“Braving rain and cold weather, some 500 school choice supporters gathered outside the Georgia State Capitol Tuesday to rally for alternative school options.
The event gave parents, students, teachers and state lawmakers a platform on which to promote alternative education and to lobby for an increase in vouchers for public school pupils who want to attend private schools.
Gathered under a tent and wearing bright yellow ponchos, demonstrators at the event–which began around 10 a.m. and ended before noon–held placards that read ‘I Yearn to Learn’ and ‘School Choice Now.’
Mr. Kyle Hibbler, Assistant Principal of Imagine International Academy of Smyrna, brought 40 fourth and fifth graders from his school’s Character Council to the rally.
This is the first school choice rally Mr. Hibbler has attended, an experience he thinks especially helps students ‘understand the process of government.’
‘At school, we teach them to be more involved in their education because the more you do, the more you’ll learn,’ Mr. Hibbler added.
After witnessing the crowd of people mostly from other private and charter schools, one of Hibbler’s students asked excitedly, ‘Do all these kids go to charter schools?’
Indeed, one of the most positive aspects of the rally is ‘letting students meet other people who have experienced other educational opportunities as well,’ Mr. Hibbler said.
Platform speakers riled the crowd with messages of educational inclusion.
Georgia Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) spoke about the importance of supporting all Georgia’s education options. Senator Rogers supports expansion of the existing Georgia Special Needs Scholarship to include education coverage for military students and for those in the foster care system.
Also speaking to the gathering were two students who spoke about the nurturing they have received through home schooling and a military mom who praised the options she has found outside of traditional public schools.
Public education forums such as the school choice rally expose parents to schools like International Academy, a four-year-old public charter school off South Cobb Drive with a student population that has increased from 580 students to 800 in only a year.
The rally was sponsored by several groups including The Georgia Charter Schools Association and The Center for An Educated Georgia, an educational advocacy organization, in recognition of National School Choice Week. The primary purpose of the rally, according to the rally website www.schoolchoicerally.com, was to ‘celebrate Georgia’s school choice options and rally in support of a quality education for all Georgia students.’
Mr. Hibbler’s ultimate hope is that his students will share what they learned at the rally with other students and parents so that all children can have a ‘very challenging academic environment to thrive in.'”
Article published on January 26, 2011 on Smyrna-ViningsPatch