2008 Top N.C. Homeschool Stories

1st Homeschooler Named UNC Morehead-Cain Scholar

In March, Kelsey Rushing Farson, the daughter of Jak and Teresa Farson of Davidson, was chosen as the first homeschooler to receive the University of North Carolina's Morehead-Cain Scholarship.

Homeschooling Becomes A Campaign Issue

Home education became a campaign issue in the state's elections in 2008, with candidates from all three parties taking positions involving homeschooling. State Senator Fred Smith (R) and Duke professor Dr. Mike Munger (L) made homeschooling part of their platform and gubernatorial campaigns, as did several candidates for lesser office. However, the greatest controversy involved the support of Charlotte mayor Pat McCrory (R) for an educational tax credit or voucher for families of private- and homeschooled students. Lieutenant Governor Beverly Purdue (D) claimed this was an attempt to divert public school funding to homeschoolers and elite private academies, a claim that was repeated throughout the campaign although denied by McCrory and almost immediately refuted by the Raleigh News & Observer.

Child Fatality Report Calls for More Homeschool Regulation

The report on the abuse-related death of 4-year-old Sean Paddock of Johnston County admitted that social service agencies in both Wake and Johnston counties had failed to identify the problems and intervene with the troubled family that adopted Sean, but newspapers zeroed in on the report's call for closer supervision of homeschoolers generally. Sean's older siblings were homeschooled, although Sean himself was not yet school-aged.

Apologia Educational Ministries Purchased by N.C. Homeschool Leaders

In June, the company which publishes Dr. Jay Wile's popular Apologia Science curriculum was purchased by Davis and Rachael Carman, longtime homeschoolers and board members of North Carolinians for Home Education. Dr. Wile is continuing with the company as an author and speaker, saying he simply wanted someone with shared vision to take over the operation of the business.

Number of N.C. Homeschoolers Tops 70,000

Estimates released by the Division of Non-Public Education in August said that some 71,000 students were being homeschooled in North Carolina in 2007-08, an all-time high.