NEW YORK — Thomas Sohmers, 17, of Hudson, Mass., has been working at a research lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology since he was 13, developing projects ranging from augmented reality eyewear to laser communications systems. This spring, his mom, Penny Mills, let him drop out of 11th grade. She says she "could see how much of the work he was doing at school wasn't relevant to what he wanted to learn."

Last year, each at the age of 11, Mesa youths Jagger Eaton and Trey Wood dropped in on the X Games stage as the event’s youngest competitors ever. This year, they’re joined by 12-year-old Alana Smith when they compete next week at X Games Barcelona.

I am not a parent, which means that in addition to the many times I am envious of those who are, at times I am grateful not to be one.

“The Mesa Public Library requires photo identification to renew a library cards but no ID is required to vote.”

In his best-selling book "Outliers", author Malcolm Gladwell examines the relationship between elite Canadian hockey players and the disproportionate likelihood of their birthdays coming in January, February or March.

Lizett Segura’s son was enrolled in kindergarten at a neighboring district when she walked into Mesa’s Keller Elementary School looking for employment about five years ago.

Homeschooling, charter schools, private and magnet schools, online learning, open enrollment and more were celebrated last Friday as National School Choice Week kicked off in Arizona with speakers, performances and balloons at Gilbert’s Eduprize School.

When Mister and Miss EVIT were announced Saturday at the East Valley Institute of Technology, it wasn’t your usual crowning of a high school king and queen.

Arizona Museum of Natural History, 53 N. Macdonald in Mesa, is collaborating with ASU Franz Insect Laboratory to bring a special program to homeschoolers about bugs. Going Buggy Homeschool Day will feature a series of fun and factual activities, games and crafts focused on the life cycles, habitats, and eating habits of bugs. Participants will have the opportunity to meet scientists and take part in a “buzz lab” to discuss good bugs and bad bugs.

In one large room, separate groups of students at Gilbert’s Bios Christian Academy gather around different teachers.

Martin Taylor’s email is said in jest, but sums up life in his Chandler family’s home very well: “Sorry we haven’t been in touch. It’s a circus around here.”

Three of the four cross country individual state champions on Saturday in Division III and IV came from East Valley schools.

Few developments in education have blasted through the status quo like Sal Khan’s “Khan Academy.” What started as a collection of instructional videos on YouTube to help his seventh-grade cousin with algebra is now a website featuring 3,400 videos on everything from logarithms to art history.

The list of workshop topics and vendors for this weekend’s Self-Reliance Expo reads like a walking encyclopedia of preparedness and resourcefulness, everything from alternative energy to self-defense, sprouting and water purification.

Arizona has often been viewed as the state with the most options for school choice.

A popular children’s book is "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" by Laura Numeroff. This gentle story is a wonderful way to think about how to get started homeschooling because like the mouse, one step will lead to another as you construct your homeschool. So how do you take the first step?

No tickets? No worries — at least, not if you know where to go for a little free entertainment. Complimentary concerts abound in the East Valley. We love them for those days when our schedules magically open up, giving us a chance for an easy, impromptu outing. Some of our faves:

A glance through EastValleyTribune.com in the past week revealed stories about Arizona’s education tax initiative, ASU’s move to make college costs more transparent, a profile on a local school, a list of dozens of people trying to win a school board seat and information about the growing home-schooling trend.

The home-schooling community is seeing another hike in participation this year, according to the Maricopa County Education Services Agency.

I need to start out with a big apology. In last month’s article, I inadvertently credited Jason Gray with “I Refuse,” but that is really Josh Wilson’s song. I was made aware of my mix-up by a kind woman who graciously pointed out my mistake and then shared a few things that I hadn’t known. I learned that Gray has a speech impediment and stutters when talking, but it isn’t noticeable at all when he sings. Amazing.

New pencils, new backpacks, new faces: May the school year begin.

Parents will find few states that offer families as many schooling options as Arizona does. A longtime leader in the national school choice movement, Arizona has an education marketplace with a school for just about any income, interest or situation. And nowhere in the state do options abound like they do in the East Valley.

Have you ever sat in the international terminal at the airport and just listened to the mix of voices around you, all of them speaking in a language you don’t understand?