operating outside the law. The harder Karen pushed back to preserve those rights the more devious the state officials became. One of the most irritating things about the whole episode was the state's portrayal of Karen as a sort of country bumpkin', as if that meant it was alright to deny her her rights. Karen was eventually exonerated by the Vermont Supreme Court but the actions of those at the local public school and the VT DOE went unpunished.

Below is also a photo from the same day. Here Douglas Kennedy is interviewing me for Fox News while his cameraman films. We were seated on the green in the town of Bakersfield.

Karen Maple Case: Letter To The Editor

Truant Mom Being Denied Constitutional Rights! (original title)

20 July 1999

To The Editor:

There is a procedure within the Vermont public school system where a school will carry a student on their rolls even though that same student is not in attendance, for whatever reason, of that school. I am told by a school board chair that after several months (sometimes as much as six months) the school will contact the state to inform them a child was not in attendance and then reimburse the state the funds which they provided for that student. But, what if a student has been carried on the school roll for 3 years (!) and has not been in attendance all that time due to his mother's decision to homeschool him? Once it is found out that a school has done so that would be quite a 'chunk of change' that school must reimburse the state, would it not? And with the hoopla these days over Act 60 and tight funding it is easy to see why any school would want to prevent a student from leaving their domain, especially a special education student that is bringing in thousands of extra dollars.

It appears this situation has happened within the Bakersfield Elementary School here in Vermont. A young mother by the name of Karen Maple made the choice to homeschool her son, Trevor, after years of intolerable treatment of her son by that elementary school and the school's repeated failure to teach him anything. Karen took Trevor out of school against the wishes of the school board chair's wife and the administration and started to homeschool him. She has tried repeatedly to register him with the state department of education but even they insist he reenroll at the Bakersfield school due to pressure from Superintendent Mary Sherrer who knows how important funding is to this small school. Ms. Sherrer even informed Karen that she could homeschool only 'if' she keeps Trevor in special ed. which only means Bakersfield Elementary will still get its money from the state for Trevor but Karen will still have to teach him at home if she expects Trevor to learn anything.

In a letter from Ms. Sherrer to James Hughes, State's Attorney, dated October 2, 1998 she informs him that Trevor has not attended her school since the 1996-1997 school year and she insists that Mr. Hughes 'force' Karen to comply and make 'this case a top priority.' Ms. Sherrer writes 'this child has gone two full years and now well into the beginning of a third year without an education' but meanwhile Karen has been homeschooling him and Trevor's test scores keep rising.

Karen has been battling for her constitutional and God given rights to raise and educate her children as she sees fit and she sees fit to give Trevor every opportunity to learn and to thrive without the detrimental so-called special education program offered by the Bakersfield school. Karen is determined to protect her son and see to his education herself without interference from an uncaring school administration and one that chooses to ignore Karen's success so far in homeschooling her son.

Karen owns her own home on 10 acres of land and pays property taxes. She also has an 18 year old son and a two year old daughter. Karen is a nursing mother whom superintendent Mary Sherrer has brought down the wrath of Franklin County Court judge Michael Kupersmith, Social Rehabilitative Services, State's Attorney James Hughes, Director of Special Programs
Michelle Jewett, Bakersfield Elementary School Principal Jay Nichols (who informed me over the telephone that this was all a bunch of bull___t and he's never even met Trevor) and Department of Education's Home Study Consultant Natalie Casco who have all threatened to take Karen from her nursing baby and throw her in jail if she doesn't comply. They have also
threatened and have succeeded in taking her son Trevor and putting him into SRS custody. According to court docket 199-10-98 Frjv the court has ordered '-the child be detained' meaning SRS can come barging through Karen's door and take her son at any given moment. Gestapo tactics or what?! And all Karen intended to do was provide her son with a loving, nurturing
environment in which to get a solid education.

Vermonters have an opportunity here to see their hard earned tax dollars at work and can take comfort in knowing their money is being used to sever a determined mother from her children (including a nursing baby) and her property. Karen has no money for legal defense and must depend on the services of a public defender who has proven time and time again that his
interest lies with the states' actions. Many of these same hooligans are taking advantage of Karen's own lack of education to defend her children, her property and her constitutional rights.

I have before me the results of a Stanford test which Karen and her son were tricked and coerced into taking in April of this year. Since homeschooling her son for the last 3 years Trevor's scores have risen from below average to above average in many areas, including math, science and social studies. The Bakersfield superintendent, the juvenile court and the Department of Education's own Natalie Casco are all refusing to take these results into
consideration. In fact, it appears they were somewhat disappointed that Trevor did so well on this test because they can see for themselves if they would just leave he and his mother alone this young boy may actually finally get a decent education and finally heal the damage done to him over the years by the Bakersfield Elementary School's incompetence.

In a heart wrenching letter from Trevor addressed 'To Whom It May Concern' he pleads with these officials to leave him alone and let him get on with his education at home. He informs us that the best thing they could do for him is to help him gain 'more megabytes' for his computer or buy him a new one so he can continue to accomplish what the elementary school in his town
has denied him for years--a decent well-rounded education based on a solid foundation of facts and figures and not the social engineering going on at school. Trevor pleads with these administrators to stop their abuse that keeps him awake at night of his mother and family. Is their anyone in Vermont who could find it in their hearts and wallets to provide Trevor with
his wishes and to stand between him and an abusive system that seeks to pull him down?!

According to Tennyson Doane, chair of the Bakersfield Elementary School Board, he and his board are more concerned with the issue of truancy and whether or not he and other board members can be held legally responsible for a student's failure to attend school than for the fact that Trevor is finally learning something (proven by the Stanford test he was tricked into
taking) after his mother took charge of his education. Mr. Doane and I had a lengthy phone conversation on July 19 at approximately 9:00 pm and, although our conversation was cut short when his wife took the phone from him in a motherly fashion, we managed to discuss Karen's situation in length. It appears that Mr. Doane is like any other school board member I have
encountered. He, along with the other board members, are being kept in the dark by the school's hired administration. It was also at this time that Mr. Doane's wife informed me that it was her decision to not allow Karen Maple to homeschool her children because she felt Karen was not strong enough emotionally to handle the job. Say, what?!

It would appear that it is about time for our legislators and the public to step in to assist Karen with this legal battle she is having with the Bakersfield Elementary School, the Franklin Northeast Supervisory Union, the Department of Education (whom by the way have links to porno websites on their very own website under the guise of language arts!!!), the Franklin
County Family Court, the Franklin County State's Attorney's Office, and Social Rehabilitative Services. The people who work in these places are quick to pass the buck and those at the Bakersfield Elementary School and it's school board keep telling me they have nothing to do with this when I beg to differ. If they truly care about the children that we are forced under the threat of jail to send to them, as they claim they all care, then why are they pursuing this mother to the point of an SRS agent hounding her at a local store on the evening of June 8th and making unwelcomed physical contact with her in order to intimidate her?

It is time for our legislators and the public to show some guts and assist this mother in her fight for her constitutional and God given rights. If Karen fails in her plight then we all fail. We'll fail to maintain our freedoms and our right to be a parent without interference from greedy, ignorant and ruthless powermongers who hide behind bad laws that serve to advance their selfish cause.

Cindy E. Wade
Home Education Advocate & Truant M.O.M.