Homeschool support group leaders from across the state attended the AFHE State Leadership Conference on Saturday, January 27th. This annual event is a vital part of the work we do at AFHE. It is an opportunity for the AFHE board to encourage, equip, inform, and show appreciation for Arizona’s homeschool group leaders.

Some of the topics addressed at this year’s conference included:

• A legislative update by Carol Shippy, AFHE Legislative Liaison
• Information about Parental Rights legislation by Thom Flavin (Visit the HSLDA web site www.hslda.org for articles on this important topic)
• An explanation of the differences between private home education and virtual schooling and why virtual schooling is not the same as homeschooling (Read the article When Outsourcing Moves In-House by Carol Shippy in the January/February 2007 issue of the Journal. The HSLDA and AFHE web sites have some excellent articles about charter schools and publicly funded programs for homeschoolers.)
• Journal, Convention, and Graduation updates, and more.

We also enjoyed two very informative, encouraging sessions taught by our guest speaker, Sharon Grimes, on “Growing Strong Support Groups.”

It was our great pleasure to host the 2007 State Leadership Conference to uplift and equip these amazing leaders … homeschooling parents who volunteer their time to serve the homeschool community.

We encourage you to get involved in a homeschool group. Be sure to thank the leaders, support them, and find out how you can help your group succeed at achieving its mission and goals!