Faces of Home Education - Venus Williams



	"Homeschooling Sisters Make History at 2001 US Open" Venus & Serena Williams Tennis Champions & Homeschoolers by Eva Spataro Quick Support Sign Up		sponsored by a grant from: Laurel Springs Independent Study Program

	2001 US Open Coverage Venus Williams embraces her sister Serena after Venus beat her to win the women's U.S. Open on Saturday 9/8/2001. This was the first Grand Slam championship match between sisters in 117 years. The match drew the most viewers of any sporting event of the day. Venus won in straight sets (6-2, 6-4) over her younger sister in the first prime-time women’s U.S Open final as their mother watched in the stands. Their father was unable to watch the contest between his two daughters, but was very proud of his two daughters who took home almost 1.3 million dollars between them. Venus & Serena are both homeschoolers Venus Williams and Wimbledon 2001 by Evamarie Spataro Venus Williams is homeschooler that kicks butt. Last year, Venus conquered her first Grand Slam win at the 2000 Wimbledon Tournament and kicked off a winning streak. On July 8, 2001 Venus did it again. 19-year old Belgian tennis player Justine Henin was like a fireball tearing through matches with her awesome backhand. She made it to the final by beating Jennifer Capriati in a suspenseful semifinal. Venus once again met Lindsay Davenport in her semifinal. With both of these fantastic players meeting for the final, everyone didn't know who would win. Venus Williams sliced through the first set 6-1 but ran into a snag in the second set by losing it 3-6. In true Williams sister form, she triumphed over Justine Henin (backhand and all) by winning the third and final set 6-0. Venus Williams poses here with the Wimbledon Ladies singles trophy. Venus & Serena in 2000 Venus & Serena are Homeschoolers Wimbleton 2001 Slideshow audio: correspondent Iain Carter reports on Venus other multimedia articles Venus and Serena Williams 2000 Back-to-Back US Open Winners AND Homeschoolers Venus Williams made it back-to-back wins for the Williams family Saturday night 9/9/00, capturing the U.S. Open title her sister won a year ago. Venus and Serena Williams are homeschoolers. They blasted on to the tennis scene in 1994. Venus and Serena were homeschooled and learned tennis at a very early age since age 4. Their father, Richard Williams, is the son of a Louisiana sharecropper He learned to play tennis by reading books and watching videos. Their mother, Oracene (nickname Brandi), is a nurse originally from Mississippi. They grew up in Compton, which is a very poor area outside of Los Angeles. Their father withdrew her and sister Serena from middle school in Delray Beach, Fla., to teach them at home. Part of her home-study education included making speaking engagements at inner-city schools. Venus earned a high school diploma in 1997 with 3.8 grade average. They didn’t even bother trying for the Junior Championships and went straight to the big leagues. Many people thought this was too bold, but their father didn’t think so! At first, Venus hadn’t won any titles, but little sister Serena already had won the Grand Slam title for the US Open. But this was only true up until the Ladies Wimbledon matches, when she beat defending champion Lindsey Davenport in three sets, 6-3, 7-6, 7-3. She also had to play against and beat her own sister Serena to make it to the Finals. Venus won the Grand Slam and has been on a winning streak ever since. Serena has already won the US open title, and will competing again this year, 2000. Bart McGuire, the Women's Tennis Association Tour CEO said in USA Today, "They're doing something very, very right as a family, and I give Richard and Brandi a lot of credit for that. The Williams sisters are a huge plus for the tour off the court as well as on. They are a promoter's dream." Together, Venus and Serena won the 2000 Wimbledon Ladies doubles championship. They played against Julie Halard-Decugis and Ai Sugiyama and won 6-3, 6-2. They are truly an inspiration to homeschoolers and girls! African-American Homeschooling An interview with Judi Thomas of HERITAGE Homeschoolers hosted by Joe Spataro Former middle school teacher Judi Thomas of Marietta, Ga., started HERITAGE Homeschoolers, a support group for minorities, after finding other organizations included few, if any, black families. She has been homeschooling her daughter Juliet (age 9) and her daughter Jacqueline (age 4). Judi in many ways is like any homeschooling mom but with some unique perspectives. As a former middle school teacher she has an intimate inside knowledge of how the "system" works. As an African-American homeschooler, she has developed a support group for this community of homeschoolers, adding to the diversity of the homeschooling movement. She was recently featured in a Time Magazine article, and I thought it might be fun to chat with Judi a bit and have her tell us more about herself, her family and her support group. Faces of Home Education Profile Can you spell - "suc-cess"? Minnesota Homeschooler wins national spelling bee Thirteen year-old homeschooler Sean Conley of Anoka, Minnesota returned to the 74th National Spelling Bee on May 31, 2001 to become the winner after being runner up last year. He correctly spelled the word “succedaneum” (definition - one who or that which supplies the place of another). Speaking of replacing "another", Sean has received most of his education through home schooling by his parents. Recently many of the winners of this contest, such as Rebecca Sealfon and George Thampy, have "replaced" their traditionally schooled counterparts by winning this contest. Find out more about Sean, the spelling bee and more about "unschooling". Faces of Home Education		Special Zone discount Secret World of Basset Hounds See my Basset friends see my favorite biscotti more grade school education more homeschooling books "Is Homeschooling Expensive?" Frequently Asked Questions Homeschoolers' Success Stories Interview with author Linda Dobson Home Learning: Year by Year Home learning Sourcebook Meet the author Rebecca Rupp "The Truth About Curricula" more Curriculum Guides more homeschooling books Frequently Asked Questions

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