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The homeschooling ranks are growing in the United States, with the number of children homeschooled growing from 850,000 in 1999 to more than 1.5 million in 2007, according to the .

Students who are homeschooled are usually taught the same subjects as their peers who attend public schools. Homeschooled students struggle with algebra, write up book reports, and learn to conjugate Spanish verbs – just like their public-schooled friends.

However, one aspect of the public school experience that homeschooled students cannot enjoy is participating in team sports. In recent months, parents of homeschooled children in several states began pushing to change school district rules, advocating for their children to be a part of their local public schools' sports teams. The movement has sparked debate on both sides of the issue, proving that not all parents or school districts are “team” players.

This video explains how to put your homeschooler in the public school's sports program.

Why Some School Boards Are Reluctant to Allow Homeschoolers on Their Teams

Homeschooled students can't meet academic eligibility requirements

In Illinois, the school district 301 board for and against establishing a rule that would allow homeschoolers to join public school teams. According to the , one board member objected to the proposal, arguing that it would not

More than Academics: How Well Public Schools Provide Emotional Support

Children and adolescents arrive at today’s public schools with a wide range of special needs. Some students struggle with depression and anxiety, while others face the difficult task of living with parents who are not financially or emotionally stable. Schoolyard bullies may plague children or may be upset by their parent’s divorce or remarriage.

A recently released national poll aims to examine how well public schools provide support to students with emotional, behavioral, or family problems. Recognizing that in an era of large-scale budget cuts, programs that provide emotional support to students are in danger of being cut, the University of Michigan’s set out to examine how many of our nation’s public schools currently make the grade when it comes to emotionally supporting their students.

In this video, Aukeem Ballard, a teacher at Summit Preparatory Charter High School in Redwood City, CA, discusses the power of mentors in his life and career, comparing having a mentor to standing on the shoulders of giants.

The Study’s Findings

The study asked parents of students from both primary and secondary public schools to give their students’ schools a grade of A through F on three different criteria:

• Providing a Good Education – 83% of parents of primary school students and 75% of parents of

As the United States takes its first steps into a new decade, public education is being scrutinized from every angle. Some advocate eliminating teachers’ unions and tenure, making instructors directly accountable for their students’ progress on standardized tests. Others maintain that the K-12 public education system is suffering from a critical shortage of qualified teachers, and improved salaries and working conditions are needed to recruit the best talent.

While policy-makers debate the feasibility of such large-scale changes, some school districts are trying to improve the educational outcomes of their public high school students by making a small, simple, but potentially powerful change. These school districts are considering changing school start times from the traditional 8:00 am to a later 8:30 am. What is their reasoning? Well-rested students learn better.

The Benefits of Later School Start Times

From improved learning to better health, there is a myriad of reasons public schools are considering starting school at 8:30 am.

Works with Teenagers’ Natural Sleep Rhythms

According to the , children undergo a shift in sleep patterns when they enter puberty which causes them to remain alert later into the evening and to remain sleepy later in the morning. In other words, teenagers are naturally inclined to stay up later at night and wake up later in the morning.

Advocates argue that an 8:30 am start time improves students’ chances of success. In the early morning, when their brains are not

For parents of children attending public schools, it can be exceedingly difficult to express their concerns about disciplinary measures, school policies, or the appropriation of district funding. In the majority of cases, the best place to start is the school board. However, parent-led battles within the public school setting are often frustrating, futile, and swamped in bureaucratic red tape. This guide can help you navigate the school board infrastructure and understand how to best advocate for your child.

describes what a school board does as follows: "A well-run school board plays a vital role in keeping your local schools on track, always with the student's best interests in mind. Ideally, a school board works with, and for, their community with the overarching goal of improving your district’s local schools. They should be maintaining a strong organizational structure for their district, one that empowers the superintendent and district administrators to manage the schools, the teachers to effectively teach, and the students to be supported in a thriving learning environment."

This video describes what a school board does.

The School Board: Where Major Decisions Are Made

For parents experiencing a personal issue related to schooling, the principal or superintendent should be the first port of call. However, if there are concerns relating to the school’s policies or curriculum, the elected school board is the only faction with the authority to

In the United States, the typical kindergartener is five years old. If a child turns five in March or April of a given year, it is highly likely that he or she will start kindergarten the following September. However, for parents whose children’s birthdays fall in the latter half of the calendar year, the question of when to enroll a child in kindergarten becomes more complicated. The practice of “redshirting,” or delaying a child’s enrollment in kindergarten so that the child is slightly older than some of his or her peers, is common

As explained, American children are eligible to start kindergarten based on a birthday cutoff date that is determined by the state, or in some cases, by the local school district. Birthday cutoff dates vary greatly; the Times reports that in Indiana, a child must turn five by July 1 of the year he or she starts kindergarten, while in Connecticut, a child must turn five by January 1 of the year he or she is enrolled in kindergarten.

Although children are generally not allowed to enroll in kindergarten earlier than the cutoff date dictates, they are allowed to wait and enroll a year later if their parents so choose.

The practice of holding a child back so that he or she is slightly older than some of the other students in a classroom is known as “redshirting.” The popular Newsweek blog Nurtureshock reports that