goldberry Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Short Summary: The Science Olympiad organization has a restriction in place which applies only to homeschool teams, and not to any other team (public, private, or online). There is a petition to have that restriction removed so that all teams are competing under the same rules. Our family has participated in the Science Olympiad program for three years now. It is an amazing program and has literally changed the way my daughter looks at both herself and science. If anyone has children even remotely interested in science, I would highly recommend finding a homeschool team in your area, or consider starting one. It is truly a great experience. Here is the website for the National Science Olympiad organization: www.soinc.org Science Olympiad allows homeschool teams to compete, but has a restriction that each team may only include students from two continuous counties (the 2-county rule). We have been told the rule was formed to keep homeschool teams from recuiting kids all over the state to form a "super-team". The reality of the situation is that many states have ZERO homeschool teams, and states that do have a team often struggle to fill the team. In addition, Science Olympiad is a team competition where students compete with several different partners in events. This requires meeting together, somehow, someplace for studying with different event partners. The logistics of having participants too far apart to meet is prohibitive in most cases. Rather than recruiting a "super-team" most homeschool teams are in the category of just trying to fill the event openings. This rule applies even in states with open enrollment, where public schools can (and do) draw from as many counties as they like. Private schools and virtual schools are also allowed to participate, and have no restrictions on geographical area. The rule ONLY applies to homeschool teams, and that is the issue. The plain and simple reason we would like the rule to be changed is that it restricts homeschool teams in a way that public/private/charter/virtual schools are not restricted. Here is a link to the rules in question: http://soinc.org/home_virtual_schools Here is the petition to have the restriction on homeschool teams removed: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/105/652/594/change-the-science-olympiads-policy-on-team-qualification-and-homeschools/?z00m=22841468&redirectID=1640999205 We are requesting that the National Science Olympaid organization take up this issue and consider removing the restriction. You do not have to be a Science Olympiad member, or even a homeschool family to sign. You only need be in favor of homeschool teams being treated fairly and under the same set of rules as public/private/virtual school teams. If so, we could use your support. As I stated above, I love this program. It saddens me that we are forced unnecessarily to turn away families and students who would also love it and benefit from the experience. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 Just bumping...we could really use your support! All homeschoolers benefit when the playing field is level for all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 oooohhhhh, it looks like 5-year-olds can join. I signed and I asked my mother to sign. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Thank you so much for posting this. My children have not participated in Science Olympiad and I do so wish we had been able to find a team when they were younger. But I have personally seen the dedication that homeschooling families have put into this and the difficulties they have in even fielding a team. You know, the whole "herding cats" thing about getting a bunch of homeschoolers to be able to get together to do something. I do know someone on a magnet school team and see how unfair the rule is. Our local middle school team won 5 medals at state this past week and actually won an event for the first time ever. I know how hard these kids work even just to find the time to meet. They cannot even come close to competing in every event and they draw from 4 counties. ETA: Our state allows these teams to compete, but they cannot go on to Nationals, due to the "ringer" rule. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Signed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Signed. We thought about doing a team but got involved with Odyssey of the Mind and I couldn't manage both. In our area of Northern Virginia, many private schools pull kids from three or more counties or even multiple states (Maryland, DC and Virginia). The big highly competitive science and technology high school pulls kids from at least three counties, and I believe it may be four. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RioSamba Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Thanks for posting this. Signed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 I signed it, but I do have a complaint. Not directed at the OP. I've gotten three e-mails from this site already after signing it. Luckily I used a mask me e-mail so I can now block the e-mails. I just wish these sites would not do that! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 We don't have a team due to the difficulty of finding enough kids. Not only do we draw our homeschool community from multiple counties, but from multiple STATES (we're in Phineas and Ferb's tri-state area :) ). I've given up even trying to sponsor teams unless there is a provision by which kids can compete individually because it can be really hard to get even a handful of kids who are in the correct age group who can attend regularly. Adding geographic restrictions makes it pretty much impossible to field a homeschool team at all. And yes, there are private schools that draw kids from three states and multiple counties. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 signed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy the Valiant Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Signed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reflections Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 SIGNED! :laugh: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMamaBird Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 What a silly rule. I signed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Signed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksr5377 Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Signed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. Tharp Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Signed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 I'm not a fan of HSLDA in general, but... A similar thing happened to MathCounts in 2010. You can read the WTM thread here. You can also see an HSLDA press release from the following year here. I don't know how much their involvement actually helped, but it's something to keep in mind. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 I signed. I didn't see anywhere on the website to locate a local team ... please help me out if I'm just totally missing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted April 21, 2015 Author Share Posted April 21, 2015 I signed it, but I do have a complaint. Not directed at the OP. I've gotten three e-mails from this site already after signing it. Luckily I used a mask me e-mail so I can now block the e-mails. I just wish these sites would not do that! I'm so sorry. The first email I got from them I unsubscribed and they went away. Thank you SO MUCH to all who have signed! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted April 21, 2015 Author Share Posted April 21, 2015 I signed. I didn't see anywhere on the website to locate a local team ... please help me out if I'm just totally missing it. There isn't anywhere that just lists the teams. What state are you in? You can usually google "Science Olympiad", your state, and "homeschool" to see if anything comes up. Many states don't have a homeschool team, however, for just the reasons mentioned. It is hard to get the numbers. Just a side note....we had a our state tournament last weekend and my daughter won 2 first place medals! I was so proud of her.. This is a girl who used to never "put herself out" for anything. Science Olympiad gave her both confidence and a work ethic! And please do "unsubscribe" if you get any additional emails from the site. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 I'm so sorry. The first email I got from them I unsubscribed and they went away. Thank you SO MUCH to all who have signed! Not your fault! I've signed stuff there before. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMyBeautifulGift Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Signed it! :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 You are up to 407 now. I've been reading more about this. Looks like it doesn't really start until 6th grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted April 21, 2015 Author Share Posted April 21, 2015 You are up to 407 now. I've been reading more about this. Looks like it doesn't really start until 6th grade. The most popular divisions are B and C, which are middle and high school levels. Those levels have full, structured tournaments and are typically very competitive. On our team, we allowed several mature younger kids to participate in our B division. That is allowed by the organization, since they are more concerned with older kids participating in lower divisions than the reverse, if you know what I mean! We have had several 4th/5th graders in our B division, and some 8th graders in our C division. As a homeschool team we are free to go more by maturity level. :) There is an A division for elementary ages that is less structured and more fun than competitive. We have one in our area and are starting a team for next year. Here is a link about elementary activities: http://soinc.org/elementary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted April 21, 2015 Author Share Posted April 21, 2015 Again, thanks so much to everyone! All we want is a fair playing field. It is not right that our local high school has students from 5 or more counties, but our homeschool team is limited to two. They are worried about super teams...who is more likely to have a super team? A high school in our area with FOUR Science Olympiad teams who shuffles kids around for the best combinations? Or a homeschool team who cannot fill all the positions and has students taking on extra events just to cover them? We are not the ones they should be worried about if that was their true concern. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 My current 6th grader is in his 4th year of SO in the B division. He has won several medals. Younger kids can do it if placed in the right events. Not all teams will let ones that much younger do it but if the parents support them they can be successful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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