The Year in Review

Highlights of 2018

A trip down memory lane, or an opportunity to catch up on events and information you may have missed the first time around:

In 2018, we enjoyed connecting with a cross section of Massachusetts homeschoolers in a variety of ways:

• Five Nuts and Bolts of Homeschooling in Massachusetts workshops over the summer
• AHEM Coffee & Conversation get-togethers in November and December
• AHEM Coops, Spring 2018 on the North Shore, and Spring and Fall 2018 in Concord, MA area
• AHEM Home Learners’ Fall Fair in November

Throughout the year, we reported on a variety of issues important to Massachusetts homeschoolers:

• Homeschool Policies in Massachusetts: An Overview
• Can Testing Be Required?
• Are Massachusetts Homeschoolers Entitled to Participate in Public School Classes and Activities?
• Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 2009 Draft Advisory on Home Schooling
• Massachusetts legislation

We were pleased to offer:

• AHEM membership cards
• AHEM brochures, with info on homeschooling in Massachusetts—perfect for handing out at gatherings or leaving at your local library.
• AHEM Podcast Slow Homeschooling

We were pleased to:

• Facilitate homeschooler participation in Student Government Day for the sixth year in a row
• Earn theGuidestar Gold Seal of Transparency

Ongoing efforts include:

• Our comprehensive website, including dynamic information such as Support Group listings and Events pages along with go-to information on homeschooling in Massachusetts, including the widely used and accepted AHEM sample education plan
• Communicating with our Friends
• Legislative watch
• Policy & Practice Database about homeschooling in Massachusetts
• County Contacts, available for phone help anytime

Thank you

As we bid goodbye to 2018, 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, filling out the questionnaire, referring a friend to AHEM, handing out an AHEM brochure or inviting us to speak to your group, accessing Amazon 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 2019, 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.

Advocates for Home Education in Massachusetts (AHEM) is a nonprofit, independent, grassroots, volunteer-run, educational organization that gathers and disseminates information about homeschooling in Massachusetts through education, advocacy, and events. We believe that informed and active homeschoolers are their own best advocates in maintaining the right to independently homeschool. We welcome and value the participation of anyone interested in homeschooling in Massachusetts. We do not discriminate based on age, race, family status, religious belief, or sexual orientation.