More Information on Amendment One

Here's another email from Matt Arkin:

As many of you are aware on Tuesday, November 6th, Georgians will be voting on Amendment One. Over the last few weeks many have tried to confuse the public as to what this amendment is really all about. I’ve sent a few previous kmails regarding the amendment, and I am attaching a document with some answers to questions from an organization that should help provide you with the important facts about the amendment and exactly what the amendment really does.


The Odyssey/GCA Board has discussed and analyzed the effects Amendment One could have on Odyssey and GCA. After consulting with experts the Board has concluded that if Amendment One does not pass, the future of GCA and charter schools in Georgia is at serious risk.

Please be sure to vote on (or before) November 6th, and more importantly spread the word and help educate your family, friends, and neighbors about the importance of Amendment One and its potential impact on your family, GCA, and all public charter schools in the state of Georgia. They may not be aware that this amendment will have a direct impact on the education of students that they know personally.

Thank you for your support for GCA students and teachers, and remember: the future of your school and all charter schools in Georgia is at stake.

Best regards,

Matt Arkin  
GCA Head of School





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More Information on Amendment One

Email From Matt Arkin

Election day is getting closer, and lots of questions are in the air about the upcoming election and how it will affect Georgia Cyber Academy. With that in mind, here are a couple pieces of information that will hopefully help you understand the issues being discussed and get some information on what you can do to help state charter schools like GCA.
First, there is a rally this Saturday, October 27^th, at 10AM to support charter schools. You can find more information here: http://www.gacharters.org/wp-content/uploads/October27Rally.jpg, and here is the location:

Heritage Preparatory Charter School
3350 Greenbriar Parkway SW
Atlanta, GA 30331

Come out to celebrate the success of Georgia’s charter schools and hear speakers from the Georgia Senate, House of Representatives, and several local school board members who support charter schools.

Answering some questions about the Charter Schools Amendment:
If you’re like me you’ve seen all kinds of wild and inaccurate claims about the impact of the charter schools amendment, from local district teachers all being fired to hundreds of millions of dollars being “stolen” from local school districts by charter schools.
What the Charter Amendment does is quite simple –just 2 things:

• Puts in the Constitution that state approved charter schools (like GCA) are legal
• Puts in the Constitution that local funds of school districts will be protected and never provided to state charter schools

That’s all the amendment does, and without the amendment in place state charter schools like GCA face the possibility of being shut down if and when the local districts sue (again) to contest the rights of these schools to exist. Based on the information and threats you’ve probably been hearing from local districts, I personally believe there is little doubt that a lawsuit will be coming soon after election day if the amendment is unsuccessful.
You can read the full text of the amendment here: http://www1.legis.ga.gov/legis/2011_12/pdf/hr1162.pdf. It’s only about 2 pages long, and can help you get past all of the misleading claims that are being made.
While as a public school we at GCA can’t tell you how to vote, we can encourage all of you to be sure to get out and vote, and to continue to educate your friends and neighbors on why charter schools are an important option for your family. All of us here at GCA thank you again for your support!

Best regards,
Matt Arkin
GCA Head of School
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Email From Matt Arkin

Six Flags & Beach trip...

Our Beach Trip wasn't a complete mess. Although it rained poured almost every single day we

 tried to make the most of it.

This trip was very different, we went without Scott. And we went with my mom, my sister, and 3 of her children. 10 of us... glad we had a 3 bedroom condo. :)

Dicks Last Resort... You must go once, or twice. So much fun.

They make you hats to wear, and they are hilarious.

My sisters below reads, I go down faster than Facebook Stock.

He took Madison's.

Shell Island

....The End.

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Six Flags & Beach trip...

Nickelodeon Resort Vacation

We arrived at our resort late after spending all day at LegoLand.

Our 2 bedroom suite was really nice, and clean. But the main pool area....I was not impressed at all. It was gross. The pool was so cloudy you couldn't see the bottom. Carson even said he couldn't see anything with his goggles. So the kids did the water slides, and I took Camlin to the little toddler area.

We had breakfast with some characters Monday morning, I know this guy is from SpongeBob but can't remember his name. The kids had no idea who he was either. (we don't watch SpongeBob) 

Now the main reason I booked this character breakfast was for Dora. Camlin adores her. Wish we would have seen Boots. 

Another unknown character seems pretty grumpy and unhappy.

He liked watching most characters from a distance.

Happy Birthday! 

Carly was the only one that wanted her picture taken with Jimmy  Neutron,

and SpongeBob

The smaller pool was a lot cleaner, you could see the bottom of the pool.

Blue was my favorite

You can see Camlin's knee on the right of the picture. He wouldn't come to close.

Go Diego Go!

Downtown Disney Lego Store they all had money to spend. Not sure why they don't look happier than this.

Carly got to meet the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

 And we all saw a Live Show of 

on our last night there.

We figured out on the last day there was so much more to do, but unfortunately the front desk doesn't give you very much information. And anytime you asked someone about something you got different answers.

I missed Disney being that close and not visiting the parks.

Maybe next year...

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Nickelodeon Resort Vacation