A Look Back at 2006

Highlights of 2006
A trip down memory lane, or an opportunity to catch up on events and info you may have missed the first time around:
In 2006, we enjoyed connecting with a cross section of Massachusetts homeschoolers in a variety of ways:
• AHEM's Spring Social in May (for photos, click here)
• Field trips to the The Peabody Essex Museum in March, The Black Heritage Trail in April, The Massachusetts State House in April and October, Ragtime in May, The EcoTarium in June, The Diary of Anne Frank in September, The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in September, The Spellman Museum of Stamps and Postal History in October, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in December.

Throughout the year, we reported on a variety of issues important to Massachusetts homeschoolers:
• US DOE Clarifies IDEA Consent Override Procedures
• Update on H. R. 1815, The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006
• Homeschool Policies in Massachusetts
• The Logic Behind Our Legislative Alerts
• Homeschooling in the Northeast
• Legislation

We were pleased to be able to offer:
• New web pages on Educators’ Discounts; Learning Centers; Interim Programs for the year between high school and college; Books About Government; and Exploring Massachusetts.
• AHEM membership cards
• AHEM trifolds, with info on homeschooling in Massachusetts - perfect for handing out at gatherings or leaving at your local library
• AHEM News for those Friends without email
• Not-Back-to-School events listing

We were pleased to be able to announce:
• The AHEM Unit Study on Massachusetts History and Government
• An AHEM presence on the panel of North Suburban Home Learners’ Homeschool Information Night: Skipping School

Ongoing efforts include:
• Legislative watch
• The Library Mailing Project, mailing brochures with info on homeschooling in MA along with an easy way for them to reorder, to 350+ Massachusetts libraries
• Policy & Practice Database about homeschooling in Massachusetts
• Communicating with our Friends (find archived newsletters at http://www.ahem.info/Newsletters.htm)
• Support group listings (40 statewide now listed; do you know of any in Nantucket or Dukes counties?)
• Events page
• County Contacts, available for phone or email help anytime.

Thank you
As we bid goodbye to 2006, we want to be sure to thank all of you for your support over the past year, whether it came in the form of reading our emails or newsletter, filling out the questionnaire, joining us on a field trip, attending the Spring Social, handing out a trifold brochure, accessing Amazon.com through AHEM, or sending us a cash donation. Any level of interest and participation is greatly appreciated and is what fuels our efforts.

We look forward to meeting more of you in 2007, and continuing to grow the number of informed and active homeschoolers in Massachusetts. We always appreciate feedback on how we are doing and ideas about how we can serve you better.

Looking ahead to 2007
• Updating our handout “Information for Elected Officials”
• Distributing information to state legislators about homeschooling in Massachusetts
• Keeping an eye out for state bills filed in the new legislative session that could affect homeschooling
• State House visits and other field trips
• Meeting and connecting with more Massachusetts homeschoolers. Help us by encouraging your friends to become Friends of AHEM!

A Look Back at 2005

A Look Back at 2004

Back to Archives.

The information on this website does not constitute legal advice; it is provided for informational purposes only.