The Family Research Council & Home School Legal Defense Association Cordially Invite you to a panel discussion

The American public education system is failing. The U.S. is no longer the world leader in secondary education. What changes are needed to reform America's education system? Is homeschooling the answer to our education crisis? The rapid growth in the number of children whose parents make the commitment to homeschool is one of the most significant developments in American education in recent years. In 2007, 2.9 percent of all children ages 5-17 (1.5 million students) were homeschooled, up from 2.2 percent (1.1 million students) in 2003 and 1.7 percent (850,000 students) in 1999. Is homeschooling the innovative educational system that will produce the next generation of world class leaders that America needs to face an increasingly competitive international environment?

Send your questions to questions@frc.org or through Twitter @frcdc

William A. Estrada
Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)

A homeschool graduate from Pennsylvania, Will began working for HSLDA in January, 2004 as a legal assistant to Staff Attorney Scott Woodruff. After graduating from Oak Brook College of Law with his J.D., he moved on to direct HSLDA's Federal Relations department and to serve as HSLDA's federal lobbyist. As HSLDA's representative on Capitol Hill, Will uses his passion for homeschooling to advocate for all homeschoolers before Congress and the federal departments. He has testified before Congress and met with senior officials from federal agencies and the executive branch. In October 2007, Will took over as the director of Generation Joshua, a division of HSLDA, where he works with young people who are passionate about making a difference in politics, along with continuing to serve as HSLDA's federal lobbyist. He is a member of the California bar. Will and his wife, Rachel, also a homeschool graduate as well as an accomplished portrait artist, reside in northern Virginia.

Dean & Julia Nelson
National Black Home Educators & TeenPact

Dean and Julia Nelson have homeschooled their three children (ages 13, 11 and 9) for over ten years. Embracing the neo-classical model of education, their children have the opportunity to learn Latin, Spanish, world history and formal logic in addition to a more traditional core curriculum. They also play piano and participate in a variety of athletic activities including competitive gymnastics, swimming, track and field and children's triathlons. To date, Julia has been the primary instructor for all subjects except music, art and sports, while Dean instructs the children in Bible and theology. Dean is a board member with the National Black Home educators Association and serves as a national guest director with TeenPact, one on the nation's premier home schooling leadership organizations. He is currently as the vice president for Underserved Outreach for Care Net, America's largest network of pregnancy centers, and the vice chairman of the Frederick Douglass Foundation. He is an ordained minister with Wellington Boone Ministries, a graduate of the Coverdell Leadership Institute and serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations. Dean earned his BA in Rhetoric and Communication from the University of Virginia. Julia graduated from the College of William and Mary and works from home as a freelance writer and editor.