LSS featured on homeschool.com

Bill Cosby once said, "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."

Homeschoolers understand this well, and don't try to please everyone with their non-traditional choices. They aim to fill the needs of their children, and with that goal, it is very difficult to fail! In fact, success flourishes in the homeschool community, in many shapes and forms.

Success can be measured in numerous ways and is based on individual achievements; but success takes hard work, dedication, and focus — something that homeschoolers also embrace on their own path to success.

For this reason, many successful actors, athletes and musicians get their education through homeschooling because it offers them the flexibility to pursue their dreams and reach for goals while continuing to get their education.

In past articles, we've talked about famous homeschoolers: actors such as Lindsay Lohan, Raven Symone, and Elijah Wood as well as skater Tanith Belbin and tennis player Alexa Glatch, who have all attended Laurel Springs while pursuing their careers.

However, success does not require fame and achievements aren't limited to the field or the stage or the studio. Homeschooled students who have gone through Laurel Springs have found success in many different areas of leadership, academics, and community service as well.

• In the academic world, Chelsea Bets Christenson won the UN High School Essay Contest in both 2003 and 2005, and has just finished her first year of college in New York City.
• Yang Liu, a homeschooled graduating senior, was selected as a finalist for the National Merit Scholarship Program.
• Morgan Bate finished a year at St. John's in Santa Fe, a college that focuses on the works of great thinkers and discussion with peers to cultivate a love of learning and the skills for a lifetime of reflective thought.
• Yakov Vorobyev successfully graduated from George Washington University (2005), with a BA in Computer Science, and works at the IT department of one of the biggest law firms in Washington, D.C. He also continues a parallel carrier as a DJ.
• Matthew Lifson got into 9 of the 10 colleges he applied to. He was admitted to USC and Pepperdine, UC Davis, the UC Irvine honors program, and UC Berkeley. In addition he received financial awards at the University of Dallas, Santa Clara University, Loyola, and the University of Arizona. He will be going to UC Berkeley.
• Laurel Springs' student Britni Gleitsman received a letter of acceptance from the International University of Monaco and will enroll in their Bachelor of Science in Business Administration program. The University only accepts 150 Freshman from all over the country and Britni was number 78!
• Rachael Lambin had a 3-page article featured in "Teen Vogue" about her project HOPE (Helping Obese People through Education). She was also the winner of the Do Something BRICK Award, which is called the Academy Award of Community Services. Only 9 winners are selected each year out of thousands of applicants.
• Brooke Conway, a junior at Laurel Springs Private School in Ojai, Calif., attended the National Honors Convocation on Medicine at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles and is a current member of Who's Who in America and the National Society of High School Scholars.
• Kate Siegel beat out over 80,000 other students from the United States and Europe to become the national winner of the Veterans of Foreign Wars "Voice of Democracy" Speech Competition in Washington, D.C.
• This year Elena Hoshizaki has been participating in the YMCA Youth & Government program. At the leadership conference in Paso Robles, Elena was elected Forum Lieutenant Governor for the state of California. As Forum Lieutenant Governor she presides over the Forum Senate when it convenes in Sacramento for the annual Model Legislature and Court.
• The National Society of High School Scholars selected 12-year-old Lars Christian Benthien of Simi Valley for membership. The society recognizes top scholars in the nation and invites only those students who have achieved superior academic excellence.

Each of these students' successes and accomplishments is individual and unique but at the same time there are some commonalities.

These students are able to succeed because of a supportive family and a home education program that is as flexible as they are. By using a program that meets their individual learning styles, in addition to their scheduling needs, these kids can dream bigger, reach farther, and attain more in shorter periods of time.

Their focus and priorities become clearer and they are able to accomplish their goals by structuring their lives to create an environment that is conducive to a bigger picture.

The end goal of any educational institution is to develop critically-thinking, productive citizens that can succeed in life. There is no reason that this has to only take place after high school or college.

Laurel Springs School specializes in customized curriculum, which means every student can learn at their own pace, in a way that works best for them. The school is a WASC and NCAA approved distance learning program, which utilizes live teachers and a learning styles inventory to complement and support its curriculum.

In addition to the flexibility of the curriculum, the program itself allows students to enroll at any time of the year and begin online classes immediately, although all courses are divided into thirty-six lessons over a one-year period. Students can sign on for an entire program or take just one semester, or one class.

Laurel Springs encourages interaction between its students and offers a pen pal program that pairs students with each other from around the globe as well as a student-created newsletter that allows students to express themselves, their talents, and their accomplishments.

Students who are home schooled are successful for many different reasons but perhaps one of the biggest is that they are driven and focused and know what they want to achieve both in the future and the present. Homeschooling, especially in a flexible program like Laurel Springs, allows them to get it all by giving them the time to take charge of their dreams.

As Arnold H. Glasow said, "Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire."