The rally is Saturday at 10 a.m. at Heritage Preparatory Charter School at 3350 Greenbriar Parkway SW in Atlanta.
Moms for School Choice, in collaboration with Heritage Preparatory Charter School and Georgia’s Voice for Educational Choice, is organizing the event.
Among those confirmed for the program according to event organizers are Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) and Cherokee County School Board Member Michael Geist.
Others expected to speak are state Rep. Alisha Thomas Morgan (D-Austell), DeKalb County Board of Education Member Nancy Jester, and Rich Thompson of 100Dads.
The event is being billed as a grassroots, bi-partisan meeting.
The rally is planned to shine the light on the children who attend the charter schools and to support options, according to Kimberly Cochran, an East Cobb mother of two and member of Moms for Choice.
“We are really just trying to showcase the wonderful options since there has been such a contentious debate about this issue, and we want to shine a light on the children who attend and remind everyone that every child deserves the best education,” Cochran said.
Cochran, whose 9-year-old son attends Eastside Elementary, said that she feels charter public schools provide a great option for families in Georgia. She also has a 4-year-old who is not in school yet.
“Every family should have the choice to make the decisions themselves, and what serves one child really well, might not serve another family well,” Cochran said.
“This is grassroots, supporting options. We are not advocating anything or asking people to vote one way or anther, we just feel that there are many who still are not aware of the existence of charter schools or their mission,” she said.
Check-in will begin at 9:30 a.m.
The theme of the rally is “Charter schools work.”
Students from Heritage Preparatory Charter School, Cherokee Charter Academy, and other Georgia public charter schools are set to perform.
Students attending the rally from public charter schools will be dressed in their school uniforms/colors with signs handmade by the students themselves, the release for the event said.
For information visit the Facebook event page Charter-Schools-WORK-Rally.
Founded in 2012, Moms for School Choice is a grassroots, non-partisan, non-profit organization that exists to promote the many school options for families: public, charter, private, homeschool, or virtual, according to the release.
In Alpharetta, when serious problems were discovered at a charter school, it was the local school board that held the charter school accountable.
The normal charter school protocol did not work and politicians simply ignored the problems.
This legislation doesn't even require that parents sit on the board of the charter school and it certainly doesn't address the problems I encountered at Fulton Science Academy.
Remember, if you vote no, we still have choice and avenues for charter schools. Schools like Amana Academy and Ivy Prep will continue to be approved.
If you vote yes, and you have a problem at the state charter school, you will have to rely on a political committee to help you.
Whether you Vote Yes or Vote no, read my story and understand the issues happening right now in Georgia.
www.georgiacharterschooldisgrace.com