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GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING 33 Date of Issue June 1, 1983
Since GWS #32 went to press I have spoken to many meetings that (because they were arranged later) were not listed on my schedule. On my April trip to California, along with listed meetings at Chico, I spoke in Marin County (wonderfully green after all that rain), San Francisco, Nevada City, and Eureka. On my May trip, along with the listed meetings, I spoke in Carson City NV, and San Diego. On a very quick trip in late May, I spoke to a number of good meetings at Georgia Southern College in Statesboro GA.
Thanks to a tremendous amount of good work by Nancy Plent and Meg Johnson (and in part to perfect weather), the May meeting of New Jersey home schoolers was a great success - over 200 people came, with many children of all ages. Eric Plent was our capable sound engineer, and Corinne and Melissa Johnson did good work at the registration desk.
On the way to California in April I appeared in Detroit on the popular local TV show “Kelly & Co.” On the day that the newspapers announced the report of the President’s Commission on Education (of which more later in this issue), Susan Stanberg of “All Things Considered” from National Public Radio interviewed me about it. The following day CBS “Sunday Morning” and the Donahue show both asked me to appear the following week, but since I was going to be on the West Coast I was not able to.
I have also been on radio shows in Saskatoon, St. Paul, San Antonio, and Boston. I also did one interview for the magazine Learning Today, and another for the largest English language magazine in Japan. Not sure yet when these will appear.
While I was in Sacramento, Jane Williams (CA) and I had a very pleasant and interesting meeting with Janet McCormack, the Private Schools Liaison officer for the State Department of Education. She was very interested, well informed, and helpful - she really knows how California government works. From what she told us, it seems likely that, for the time being at least, we will probably not be able to get any significant home schooling legislation through the California legislature. On the other hand, we may not need to; the home schooling picture looks much better than a few months ago.
Around the country, the picture remains mixed; in some states, home schooling has become easier, in others the state authorities still seem to be looking for ways to put a stop to it. It is still and probably will be for some time an important part of our job to convince the schools that home schooling is not a threat to them. In this connection, we keep getting good responses to my article in the Phi Delta Kappan (see GWS #32), one even coming from as far away as Germany.
Near the end of March I spent a weekend visiting the Wallaces in Ithaca, NY, and there saw the last three of nine public performances of Ishmael Wallace’s musical play (his second), “I Love You More Than A Grapefruit Squirts.” It was a delight, and a well-deserved success, interesting, dramatic, and very funny. I hope by the next issue of GWS to be able to offer tapes of the performance and a complete script.
More good news from the Wallace family - Nancy found a publisher for her book on home-schooling, the Swedish firm Larson, which is beginning to publish in the U.S. The book is called BETTER THAN SCHOOL, and will be published in November. Congratulations to Nancy and the family!
Here in Boston we have a big change in the office. Our old friend and colleague Peggy Durkee, whom many of you know in person or at least over the phone, was suddenly offered the job of Office Manager by the company she worked for before she came to work here, fourteen years ago, the same company that handles the mailing of GWS. It was an offer far too good to turn down, and one we could never hope to match here, much as we would like to. So she will have left by the time you read this.
Fortunately for us all, Pat Farenga, who will be getting married in August, was in a position to (and eager to) work full-time, so he will be taking over Peggy’s duties and responsibilities. For a while we will be even busier than ever here, but we are all sure that the transition will go smoothly.
Please note in the Directory that we have a new address for both the Canadian Alliance of Home Schoolers and Education Otherwise in Great Britain.
To those who found GWS #32 a bit hard to read, my apologies. I thought that green would be a nice colour for spring, but the ink turned out to be paler in print than I had expected from the sample. For the time being we’ll stay with the blue, which people seem to like, though we may try some other calories later.
You will see from the reviews that we are adding our first musical instruments to our mail-order list. Hope you like these; in time we may add others. — John Holt
JOHN’S COMING SCHEDULE
June 24, 1983: Center for Innovation in Education, Saratoga CA. Contact: Susan Iwamoto, CIE, 19225 Vineyard Ln. Saratoga CA 95070. June 28-30: 7th Annual Kephart Memorial Child Study Center Symposium, Univ. of Northern Colorado, Aspen/Snowmass, CO. Contact: Dr. Robert Reinert, KMCSC, UNC, Greeley Co 80639; 303-351-2691. July 21-23: Homesteaders Good Life Get-Together. Contact Sherrie & Norm Lee, Homesteaders News, Naples NY 14512. July 30-31: West Virginia Homeschoolers. Contact Jan Evergreen, Rt 1 Box 352, Alderson WV 24910. Aug. 1-2: Child Development Symposium, Assoc. for Research & Enlightenment, Virginia Beach, VA. Contact: Robert Witt, PO Box 595, Va. Bch. 23451; 804-428-3588. Anyone who wants to coordinate other meetings or lectures around these times and locations should contact Pat Farenga.
WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT RULING
From the Wisconsin News-Tribune & Herald, 4/27/83:
… A Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling Tuesday that the state’s private school attendance law is unconstitutional apparently will deter prosecution of at least four “home schools” in Douglas County.
The high court said the law is “impermissibly vague” and could not be used in prosecutions involving attendance or non-attendance at private schools.
The ruling could affect at least three children in the Superior School District who have been considered truant, according to Joseph Rogina, director of student services for the district. He said the children are attending private schools set up by their parents last school year but not sanctioned by the state.
Douglas County District Attorney Keith Peterson said similar cases have been raised in three other districts around the county, though charges are pending in only one.
… In Tuesday’s decision, the court directed that the Iowa County Circuit Court dismiss two misdemeanour convictions against Laurence Popanz, who was convicted of failure to send two daughters to a public or private school.
Popanz, a member of the Agency for the Church of the Free Thinker, Inc., had two daughters enrolled in the Free Thinker School, a private school in Avoca.
The local school district administrator refused to recognize the school as a private school because it was not listed in the “Wisconsin Nonpublic School District Directory” issued by the state Department of Public Instruction.
There is no requirement in state law or administrative regulations requiring that private schools be so listed, the Supreme Court said in a decision written by Justice Shirley Abrahamson.
“The administrator testified that the listing requirement was a matter of his own ‘professional’ standards,” she wrote.
“Due process,” she said, “requires that the law set forth fair notice of the conduct prohibited or required and proper standards for enforcement of the law adjudication.” _____
[JH:] This is the first case I know of in which a state supreme court has overturned such a law on grounds of vagueness, so it will probably be useful to continue to make this point and to cite this ruling in support.
NEW MONTANA LAW
The state of Montana has just passed a law which specifically permits home education. From an article by Ginny Baker in the newsletter of the MONTANA HOMESCHOOLERS ASSOCIATION (the actual words of the bill are underlined; other remarks are Ginny’s):
. . . [The law] will go into effect July 1, 1983, and will have the following provisions …
A child between the ages of 7 and 16 must attend a public school unless the child is “enrolled in a nonpublic or home school that complies with the provisions of Section 2″ of this bill. “For the purposes of this subsection (f), a home school is the instruction by a parent of his child, stepchild, or ward in his residence, and a nonpublic school includes a parochial, church, religious, or private school.” To qualify for exemption, Section 2 states “a nonpublic or home school shall:
(1) “maintain records on pupil attendance and disease immunization and make such records available to the county superintendent or schools on request.” The parent merely must keep these records, even if he does not immunize his children …
(2) “provide at least 180 days of pupil instruction or the equivalent in accordance with 20-1-301 and 20-1-302:” These sections define 180 days of instruction to include at least 2 hours for pre-school and kindergarten, 4 hours for grades 1 through 3, and 6 hours for grades 4 through 12 …
(3) “be housed in a building that complies with applicable local health and safety regulations.” It is the intent of the legislature that if your home is safe enough to live in, it is safe enough to hold your home school in. This subsection should have no effect on the home school except for local zoning laws for all homes.
(4) “provide an organized course of study that includes instruction in the subjects required of public schools as a basic instructional program pursuant to 20-1-111.” The homeschooler may provide his own course of study that includes these subject areas: ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (grades K-6):Language arts (reading, writing, speaking, listening, spelling, penmanship, English); arithmetic (oral and written); science and conservation; social sciences (geography, history of the US, state history, agriculture, economics); fine arts (music and art); physical education; safety (including fire prevention); health education. JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL (grades 7-9): language arts, social sciences, mathematics, science, health and physical education, fine arts, practical arts (2 years). HIGH SCHOOL (grades 9-12): language arts, social sciences, mathematics, science, health and physical education, fine arts, practical arts (home economics, industrial arts, business, or agriculture), electives.
(5) “In the case of home schools, notify the county superintendent of schools of the student’s attendance at the school.” It appears the parent who operates a home school must take the initiative to notify the county superintendent of the student(s)’ attendance at such school. Montana takes no census of school-age children. The legislature included this subsection because it felt it had to keep track of our children.
Home educators in Montana do not have to submit their children to testing of any kind. Nonpublic teachers do not have to be “certified.” The home school curriculum and textbooks need no approval by anyone as long as the parent affirms that they include the above mentioned subjects. Any parents who claim to teach their children at home yet do not are “non-schoolers,” not home schoolers, and would be liable for prosecution under the current truancy laws. I recommend that all home educators get a copy of Revised Law 20-5-102, MCA to keep on hand in case you are challenged by local authorities who are unaware of the change that legalizes home education in Montana …
VICTORY IN ALBERTA
The Calgary Herald, 3/17/83:
… A Calgary courtroom echoed with cheering Wednesday as a provincial judge found Pastor Larry Jones is not guilty of contravening School Act regulations by keeping his children out of a board-controlled school.
… Judge Douglas Fitch ruled it is “the right of every person” to give efficient educational instruction to his children …
He based his ruling on Section 143 of the act and Section 7 of the federal Charter of Rights.
Section 143 of the School Act “preserves” the right of parent to educate their children outside a certified school, he ruled.
The section says children can be excused from attending a certified public school if an application by parents is granted by a superintendent of schools, or a Department of Education inspector feels the children are being properly instructed at home or elsewhere.
But defense lawyer Phillip Carr argued there is nothing in the act which says parents have to apply for such an exemption. He also said Jones’s books have always been open for inspection.
“School authorities declined to send in their inspectors but (sent) school attendance officers” to explain to Jones he was breaking the law, Fitch said in his judgement.
Fitch also said Jones’s rights were infringed upon under Section 7 of the Charter of Rights which says “everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.”
Since the school officials who challenge Jones’s right to educate his children are the same officials who decide, under Section 143 of the School Act if his school provides proper instruction, that contradicts the notion of “fundamental justice,” referred to in the Charter of Rights, the judge said.
… The judge also ruled that in broad terms, the School Act doesn’t infringe on freedom of religion.
One of the designers of the Alpha Omega curriculum, a Christian-based correspondence-type program which Jones uses, testified Wednesday the same curriculum is used in more than 2,000 schools in 20 countries.
Harold Wengert, also president of the Texas company which distributes the curriculum, said students who have taken the program often score much higher on university entrance exams than students who follow regular school-based programs.
Linda Matsalla, who performs psychological and educational testing for Foothills Educational Services, testified that an assessment of Jones’s three daughters who currently attend his school showed all three scored average or well above average on achievement tests set for their grade level.
In some areas the oldest daughter, Laura, and the youngest, Alison, were three grades ahead of the standards of students the same age in a public school.
“It was a good victory but it’s not over yet. We’ll still fight it,” Jones said, referring to charges which may yet be laid against him by the Department of Education for running his school …
PRESIDENT’S COMMISSION REPORT
The President’s Commission on Excellence In Education has recently issued a report, entitled “A Nation At Risk,” on the state of our public schools. In report card terms, they gave them an F. Among other things, they said that if a foreign country had done to us what our public schools have done to us, we might well consider it an act of war. Strong words.
What did the Commission recommend? Same old stuff - a longer school year, tougher courses, fewer electives, higher standards (code for “flunk more kids”), better teachers, more money.
A number of people, beginning with Susan Stanberg of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” have asked me what I thought about the report. Among other things, I said:
The report was no surprise. If you set up a commission to study U.S. transportation, and put on the commission only General Motors executives, naturally they will say that what we need is more cars, better roads, cheaper gas, etc. This commission, being made up of people in the school business, naturally said that the remedy for our problems was more school.
The report was nothing new. Every commission that has taken a broad look at the schools since the end of World War II has said exactly the same thing. We had national crises in the schools in the late ’40s, in the ’50s when Sputnik went up, in the early ’60s, again in the late ’60s, in the early ’70s when we went “Back To Basics” - that movement is now about ten years old - and almost continuously since then. There probably never was a time since universal compulsory public schools were invented when any overall look at what they were doing would have given them a good report.
The report will probably not do much of anything, but if it does, will do mostly harm. After all, if the medicine is what is making you sick, more of the same medicine will only make you sicker. The medicine, as I have said for many years, is Coerced, Controlled, Competitive Learning, which destroys most of the desire and capacity for learning of almost all on whom it is inflicted, even those who are good at school.
But, I was asked, won’t it do some good if we just spend more money on schools. No. If you start from Chicago to go to San Francisco, and assume that it is due south, the further and faster you go, the worse off you will be. The schools are operating on the basis of fundamentally wrong assumptions about children, learning, and teaching, and as long as they do, the harder they try, the worse they will do. They assume that children will not learn unless made to and cannot learn unless shown how, and that the way to make them learn is to give them a lot of disconnected little “facts” to memorize and punish them if they fail. This never worked and never will.
The correct assumptions, as our readers learn every day from their own experiences with their children, are that children love to learn, are very good at it, and, like scientists, do it by looking at the world around them, asking themselves questions about it, and making up or finding, and then testing, their answers to these questions. Efforts to coerce, control, and measure this process simply turn it off, for the vast majority of children. Until the schools learn this and act on it, they will remain where they have been for eighty or more years now - in serious trouble.
Aside from that, the effect of every one of these reports, and indeed all efforts to legislate improvement in education, is to take away from teachers the power to run their own classrooms as they see fit, and so to drive most of the best of them out of teaching, since they won’t stand for other people, most of whom have never done any teaching, telling them what to do in their classrooms and constantly checking up on them to be sure they do it. Telling teachers how to teach does not make bad teachers good; it only makes good teachers furious, and as the record shows, they don’t put up with it for long.
Will this report, and the Democrats’ hastily thrown together answer to it, help or hurt home schooling? Perhaps some of both. The report will certainly give us an answer to the schools’ claim that only they are competent to teach our children. But it may also breed a swarm of new curriculum requirements which could seriously limit our right to teach our children as we think best. Time will tell. - JH
ENCOURAGEMENT FROM CALIFORNIA
[JH:] I received a very encouraging letter just the other day from Dr. Lynn P. Hartzler, Program Manager, Alternative Education and Independent Study, California Dept of Education, 721 Capitol Mall, Sacramento CA 95814, saying in part:
… This is to acknowledge and thank you for your letter to Bill Honig, Superintendent of Public Instruction. Mr. Honig has asked me to write to you because I have been assigned the responsibility for alternative programs including home schooling. We concur with the observation that home and public schools may exist in a mutually cooperative and supportive relationship … At present there is much that can be done legally under the Independent Study option provided the local school authority adopts the required policy and procedures. Our position has been to encourage school boards and administrators to try to accommodate parents who request home schooling under the existing Independent Study legislation … _____
[JH:] Along with this, Dr. Hartzler sent me a copy of a letter he or she wrote to some parents who had written their Assemblyman, Don Sebastiani, about home schooling. This letter (a copy was sent to Mr. Sebastiani) says in part:
… We are pleased with your report of success in conducting a home school last year for the benefit of one child and the mother. There is no doubt that home schooling can be a fine experience especially for young children when the conditions are favourable, as they seem to have been in our case. It is our operational policy to encourage school district officials to attempt to accommodate parents who are willing and able to conduct home schools to do so via the Independent Study process. This is a legal option for citizens in California which safeguards school interests while allowing home schooling on a conditional basis … This office will be pleased to supply parents and school officials information and assistance in taking advantage of this option … _____
[JH:l I think California families would be wise to explore and pursue this Independent Study option before considering registering their own homes as private schools, for reasons I discuss in the article “Private School Option,” page 24.
SOUTH DAKOTA AMENDS LAW
[DR:] I wrote to the South Dakota legislature and to some GWS readers in that state, trying to find out more about the 1981 home-schooling law and the possible repeal that we mentioned in GWS #32. Shirley Frederick (SD) wrote back:
…The S.D. law you refer to is better known as the Christian Schools bill. It was promoted by various religious groups that wanted to set up schools without meeting state requirements for accreditation. Home schooling was included in the bill. The legislature agreed … as long as the children were to be tested annually and demonstrated academic progress.
The sponsor of the original 1981 bill came back to the legislature in ‘83 to amend the law - apparently the supporters of the original bill didn’t keep their end of the bargain and some children received no instruction whatsoever. Other children received dogmatic training under harsh conditions. The ‘83 fight was bitter - harsh words, name-calling, recriminations, bizarre demonstrations, and shady tactics. Legislators supported by the S.D. Education Association tried to require teacher certification for the “Christian schools.” The compromise bill passed on the last day … _____
[DR:] The staff attorney at the S.D. State Capitol sent a copy of the amendments as they were passed in the 1983 session:
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA:
Section 1. That S. 13-27-7 be amended to read as follows: 13-27-7. All applications for excuse from school attendance shall be on a standard form acknowledged before a notary or two witnesses. The form shall be provided by the state superintendent of elementary and secondary education. If the application is granted, a certificate of excuse also provided by the superintendent of elementary and secondary education shall be issued by the president of the school board having jurisdiction over the district in which the child has school residence, stating the reason for the excuse and be for a period not to exceed one year. Upon a showing by the superintendent of elementary and secondary education that a child excused from school attendance pursuant to S. 13-27-3 is not being instructed in compliance with 13-27-3 the school board may immediately revoke the child’s certificate of excuse. All tests scores required by S. 13-27-3 shall be kept on file in the public school of the district where the child has school residence. If subsequent achievement test results reveal less than satisfactory academic progress in the child’s level of achievement, the school board may refuse to renew the child’s certificate of excuse.
Section 2. That S. 13-27-3 be amended to read as follows: 13-27-3. A child shall be excused from school attendance, pursuant to 13-27-2, because the child is otherwise provided with competent alternative instruction for an equivalent period of time, as in the public schools, in the basic skills of language arts and mathematics. The parent or guardian of the child shall identify in the application the place where the child shall be instructed and the individual or individuals who will instruct the child. The individuals are not required to be certified but the state superintendent of elementary and secondary education may investigate and determine if the instruction is being provided by a competent person … The child shall annually take a nationally standardized achievement test of the basic skills. The test shall be the same test designated to be used in the public school district where the child is instructed and may be monitored by a designee from the local school district where the child is instructed. The test shall be provided by the school district where the child is instructed. The superintendent of elementary and secondary education or his designee may visit any alternative education program at reasonable times during the school year.
Section 3. That Chapter 13-27 be amended by adding thereto a new section to be read as follows: If a child of compulsory school age [who] has been attending an unaccredited school in another state or country or (who] has been receiving alternative instruction pursuant to 13-27-3 enrols in a public school in this state, the child shall be placed at the child’s demonstrated level of proficiency as established by one or more standardized tests. However, a child’s placement may not be in a grade level higher than warranted by the child’s chronological age assuming entry into the first grade at age six … [A similar provision for secondary students follows.]
MORE LEGISLATIVE NEWS
CALIFORNIA: According to Jane Williams of the CALIFORNIA HOME EDUCATION CLEARINGHOUSE, some home-schoolers discussed the possibility of home-school legislation with a State Assemblyman, an assistant to a State Senator, Janet McCormick of the Department of Education, a couple of lobbyists, and the general counsel for the Seventh Day Adventists. The general advice was that any homeschooling bill would be unlikely to pass, partly because the California Teachers Association was very powerful. They also advised that homeschooling legislation might bring more problems to the home-schooling movement, in the form of controls and aggressive opposition.
ILLINOIS: Deb Martin of HOUSE writes, “Yes, we are aware of the ‘Informational Report and Preliminary Recommendations Regarding the State’s Relationship to Illinois Nonpublic Schools’ [GWS #31]. There have been hearings throughout the state. What disturbs us most about this is that they want to make it mandatory for all nonpublic and home schools to register with the state. It is voluntary now … We are suggesting that people write their senators and representatives … There is another study, ‘Phase I Mandates Studies Final Staff Recommendations Presented to the Illinois State Board of Education Planning and Policy Committee.’ In this they are trying to redefine schooling. Some of our people have appeared at hearings on this. The definition of schooling is a formal process which has as its primary purpose the systematic transmission of knowledge and culture, whereby children learn in areas fundamental to their continuing development. ‘Formal’ and ’systematic’ are the words we object to. Also in this report they want to lower the mandatory school age…”
KANSAS: Jeanne Kasten writes, “Several months ago I was told about a group of homeschoolers in Wichita, and I attended a meeting in February. About 30 adults came… There was some discussion of a bill which was pending which would have put restrictions on private schools and would have been bad news for those who had established private schools of their own … We all wrote letters the following week and the bill never even made it to committee.” Jeanne continued, “After the meeting … I threw out the idea of writing our own bill, based on the ‘legislative proposal’ in GWS #30. Several people jumped at the idea… At the March meeting … we spent the time familiarizing ourselves with the proposal … I have written about half a dozen letters since that March meeting - to the Eagle Forum, to the lawyer who handled a home-schooling case, and to others I think might be interested. So far I have no responses. Anyone who wants to contact me on this may write or call (316-263-0225) … ”
LOUISIANA: Rep. Louis “Woody” Jenkins writes, “Regarding the Private Education Deregulation Act here in Louisiana, it is true that for a time I urged people to utilize the ‘private school’ option in the act, instead of the ‘home study’ option in the same law. This was because the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) was attempting to impose additional regulations on home study parents, contrary to law … BESE did rescind its regulations and institute a simple, one-page home study application form. Now I urge parents to use either the private school or the home study option. BESE is approving all home study applications.
“With respect to the possibility of the attorney general or some judge ruling that one-child private schools at home are illegal, the Louisiana attorney general has already ruled that they are legal under the Private Education Deregulation Act…”
MINNESOTA: From Issue #1 of the Minnesota Home Schooling Association Newsletter ($5/year): “A major topic at the last few meetings was the possibility of introducing a bill to the Minnesota legislature to provide for home schooling. We took John Holt’s model bill as a starting point. It was decided not to introduce a bill at this time for three reasons: first, it would be difficult for home schoolers to agree what should be put in the bill since each of us has diverse philosophies of education; second, a friendly legislator did not recommend we do this because once the bill was introduced it could be amended into something we don’t want; third, one of the MHSA members gave (out) a copy of Arizona’s home schooling law which makes many restrictions on home schooling which limited the freedom we wish for ourselves…”
NEVADA: Kathy Erickson [GWS #32] wrote in early May that the testimony on March 29 before the State Legislature Education Committee “was surprising -we had 150 to 200 more people than we expected. The bill, we hope, will be out of Education Committee and on the Assembly floor this week. Then we will have testimony in the Senate. But the Legislature will close at the end of the month so we are pressured for time…”
NOTES FROM DONNA
New Reprints: We have two new reprints available here. One is John’s “Legislative Proposal” from GWS #30; the other is a summary of the Massachusetts home-schooling situation that Tim Chapman put together before he left. Each is available for 10c (SASE required if you are not buying other material from us).
Questions: A reader asks if anyone knows where to pursue a doctorate in alternative education (including independent study and home schooling). Another reader would like to hear about any home-schooled twins, especially about the question of whether they grow too dependent on each other.
Thanks: Rena Caudle writes, “We want to thank you all very much for printing the article [GWS # 31] about Jeremy,” who had a brain tumor. “The response has been wonderful. It has been great for the kids.” Rena had the marvellous news that Jeremy had spontaneous remission” - at present there are no signs of the tumor.
I sent some books and magazines to Dr. K. D. Chauhan [”Request from India,” GWS #29] and he wrote that when the children opened the package, “They were dancing here, having each copy of books and magazines in their hands and singing with joy and pleasures a unique wonderful and beautiful song with music of their own country hand instruments and drums in a circle … After half an hour they became quiet and absorbed in magazines and I was pointing and hinting to make them understand…” Dr. Chauhan especially appreciated the National Geographics we sent and hopes we can get more. It you can, please send materials to him at the Jagdish Society, Post Unjha 384170, N. Guj., India.
Finally, thanks to all those who have made a contribution, large or small, to our “Gift Sub Fund.” Because of you, a dozen families are receiving GWS who could not otherwise afford it. When you give us extra money and say, “Keep the change,” that’s where it goes, and we hope these gifts will continue to come in. - Donna Richoux