Atlanta’s former schools chief charged under law used against Mafia
Beverly Hall (Paul Sakuma/Associated Press)
In 2009, Beverly Hall was tapped as the National Superintendent of the Year, hailed for driving up standardized test scores in the Atlanta Public Schools and turning the system “into a model of urban school reform.
But the scores were illusory, and Hall wasjust indicted under a law used against Mafia leaders, charged with leading a “corrupt” organization in which students’ standardized test scores were used to reward or punish teachers.
Yes, a law used against members of the Gambino crime family is being used against educators and school administrators in a test-cheating scandal.
Thirty-four other educators and administrators were also charged in a 65-count indictment returned Friday in Fulton County, the culmination of a long probe into a massive scandal in Atlanta’s public schools involving cheating — by adults — on standardized-test scores. Hall,