if they stole billions of dollars from a ponzi scheme they would have got 5 years.
Atlanta Educators given up to 20 years for cheating?!?! What?
- Thread starter IT IS WHAT IT IS
- Start date
What about the judge that signs off on it?
Yes we can. Cheating like this goes on at a lot of schools, especially white schools. They just got caught.
My good brother, if you're asking these questions then there's no need for our discourse. We can agree to disagree.
Every policy in place says learning doesn't matter. Just pass the tests so you can get money..not extra money, we cut your pay so with these bonuses you'll be making what you were making before we cut them. Then charge them for doing what you told them to do which is make sure they pass them tests so everybody gets paid.
Then wonder why the kids don't know anything at all. 20 years.
Fuck the kids physically you get a slap on the wrist.
Fuck with the system in place you get 20 years if you don't take the plea deal.
What's the appeal of being a public school teacher again?
You can't even teach then have to force tests to get a check
Keep it business as usual tho.
Then wonder why the kids don't know anything at all. 20 years.
Fuck the kids physically you get a slap on the wrist.
Fuck with the system in place you get 20 years if you don't take the plea deal.
What's the appeal of being a public school teacher again?
You can't even teach then have to force tests to get a check
Keep it business as usual tho.
Thats fine but the questions still linger. The students are not marginalized by the teachers. They are marginalized by a system of standardized testing that places more value on raw numbers than it does on actually teaching and educating and preparing students to become productive members of society. Sentencing teachers to murder numbers doesnt change a fucking thing.
Egg-Fuckin-Zactly!
An organization involved in illegal activity + ill gained federal and state funds + if any part of the organization was out of state or involved in interstate commerce = Hit with the RICO.
They was going to get that off tops...
Oh, I almost forgot the main ingredient...THEY WERE BLACK.
* two cents *
This is what you get when you have performance based pay in the public sector. The system is faulty and encouraged teachers to cheat. It is a lose-lose situation.
Sent from Nexus
Sent from Nexus
Not disagreeing with anything you said here.
If you (teachers in this case) don't like the policy then stand up for it while educating instead of finding ways to defraud the system and cheat the children.
Hundreds if not thousands of kids will directly feel what these teachers did.
Fuck these niggas, they were told to take a plea.
They were having wine and cheese parties while changing hundreds of tests
For the love of children and education plus long vacations.
Ive never met a teacher that did the job for money.
A woman in Atlanta got 3 years for falsifying her address so her daughter could go to a better school.
Fucked up but she lied on an official state document.
Every test these assholes changed = an official state.
They're lucky they aren't being charged for each student.
THIS!
I volunteered at one of the schools in this scandal some years back. The point is that they accepted $$$ for cheating. Beverly Hall should have taken the heat...but unfortunately, she died.
You gotta look at the big picture of this. Atlanta is gentrifying like crazy. Other than crime, the quality of schools is the biggest factor to property values. This could have tainted the image of the city far worse and cost in millions in tax revenue. Not justifying the potential sentences, just providing a better perspective.
They need to go to jail, but I highly doubt they will get anywhere near 20 years.
What was the initial plea offer given to them?
Is a fine not sufficient? Big picture is these teachers were given kids who were socially promoted to their grade without the knowledge or skill to perform well on the standardized test. When those kids fail, the teachers (& parents) who didn't ensure that kid was up to grade level aren't responsible, the teachers that administered the test are. They did what they had to survive in this new world where politicians are underfunding school districts while busting unions to determine the employment status of teachers based on how their kids perform on a test.
All they care about is the tests and you pay teachers on whether the kids can pass this test not their ability to reach children and have them retain knowledge so this is bound to happen. Teachers need a roof over their heads too. You pay based on 1 thing and not everything then everything gets put into making sure that 1 thing is taken care of. if there was no incentive based system this would not have happened period.
And millions will feel what the other teachers are doing too. Not teaching them anything and spending the entire year making sure they passed the test. Every year before standardized tests we'd switch from regular schedule to fucking block schedule with 2 and sometimes 3 hour classes... 80% of the kids in the classes were asleep. Not because they don't want to learn but because you switch a routine up in the middle of the year and make kids sit through 3 hours of class that isn't even going over what subject? In math and english and chemistry you're going over a practice test? how is this OK? How the fuck did they allow this to happen?
Teachers love being able to reach and teach children. Making them memorize standard tests isn't teaching. Not being paid for the summer is not the same as having a long vacation. Most teachers take summer school jobs around here because they NEED the money.
my gf is a teacher & all of this was true for her. she became a teacher because she truly loved to teach, but a decade in the classroom...the goal shifted from making sure kids achieve milestones per grade to cramming all year to pass this or that standardized test. It's no longer about making sure a kid can read or write or draw logical conclusions or problem solving...its all about passing these damn tests.
Exactly
and that's the government's fault.
The only standardized test that should count is the SAT/ACT there should be no other tests required by state or federal people to determine whether or not a school gets funds period.
There should be a requirement for graduating from high school (the courses vs credits) and that's it.
That allows for a kid to grow, to learn, to discover who they want to be by the time they get 18.
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/as-d...ls-prosecutors-/ndX34/#bfbf71c4.213528.735690
GUILTY PLEAS SO FAR
Top administrators
Millicent Few, former APS human resources director. Pleaded guilty Monday to misdemeanor malfeasance in office. Few is expected to testify that Hall ordered the destruction of internal investigative reports that found “a substantial likelihood that cheating occurred” in 2008 when students took standardized tests at Deerwood Academy, prosecutors said. Sentence: One year on probation, 250 hours of community service, $800 in restitution.
Principals
Lucious Brown, former principal of Kennedy Middle School. Brown pleaded guilty Jan. 17 to interfering with government property. He admitted erasing students’ answers and changing them from wrong to right in 2008 and 2009. He is expected to testify against Sharon Davis-Williams, a top administrator whose office was at Kennedy. Sentence: Two years on probation, 1,000 hours of community service, return $1,000 in bonus pay.
Clarietta Davis, former principal of Venetian Hills Elementary School. Davis pleaded guilty Jan. 6 to one felony count of false statements. She admitted to changing answers from wrong to right on standardized tests in 2007 and 2008. Prosecutors said Davis often met with Hall and Davis-Williams and went over data that showed many Venetian Hills students were testing below their grade levels. In those meetings, Hall applied constant pressure on Davis to make sure her students met testing goals. Sentence: Two years on probation, 1,000 hours community service, return $500 in bonus money.
Armstead Salters, former principal of Gideons Elementary School. Salters pleaded guilty Dec. 19 to a felony count of making false statements and writings since he signed off on tests taken by his students. Salters disclosed to prosecutors how he coordinated test cheating and explained why he did it. Gideons, located in southwest Atlanta, had a challenging, transient student population after nearby housing projects closed in the early 2000s. Its students performed slightly below average in reading, language arts and math. Hall made it clear she would fire teachers and principals who did not get good results on test scores, he said. Sentence: Two years on probation, 1,000 hours of community service, return $2,000 in bonus pay.
Christopher Waller, former principal of Parks Middle School. Waller pleaded guilty Friday to a felony count of making false statements. Parks had some of the most egregious instances of cheating, according to a 2011 state investigative report, and Waller went to great lengths to to cover it up, the report said. He is expected to implicate Hall and former area superintendent Michael Pitts in his testimony. Sentence: Five years on probation, 1,000 hours of community service, $50,000 in fines and restitution.
Assistant principals, testing coordinators
Gregory Reid, former assistant principal of Parks Middle School. Reid pleaded guilty Dec. 16 to two counts of obstruction. His decision to testify for the prosecution likely influenced Waller’s move to enter a guilty plea. Sentence: Two years on probation, 500 hours of community service, return $5,000 in bonus money.
Francis Mack, former testing coordinator at D.H. Stanton Elementary School. Mack pleaded guilty Dec. 20 to obstruction. Prosecutors said Mack did not participate in test cheating but had previously been told about testing irregularities and did not disclose that information to investigators. Sentence: one year on probation, 250 hours of community service.
Sheridan Rogers, former testing coordinator at Gideons Elementary School. Rogers pleaded guilty Dec. 20 to obstruction. She admitted to following orders from her principal, Salters, to give Gideons’ teachers access to their tests and answer sheets. This allowed teachers to change wrong answers to right ones. Sentence: one year on probation, 250 hours community service, return $1,000 in bonus money.
Lera Middlebrooks, former testing coordinator at Dunbar Elementary School. Middlebrooks pleaded guilty Dec. 18 to one misdemeanor count of obstruction. She admitted to giving teachers answer sheets for standardized tests after students had taken the tests and said she believed the teachers used the sheets to change incorrect answers. Sentence: One year on probation.
Tameka Goodson, former school improvement specialist at Kennedy Middle School. Goodson pleaded guilty Dec. 20 to obstruction. Goodson admitted to changing answers on student standardized tests in 2008 along with secretary Carol Dennis under the director of their principal, Brown. Sentence: one year on probation, 250 hours community service, return $1,000 in bonus money.
Sandra Ward, testing coordinator at Parks Middle School. Ward pleaded guilty Friday to one misdemeanor count of obstruction. She is expected to implicate Hall and Pitts in her testimony. Sentence: One year on probation, 250 hours of community service, return $5,000 in bonus money.
Teachers
Starlette Mitchell, former teacher at Parks Middle School. Mitchell pleaded guilty Jan. 6 to one misdemeanor count of obstruction. Sentence: one year on probation, 250 hours of community service, return $3,000 in bonus money.
Kimberly Oden, former teacher at Parks Middle School. Oden pleaded guilty Jan. 6 to one misdemeanor count of obstruction. Sentence: one year on probation, 250 hours of community service.
Derrick Broadwater, teacher at Dobbs Elementary School. Broadwater pleaded guilty Jan. 6 to one misdemeanor count of obstruction. Sentence: one year on probation, 350 hours of community service, return $2,000 in bonus money.
Shayla Smith, teacher at Dobbs Elementary School. Smith pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count of obstruction. She is expected to testify against others at her school, including her former principal, Dana Evans, and area superintendent Pitts. Sentence: one year on probation, 250 hours of community service.
Gloria Ivey, former teacher at Dunbar Elementary School. Ivey pleaded guilty Jan. 6 to one misdemeanor count of obstruction. Ivey said she succumbed to pressure placed on her by administrators who expected her students to meet unrealistic test goals. She admitted to admonishing students to rethink incorrect test answers as she walked around her class and pointing to the correct answers in some cases. Sentence: one year on probation, 250 hours of community service.
Lisa Terry, former teacher at Humphries Elementary School. Terry pleaded guilty Nov. 20 to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction, the first educator to enter a guilty plea. Terry admitted she allowed students to go back and change their answers on the 2009 Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests. Sentence: one year on probation, 250 hours of community service.
Ingrid Abella-Sly, former teacher at Humphries Elementary School. Abella-Sly pleaded guilty Dec. 13 to a misdemeanor obstruction charge and admitted she gave students answers on standardized tests. Sentence: One year on probation, 250 hours of community service, return $500 in bonus pay.
Wendy Ahmed, former teacher at Humphries Elementary School. Ahmed pleaded guilty Dec.19 to a misdemeanor count of obstruction. She admitted telling her students the correct answers while they took the 2009 test. Sentence: One year on probation, 250 hours of community service, return $500 in bonus money.
Sheila Evans, former teacher at Benteen Elementary School. Evans pleaded guilty Dec. 16 to one misdemeanor count of obstruction. Sentence: One year on probation, 250 hours of community service.
Secretary
Carol Dennis, secretary at Kennedy Middle School. Dennis pleaded guilty Jan. 6 to one misdemeanor count of obstruction. She said she corrected student answers on the 2008 and 2009 CRCTs at Brown’s request. Sentence: one year on probation, 250 hours of community service.
13 defendants remain and are expected to stand trial:
Beverly Hall, superintendent
Tamara Cotman, area superintendent
Michael Pitts, area superintendent
Sharon Davis-Williams, area superintendent
Dana Evans, principal of Dobbs Elementary
Tabeeka Jordan, assistant principal of Deerwood Academy
Donald Bullock, testing coordinator at Usher/Collier Heights Elementary
Theresia Copeland, testing coordinator at Benteen Elementary
Diane Buckner-Webb, teacher at Dunbar Elementary
Pamela Cleveland, teacher at Dunbar Elementary
Dessa Curb, teacher at Dobbs Elementary
Shani Robinson, teacher at Dunbar Elementary
Angela Williamson, teacher at Dobbs Elementary
No, this means they were cheating to save their jobs...not get some weak ass financial reward. Those kids aren't on the level to pass those tests & it's not the cheaters fault. How can they A. bring a kid up to his proper grade level while B. having to prepare this kid to pass a test that assumes they are on their grade level of learning??? As most of us are saying, the system created this problem.
A timeline:
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/a-timeline-of-how-the-atlanta-school-cheating-scan/nkkLH/
December 2008
An AJC investigation highlights suspect scores on the state Criterion-Referenced Competency Test in five elementary schools, including one in Atlanta. APS responds that it has no plans to investigate.
Feb. 2009
Beverly Hall is named the national Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators, which credits her for rising test scores and graduation rates. The group called Atlanta “a model of urban school reform.”
June 2009
A state investigation finds strong evidence of cheating on retests at one Atlanta school and three in other districts.
July 2009
The state Board of Education throws out math retest results from four schools, including Atlanta’s Deerwood Academy, despite Superintendent Beverly Hall’s statement that external investigators found no evidence of tampering.
August 2009
Hall describes APS as a model urban school district with double-digit test score gains. An AJC investigation shows the district fails to scrutinize many allegations of test cheating.
Oct. 2009
An AJC analysis shows statistically improbable increases on the state tests in a year’s time at a dozen Atlanta schools and seven others statewide. Hall and her aides say they don’t believe there was cheating.
Nov. 2009
Hall announces that national experts will review test scores at schools that recorded extraordinary improvements.
Feb. 2010
The state Board of Education orders districts to investigate 191 schools statewide for potential cheating, including the 58 in Atlanta.
March 2010
LaChandra Butler Burks, chairwoman of the Atlanta school board, announces a “Blue Ribbon Commission” will oversee the district’s cheating investigation and that its members will be chosen from recommendations by the board, the Metro Atlanta Chamber and the nonprofit Atlanta Education Fund, a district advocacy group.
July 2010
The state board threatens to punish the district if it does not submit a report on its investigation by Aug. 2. The AJC reports that the APS panel looking into reports of cheating had ties to Hall or to the district, and that central office administrators took part in questioning potential witnesses.
Aug. 2010
After initially refusing to accept the Blue Ribbon Commission’s finding of cheating, the Atlanta school board relents. The commission concludes that cheating occurred at just 12 schools. The AJC reports that APS’ chosen investigators scrutinized fewer than half of the 58 schools in question. Gov. Sonny Perdue announces that special investigators will look into the cheating scandal.
Oct. 2010
Fifty GBI agents begin questioning Atlanta teachers and administrators about whether they falsified test results.
Nov. 2010
A study largely confirming the AJC’s 2009 analysis finally comes to light, months after Hall received drafts. Hall announces she will retire in June.
Dec. 2010
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard appoints two special prosecutors for a criminal probe of Atlanta schools. Allegations include possible felony charges of lying to agents or investigators and the destruction or altering of public documents. The AJC reports that Hall and other APS officials carried out a broad campaign over two years to suppress mounting allegations of widespread cheating.
Feb. 2011
State investigators say they uncovered a pattern of intimidation, threats and retaliation against APS employees who report cheating or other improprieties. They tell the district to drop plans to do its own cheating analysis, saying it would interfere with the governor’s special investigation. After the district refuses, a judge orders it to stop its internal probe.
July 2011
The AJC reports that a former high-ranking district official says Hall ordered the destruction of investigative documents detailing systematic cheating and ordered subordinates to omit adverse findings. At month’s end, Beverly Hall retires after 12 years with APS.
July 2012
Within days, specially appointed state investigators cite a wide range of cheating violations and organized and systemic misconduct in APS. Their report names 178 teachers, principals and administrators at 44 Atlanta schools. Eighty educators confessed to cheating, according to the report. Davis said most of the educators named in the report will remain on the payroll as the district decides what to do next. That same month, interim school superintendent Erroll Davis takes over.
Feb. 2012
APS officials tell educators implicated in the state report they have one day to resign or face firing. “I do not intend to issue contracts to anyone who has not been exonerated,” Superintendent Erroll Davis says. “I’ve made a commitment to parents that people who committed cheating, whether knowingly or unknowingly, will not be put in front of children until they are exonerated.”
March 2012
The Atlanta school district begins disciplinary tribunals for educators accused of cheating who want to appeal their dismissals. The educators also face suspension or revocation of their teaching licenses by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. The PSC says it won’t hear appeals in the cases until the district attorney completes the criminal investigation.
June 2012
APS announces that 12 educators named in the investigation can return to the classroom after it determined there was not enough evidence to fire them.
July 2012
Cheryl Twyman, former principal at West Manor Elementary, becomes the first accused principal to be reinstated into a school district job after a year on paid administrative leave. The district determined there was insufficient evidence to prove that she violated any testing protocol. She receives a position at the central office.
Dec. 2012
The Atlanta school board votes 7-2 to renew the contract of Superintendent Erroll Davis, whose current contract expires in June. The 18-month contract extension gives the board an out if it votes to hire a replacement superintendent. Davis has said he does not want the job long-term.
March 2013
Of the 178 people implicated in the state investigative report, 21 educators have been reinstated and three people are still awaiting tribunal appeals, said APS spokesman Stephen Alford. About 150 educators resigned, retired or lost their appeals to retain their jobs.
Sept 2013
Tamara Cotman, who oversaw 21 north Atlanta schools, is found not guilty of trying to influence a witness after a 3-week trial. Cotman still faces racketeering charges. Prosecutors were hoping to make Cotman’s case a test-run of their arguments.
Oct. 2013
Defendant Lisa Terry, a former Humphreys Elementary teacher, apologizes for her actions and pleads guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction, agreeing to testify for the prosecution.
Dec. 2013
Armstead Salters, a principal at C.L. Gideons Elementary for three decades, pleads guilty to a felony count of making false statements and writings. Prosecutors say it was an “open secret” that cheating had been going on at Gideons for years.
Feb. 2014
Millicent Few, a former APS human resources director, pleads guilty to misdemeanor malfeasance in office. Few is expected to testify that Beverly Hall ordered the destruction of internal investigative reports.
Feb. 2014
Of the original 35 educators indicted, 21 choose to enter guilty pleas by the deadline, leaving 13 to stand trial (one defendant passes away while waiting trial).
March 2014
Lawyers for Beverly Hall say that she is suffering from Stage IV breast cancer and is too ill to stand trial.
April 2014
It’s revealed that prosecutors and lawyers for Hall tried to work out a deal where she would plead guilty to a single felony charge in exchange for probation. Sources familiar with the negotiations say the deal fell through over the issue of admitting wrongdoing.
April 2014
Two cancer experts disagree on whether Beverly Hall can withstand a trial. The emotional hearing includes an outburst by former Mayor Andrew Young.
July 2014
Judge Jerry Baxter says the trial can take no more delays and sets the trial for August for the remaining 12 defendants, without Beverly Hall.
March 2, 2015
Beverly Hall dies of breast cancer at 68.
March 16, 2015
Attorneys give closing statements.
March 19, 2015
Jury gets the case to consider.
April 1, 2015
Jury returns guilty verdicts for conspiracy and other felony charges for 11 of the defendants. Only former teacher Dessa Curb walked away with no convictions. The others are led out in handcuffs and booked into jail.
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/a-timeline-of-how-the-atlanta-school-cheating-scan/nkkLH/
December 2008
An AJC investigation highlights suspect scores on the state Criterion-Referenced Competency Test in five elementary schools, including one in Atlanta. APS responds that it has no plans to investigate.
Feb. 2009
Beverly Hall is named the national Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators, which credits her for rising test scores and graduation rates. The group called Atlanta “a model of urban school reform.”
June 2009
A state investigation finds strong evidence of cheating on retests at one Atlanta school and three in other districts.
July 2009
The state Board of Education throws out math retest results from four schools, including Atlanta’s Deerwood Academy, despite Superintendent Beverly Hall’s statement that external investigators found no evidence of tampering.
August 2009
Hall describes APS as a model urban school district with double-digit test score gains. An AJC investigation shows the district fails to scrutinize many allegations of test cheating.
Oct. 2009
An AJC analysis shows statistically improbable increases on the state tests in a year’s time at a dozen Atlanta schools and seven others statewide. Hall and her aides say they don’t believe there was cheating.
Nov. 2009
Hall announces that national experts will review test scores at schools that recorded extraordinary improvements.
Feb. 2010
The state Board of Education orders districts to investigate 191 schools statewide for potential cheating, including the 58 in Atlanta.
March 2010
LaChandra Butler Burks, chairwoman of the Atlanta school board, announces a “Blue Ribbon Commission” will oversee the district’s cheating investigation and that its members will be chosen from recommendations by the board, the Metro Atlanta Chamber and the nonprofit Atlanta Education Fund, a district advocacy group.
July 2010
The state board threatens to punish the district if it does not submit a report on its investigation by Aug. 2. The AJC reports that the APS panel looking into reports of cheating had ties to Hall or to the district, and that central office administrators took part in questioning potential witnesses.
Aug. 2010
After initially refusing to accept the Blue Ribbon Commission’s finding of cheating, the Atlanta school board relents. The commission concludes that cheating occurred at just 12 schools. The AJC reports that APS’ chosen investigators scrutinized fewer than half of the 58 schools in question. Gov. Sonny Perdue announces that special investigators will look into the cheating scandal.
Oct. 2010
Fifty GBI agents begin questioning Atlanta teachers and administrators about whether they falsified test results.
Nov. 2010
A study largely confirming the AJC’s 2009 analysis finally comes to light, months after Hall received drafts. Hall announces she will retire in June.
Dec. 2010
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard appoints two special prosecutors for a criminal probe of Atlanta schools. Allegations include possible felony charges of lying to agents or investigators and the destruction or altering of public documents. The AJC reports that Hall and other APS officials carried out a broad campaign over two years to suppress mounting allegations of widespread cheating.
Feb. 2011
State investigators say they uncovered a pattern of intimidation, threats and retaliation against APS employees who report cheating or other improprieties. They tell the district to drop plans to do its own cheating analysis, saying it would interfere with the governor’s special investigation. After the district refuses, a judge orders it to stop its internal probe.
July 2011
The AJC reports that a former high-ranking district official says Hall ordered the destruction of investigative documents detailing systematic cheating and ordered subordinates to omit adverse findings. At month’s end, Beverly Hall retires after 12 years with APS.
July 2012
Within days, specially appointed state investigators cite a wide range of cheating violations and organized and systemic misconduct in APS. Their report names 178 teachers, principals and administrators at 44 Atlanta schools. Eighty educators confessed to cheating, according to the report. Davis said most of the educators named in the report will remain on the payroll as the district decides what to do next. That same month, interim school superintendent Erroll Davis takes over.
Feb. 2012
APS officials tell educators implicated in the state report they have one day to resign or face firing. “I do not intend to issue contracts to anyone who has not been exonerated,” Superintendent Erroll Davis says. “I’ve made a commitment to parents that people who committed cheating, whether knowingly or unknowingly, will not be put in front of children until they are exonerated.”
March 2012
The Atlanta school district begins disciplinary tribunals for educators accused of cheating who want to appeal their dismissals. The educators also face suspension or revocation of their teaching licenses by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. The PSC says it won’t hear appeals in the cases until the district attorney completes the criminal investigation.
June 2012
APS announces that 12 educators named in the investigation can return to the classroom after it determined there was not enough evidence to fire them.
July 2012
Cheryl Twyman, former principal at West Manor Elementary, becomes the first accused principal to be reinstated into a school district job after a year on paid administrative leave. The district determined there was insufficient evidence to prove that she violated any testing protocol. She receives a position at the central office.
Dec. 2012
The Atlanta school board votes 7-2 to renew the contract of Superintendent Erroll Davis, whose current contract expires in June. The 18-month contract extension gives the board an out if it votes to hire a replacement superintendent. Davis has said he does not want the job long-term.
March 2013
Of the 178 people implicated in the state investigative report, 21 educators have been reinstated and three people are still awaiting tribunal appeals, said APS spokesman Stephen Alford. About 150 educators resigned, retired or lost their appeals to retain their jobs.
Sept 2013
Tamara Cotman, who oversaw 21 north Atlanta schools, is found not guilty of trying to influence a witness after a 3-week trial. Cotman still faces racketeering charges. Prosecutors were hoping to make Cotman’s case a test-run of their arguments.
Oct. 2013
Defendant Lisa Terry, a former Humphreys Elementary teacher, apologizes for her actions and pleads guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction, agreeing to testify for the prosecution.
Dec. 2013
Armstead Salters, a principal at C.L. Gideons Elementary for three decades, pleads guilty to a felony count of making false statements and writings. Prosecutors say it was an “open secret” that cheating had been going on at Gideons for years.
Feb. 2014
Millicent Few, a former APS human resources director, pleads guilty to misdemeanor malfeasance in office. Few is expected to testify that Beverly Hall ordered the destruction of internal investigative reports.
Feb. 2014
Of the original 35 educators indicted, 21 choose to enter guilty pleas by the deadline, leaving 13 to stand trial (one defendant passes away while waiting trial).
March 2014
Lawyers for Beverly Hall say that she is suffering from Stage IV breast cancer and is too ill to stand trial.
April 2014
It’s revealed that prosecutors and lawyers for Hall tried to work out a deal where she would plead guilty to a single felony charge in exchange for probation. Sources familiar with the negotiations say the deal fell through over the issue of admitting wrongdoing.
April 2014
Two cancer experts disagree on whether Beverly Hall can withstand a trial. The emotional hearing includes an outburst by former Mayor Andrew Young.
July 2014
Judge Jerry Baxter says the trial can take no more delays and sets the trial for August for the remaining 12 defendants, without Beverly Hall.
March 2, 2015
Beverly Hall dies of breast cancer at 68.
March 16, 2015
Attorneys give closing statements.
March 19, 2015
Jury gets the case to consider.
April 1, 2015
Jury returns guilty verdicts for conspiracy and other felony charges for 11 of the defendants. Only former teacher Dessa Curb walked away with no convictions. The others are led out in handcuffs and booked into jail.
Looking at what was given, hard to believe those who went to trial got such favorable plea agreements. These were the ring leaders principals, directors, coordinators. The ones they couldn't get on falsifying they got on RICO. At this point, whatever they were offered is better than what they got. This still doesn't fix the broken system, just applies a band-aid on a symptom of the problem.
http://www.myajc.com/gallery/news/local-education/photos-booking-mugshots-convicted-aps-educators/gCRww/#7054148
Let me tell you the sheer bizarreness of this situation. The Judge Jerry Baxter (who is white), told the newspaper late last year that the RICO charge was bullshit and the government probably couldn't meet it's burden!
I shit you not! http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/aps-judge-says-hes-somewhat-doubtful-about-rico-ch/njJ9Z/
"The judge overseeing the Atlanta Public Schools test-cheating trial on Tuesday said he is “somewhat doubtful” about the most serious charge — that of racketeering — facing each of the 12 former educators on trial."
The very next day he comes in a basically tells the Defendants to take a deal.
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/aps-judge-tells-sides-to-consider-compromise/njKwB/
“This RICO count is real,” Baxter said. “I understand the law. (Jurors) could find RICO in this case.”
"The racketeering count carries a maximum punishment of up to 20 years in prison. Eleven of the 12 defendants on trial also face lesser felony charges, which also carry potential prison time.
Baxter added, “I’m just saying usually if there’s some division, there’s a compromise. I’m just letting everybody know. Everybody is sitting around like this is a fun ride. But it’s serious.”"
This Judge was trying to let'em know, but.....
I shit you not! http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/aps-judge-says-hes-somewhat-doubtful-about-rico-ch/njJ9Z/
"The judge overseeing the Atlanta Public Schools test-cheating trial on Tuesday said he is “somewhat doubtful” about the most serious charge — that of racketeering — facing each of the 12 former educators on trial."
The very next day he comes in a basically tells the Defendants to take a deal.
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/aps-judge-tells-sides-to-consider-compromise/njKwB/
“This RICO count is real,” Baxter said. “I understand the law. (Jurors) could find RICO in this case.”
"The racketeering count carries a maximum punishment of up to 20 years in prison. Eleven of the 12 defendants on trial also face lesser felony charges, which also carry potential prison time.
Baxter added, “I’m just saying usually if there’s some division, there’s a compromise. I’m just letting everybody know. Everybody is sitting around like this is a fun ride. But it’s serious.”"
This Judge was trying to let'em know, but.....
They were specifically told take the plea but they wanted to roll the dice.
They rolled and crapped out after being 100% in the wrong.
Anyone that thinks this punishment was too harsh go volunteer at Gideon Elementary or the middle school they feed into.
Those kids and the teachers that have to deal with them now were cheated.
So basically, all the kids they fucked over don't matter...it's just the white folk that sentenced them that are fucked up. The logic around here never ceases to amaze me. Are we ever supposed to be accountable for ANYTHING? 
Hmmm......apparently this type of cheating happens often all over this country.....
America’s Most Outrageous Teacher Cheating Scandals
by Lois Beckett
ProPublica, April 1, 2013, 11:13 a.m.
Update: This story has been updated to reflect recent developments in the Atlanta cheating scandal. It has also been corrected.
Scandals involving cheating by teachers and schools to pump up ever-more-important student test scores swept the country in 2011, with states failing to implement simple and effective checks. But they've also been happening for years, and oversight is only beginning to catch up.
Here's an overview of some of the most shocking instances of teacher cheating, plus a few episodes that may have been overblown.
The 'Lake Wobegon' Effect (1987-89)
One of the earliest investigations of teacher cheating was spearheaded by John Jacob Cannell, a family physician from West Virginia who was shocked to hear that his poverty-stricken home state, with high rates of illiteracy, was performing above the national average on standardized tests. Cannell latched on to the issue and discovered that students in 48 states were supposedly performing above the national average—in part because they were being judged using out-of-date comparisons.
This phenomenon was christened the "Lake Wobegon Effect," after Garrison Keillor's legendary town where "every child is above average." Cannell's reports argued that score inflation resulted from infrequent test updates and too much "teaching to the test," as well as outright teacher cheating. While his findings were hotly debated, a Department of Education-sponsored study confirmed most of them.
Columbus, Ohio: After President Clinton Lauds School, Students Claim Cheating (2000)
Just weeks after President Clinton visited a Columbus school to laud its astronomical gains on test scores and argue that Clinton-Gore strategies were working, the school was enveloped in a cheating scandal. Three students told a teacher that they had received assistance on the previous year's exam. District investigators found no evidence to support the claims, but some parents found the accusation credible, and the veteran teacher who passed along the students' claims said she had been forced to go on disability leave after retaliations from the principal.
New York City: Early Cheating Scandal May Have Been Overblown (1999-2001)
Aggressive schools investigator Edward Stancik uncovered a wide range of cheating in New York City schools, including a seventh-grade teacher who had placed the answers to a test by a pencil sharpener, encouraged his students to sharpen their pencils, and left the room. But Stancik's most explosive findings, which implicated 32 schools and 52 educators, did not hold up to scrutiny. A New York Times investigation into his methods found that some of his accusations seemed dubious and that innocent teachers may have suffered as a result.
Chicago: 'Freakonomics' Author Catches Cheating Teachers (2002)
"Freakonomics" author Steven Levitt and fellow economist Brian Jacob developed a method to screen tests for teacher cheating by looking for identical strings of answers. Their conclusions, based on Chicago public-school tests from 1993 to 2000: Cheating on standardized tests occurred in at least 4 percent to 5 percent of classrooms every year; teachers in low-performing classrooms were likelier to cheat; and a "pronounced spike" in cheating occurred when Chicago introduced high-stakes testing in 1996. As a result of their report, Arne Duncan, then CEO of Chicago Public Schools and now U.S. Secretary of Education, asked the economists to put their algorithm to work catching cheaters in action. The experiment worked: When students of teachers suspected of cheating took the tests again, their scores dropped.
Birmingham, Ala.: School Targeted Students to Withdraw Before Tests (2004)
When the director of a GED program in Birmingham noticed in 2001 that many students were showing up at his office weeks after they had "withdrawn" from a local high school because of "lack of interest," he decided to investigate. With the help of a school board member, he found that more than 500 students—about 5 percent of the high school student body—had been asked to leave their schools, the New York Times reported in 2004. These forced withdrawals happened before students were to take an important standardized test but after the school was evaluated for the funding it would receive based on enrollment. The school district denied that the withdrawals had anything to do with getting rid of students who might have dragged down the school's test scores.
Texas: 700 Schools Flagged for Potential Cheating; State 'Investigated' With Survey (2004-07)
When the Dallas Morning News analyzed test results across Texas, it found hundreds of schools with test scores that had jumped and dropped in suspicious ways. The newspaper identified low-income schools with students at one grade level who struggled with basic skills—and students in the next grade who received nearly perfect scores or outperformed the state's most elite districts.
One elementary school's students scored so well that Oprah Winfrey featured it on a special about schools that "defy the odds." But a teacher said her high-scoring students could barely write their own names, and when the same students went on to middle school, their scores plummeted. The state ultimately decided to investigate at least 700 schools. But for more than 600, the "investigation" consisted of simply asking schools to fill out a survey about their testing procedures. Taking many schools at their word, the state declared that the vast majority were innocent despite further evidence that some schools cleared of wrongdoing had actually cheated.
Los Angeles: Charter Founder Orchestrated Cheating at Six Schools (2011)
The director of a group of six charter schools in Los Angeles ordered his principals to break the seals on state tests and help students prepare for the exams with actual test questions. When teachers reported the order, the school's governing board demoted the director but did not fire him, noting he had "expressed very, very deep regret." When the Los Angeles Board of Education voted to shut down the charter schools completely, parents, students and teachers made passionate arguments for keeping the schools open under different leadership and eventually succeeded.
Atlanta: Teachers Changed Answers in a District 'Run Like the Mob' (2011)
Teachers in Atlanta were so used to changing students' answers on standardized tests that they gathered for "erasure" parties and prepared answer keys on plastic transparencies to make the cheating easier. One teacher told investigators that she feared retaliation if she didn't participate, saying the district was "run like the mob." At least 178 teachers and principals — including ex-schools chief Beverly L. Hall — have been implicated in the scandal, which was first brought to light by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Hall was indicted March 29, 2013, on conspiracy and related charges.
Washington, D.C.: Investigation Ongoing at 'Blue Ribbon' School With Suspicious Erasures (2011)
There's still no conclusive evidence of cheating at a Washington, D.C., school that gained federal accolades—and monetary bonuses—for its high performance on tests. But a USA Today investigation found that student test sheets had unusually high numbers of wrong answers that had been erased and replaced with right ones. Testing experts said the odds that these erasures occurred purely by chance were smaller than the odds of winning the Powerball grand prize in the lottery. (District officials say teachers trained students in testing techniques that may have led to more erasures.) The school's former "poster boy" principal recently resigned from his position as a superintendent. Michelle Rhee, the former chancellor of D.C. schools who touted the school's success, has resisted answering questions.
Correction: April 4, 2013: A previous version of this post incorrectly suggested that in Birmingham, more than 500 students had “withdrawn” because of “lack of interest” from a single local high school, rather than from high schools across the district.
America’s Most Outrageous Teacher Cheating Scandals
by Lois Beckett
ProPublica, April 1, 2013, 11:13 a.m.
Update: This story has been updated to reflect recent developments in the Atlanta cheating scandal. It has also been corrected.
Scandals involving cheating by teachers and schools to pump up ever-more-important student test scores swept the country in 2011, with states failing to implement simple and effective checks. But they've also been happening for years, and oversight is only beginning to catch up.
Here's an overview of some of the most shocking instances of teacher cheating, plus a few episodes that may have been overblown.
The 'Lake Wobegon' Effect (1987-89)
One of the earliest investigations of teacher cheating was spearheaded by John Jacob Cannell, a family physician from West Virginia who was shocked to hear that his poverty-stricken home state, with high rates of illiteracy, was performing above the national average on standardized tests. Cannell latched on to the issue and discovered that students in 48 states were supposedly performing above the national average—in part because they were being judged using out-of-date comparisons.
This phenomenon was christened the "Lake Wobegon Effect," after Garrison Keillor's legendary town where "every child is above average." Cannell's reports argued that score inflation resulted from infrequent test updates and too much "teaching to the test," as well as outright teacher cheating. While his findings were hotly debated, a Department of Education-sponsored study confirmed most of them.
Columbus, Ohio: After President Clinton Lauds School, Students Claim Cheating (2000)
Just weeks after President Clinton visited a Columbus school to laud its astronomical gains on test scores and argue that Clinton-Gore strategies were working, the school was enveloped in a cheating scandal. Three students told a teacher that they had received assistance on the previous year's exam. District investigators found no evidence to support the claims, but some parents found the accusation credible, and the veteran teacher who passed along the students' claims said she had been forced to go on disability leave after retaliations from the principal.
New York City: Early Cheating Scandal May Have Been Overblown (1999-2001)
Aggressive schools investigator Edward Stancik uncovered a wide range of cheating in New York City schools, including a seventh-grade teacher who had placed the answers to a test by a pencil sharpener, encouraged his students to sharpen their pencils, and left the room. But Stancik's most explosive findings, which implicated 32 schools and 52 educators, did not hold up to scrutiny. A New York Times investigation into his methods found that some of his accusations seemed dubious and that innocent teachers may have suffered as a result.
Chicago: 'Freakonomics' Author Catches Cheating Teachers (2002)
"Freakonomics" author Steven Levitt and fellow economist Brian Jacob developed a method to screen tests for teacher cheating by looking for identical strings of answers. Their conclusions, based on Chicago public-school tests from 1993 to 2000: Cheating on standardized tests occurred in at least 4 percent to 5 percent of classrooms every year; teachers in low-performing classrooms were likelier to cheat; and a "pronounced spike" in cheating occurred when Chicago introduced high-stakes testing in 1996. As a result of their report, Arne Duncan, then CEO of Chicago Public Schools and now U.S. Secretary of Education, asked the economists to put their algorithm to work catching cheaters in action. The experiment worked: When students of teachers suspected of cheating took the tests again, their scores dropped.
Birmingham, Ala.: School Targeted Students to Withdraw Before Tests (2004)
When the director of a GED program in Birmingham noticed in 2001 that many students were showing up at his office weeks after they had "withdrawn" from a local high school because of "lack of interest," he decided to investigate. With the help of a school board member, he found that more than 500 students—about 5 percent of the high school student body—had been asked to leave their schools, the New York Times reported in 2004. These forced withdrawals happened before students were to take an important standardized test but after the school was evaluated for the funding it would receive based on enrollment. The school district denied that the withdrawals had anything to do with getting rid of students who might have dragged down the school's test scores.
Texas: 700 Schools Flagged for Potential Cheating; State 'Investigated' With Survey (2004-07)
When the Dallas Morning News analyzed test results across Texas, it found hundreds of schools with test scores that had jumped and dropped in suspicious ways. The newspaper identified low-income schools with students at one grade level who struggled with basic skills—and students in the next grade who received nearly perfect scores or outperformed the state's most elite districts.
One elementary school's students scored so well that Oprah Winfrey featured it on a special about schools that "defy the odds." But a teacher said her high-scoring students could barely write their own names, and when the same students went on to middle school, their scores plummeted. The state ultimately decided to investigate at least 700 schools. But for more than 600, the "investigation" consisted of simply asking schools to fill out a survey about their testing procedures. Taking many schools at their word, the state declared that the vast majority were innocent despite further evidence that some schools cleared of wrongdoing had actually cheated.
Los Angeles: Charter Founder Orchestrated Cheating at Six Schools (2011)
The director of a group of six charter schools in Los Angeles ordered his principals to break the seals on state tests and help students prepare for the exams with actual test questions. When teachers reported the order, the school's governing board demoted the director but did not fire him, noting he had "expressed very, very deep regret." When the Los Angeles Board of Education voted to shut down the charter schools completely, parents, students and teachers made passionate arguments for keeping the schools open under different leadership and eventually succeeded.
Atlanta: Teachers Changed Answers in a District 'Run Like the Mob' (2011)
Teachers in Atlanta were so used to changing students' answers on standardized tests that they gathered for "erasure" parties and prepared answer keys on plastic transparencies to make the cheating easier. One teacher told investigators that she feared retaliation if she didn't participate, saying the district was "run like the mob." At least 178 teachers and principals — including ex-schools chief Beverly L. Hall — have been implicated in the scandal, which was first brought to light by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Hall was indicted March 29, 2013, on conspiracy and related charges.
Washington, D.C.: Investigation Ongoing at 'Blue Ribbon' School With Suspicious Erasures (2011)
There's still no conclusive evidence of cheating at a Washington, D.C., school that gained federal accolades—and monetary bonuses—for its high performance on tests. But a USA Today investigation found that student test sheets had unusually high numbers of wrong answers that had been erased and replaced with right ones. Testing experts said the odds that these erasures occurred purely by chance were smaller than the odds of winning the Powerball grand prize in the lottery. (District officials say teachers trained students in testing techniques that may have led to more erasures.) The school's former "poster boy" principal recently resigned from his position as a superintendent. Michelle Rhee, the former chancellor of D.C. schools who touted the school's success, has resisted answering questions.
Correction: April 4, 2013: A previous version of this post incorrectly suggested that in Birmingham, more than 500 students had “withdrawn” because of “lack of interest” from a single local high school, rather than from high schools across the district.
This parent that has a kid at one of the schools was jumping for joy at the verdict, saying that the teachers ruined their kids' lives, while another parent said, "This doesn't let us parents off the hook. We could've done more for our children."
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I think that's Parks Middle. That place is a major clusterfuck.
u woudlnt be saying that shit, if your kid was in 10th grade, and reading on 3rd grade level.
we got grown MEN who can even read a box that say
yet, will run a generator inside the kitchen, because his power out, and then kills his entire family. because simply he could NOT read the box.
i have grown men who cannot read job applications. (atlanta)
ya'll also missed the part, where teachers got a $2000 PAY BONUS, if their kids passed a certin % level.
we got grown MEN who can even read a box that say
yet, will run a generator inside the kitchen, because his power out, and then kills his entire family. because simply he could NOT read the box.
i have grown men who cannot read job applications. (atlanta)
ya'll also missed the part, where teachers got a $2000 PAY BONUS, if their kids passed a certin % level.
look, half the time its the parents fault, these kids in atlatna are just crazy stupid.
the only thing they care about is fucking hoes (yes in middle school), and how fresh they look.
otherwise they DONT care, and the only reason they in school because their parents get a CHECK and the kids must stay in school until they turn 16-18.
plus each school gets aprox $18,000 per kid enroled and who attends 95% of its classes.
but WHY they got the RICO charge, because those teachers got a $2000 BONUS if the kids passed a % of the test.
so the teachers, some agrred, and some was forced to change test scores to make the kids pass, when the kids really failed in the first place.
2nd, 170+ teachers/staff got charges, EVERYONE OF THEM was offered a plea.
most with NO JAIL TIME, just probation, and they didnt take the plea deal.
while the superintendent, got over $100,000 in BONUSES
and the school board, had to pay her legal defense.
but she died of cancer last month, FUCK dat bitch. (may she rot in hell)
yet her family /estate gets to keep ALL THE MONEY.
the only thing they care about is fucking hoes (yes in middle school), and how fresh they look.
otherwise they DONT care, and the only reason they in school because their parents get a CHECK and the kids must stay in school until they turn 16-18.
plus each school gets aprox $18,000 per kid enroled and who attends 95% of its classes.
but WHY they got the RICO charge, because those teachers got a $2000 BONUS if the kids passed a % of the test.
so the teachers, some agrred, and some was forced to change test scores to make the kids pass, when the kids really failed in the first place.
2nd, 170+ teachers/staff got charges, EVERYONE OF THEM was offered a plea.
most with NO JAIL TIME, just probation, and they didnt take the plea deal.
while the superintendent, got over $100,000 in BONUSES
and the school board, had to pay her legal defense.
but she died of cancer last month, FUCK dat bitch. (may she rot in hell)
yet her family /estate gets to keep ALL THE MONEY.
u woudlnt be saying that shit, if your kid was in 10th grade, and reading on 3rd grade level.
we got grown MEN who can even read a box that say
yet, will run a generator inside the kitchen, because his power out, and then kills his entire family. because simply he could NOT read the box.
i have grown men who cannot read job applications. (atlanta)
ya'll also missed the part, where teachers got a $2000 PAY BONUS, if their kids passed a certin % level.
If your kid is in 12 grade and reading 3rd grade level. I would blame the parents for not knowing their kid can't read.
update.
The Atlanta Board of Education voted last month to award Hall a bonus of $78,115 on top of her $279,985 base salary.
Under Hall’s contract, she can earn a performance bonus of up to 30 percent if students meet objectives in such areas as reading, language arts, mathematics, enrollment in higher level classes, attendance and test scores. The school system analyzed the data for 2008-09 and found students met 57 percent of the 72 objectives, yet Hall’s bonus will be more than 90 percent of the maximum available.
That’s because the goals were “stretch objectives” — goals that were difficult to achieve, schools spokesman Keith Bromery said. In other words, not easy A’s.
Hall’s contract also entitles her to a tax-sheltered annuity equal to 11.5 percent of her base salary — or $32,198 — as well as a $10,000 expense allowance and use of a late-model, full-size car. She
then on TOP of that shit, when she LEFT APS, she got another job in another state.
they gave that hoe like $100,000 sign on bonus, before learning about the APS scandal
they fired her, she never worked a single day, but the contract was already signed, they STILL had to give her the sign on bonus..
The Atlanta Board of Education voted last month to award Hall a bonus of $78,115 on top of her $279,985 base salary.
Under Hall’s contract, she can earn a performance bonus of up to 30 percent if students meet objectives in such areas as reading, language arts, mathematics, enrollment in higher level classes, attendance and test scores. The school system analyzed the data for 2008-09 and found students met 57 percent of the 72 objectives, yet Hall’s bonus will be more than 90 percent of the maximum available.
That’s because the goals were “stretch objectives” — goals that were difficult to achieve, schools spokesman Keith Bromery said. In other words, not easy A’s.
Hall’s contract also entitles her to a tax-sheltered annuity equal to 11.5 percent of her base salary — or $32,198 — as well as a $10,000 expense allowance and use of a late-model, full-size car. She
then on TOP of that shit, when she LEFT APS, she got another job in another state.
they gave that hoe like $100,000 sign on bonus, before learning about the APS scandal
they fired her, she never worked a single day, but the contract was already signed, they STILL had to give her the sign on bonus..
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update.
The Atlanta Board of Education voted last month to award Hall a bonus of $78,115 on top of her $279,985 base salary.
Under Hall’s contract, she can earn a performance bonus of up to 30 percent if students meet objectives in such areas as reading, language arts, mathematics, enrollment in higher level classes, attendance and test scores. The school system analyzed the data for 2008-09 and found students met 57 percent of the 72 objectives, yet Hall’s bonus will be more than 90 percent of the maximum available.
That’s because the goals were “stretch objectives” — goals that were difficult to achieve, schools spokesman Keith Bromery said. In other words, not easy A’s.
Hall’s contract also entitles her to a tax-sheltered annuity equal to 11.5 percent of her base salary — or $32,198 — as well as a $10,000 expense allowance and use of a late-model, full-size car. She also gets a life insurance policy for twice her base salary and additional contributions to her retirement.
then on TOP of that shit, when she LEFT APS, she got another job in another state.
they gave that hoe like $100,000 sign on bonus, before learning about the APS scandal
they fired her, she never worked a single day, but the contract was already signed, they STILL had to give her the sign on bonus..
That bitch was living high on the hog before she died.
Yep, my philosophy will always be school is to solidify what I've already put in my Son. I'm not depending on any institution to have the lead role in educating my child...
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