Atlanta Public Schools cheating case: 21 take pleas; 13 headed... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

Atlanta Public Schools cheating case: 21 take pleas; 13 headed... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com:

Atlanta Public Schools cheating case: 21 take pleas; 13 headed for trial, Beverly Hall among them. 

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KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC

Former APS educator Christopher Waller greets a well wisher after his hearing Monday. Judge Jerry Baxter presides over the first of several days of motions hearings in the APS criminal case, Monday November 4, 2013. Thirty four former APS educators are indicted for crimes associated with cheating on standardized tests. On Monday, three defendants tried to suppress statements they gave GBI agents and special investigators and more will try and do the same on Tuesday. Next week, a number of defendants are trying to sever the case into multiple trials and former APS superintendent Beverly Hall’s motions will be addressed. KENT D. JOHNSON / KDJOHNSON@AJC.COM

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By Maureen Downey

Back from a week’s vacation with kids and grandmom. We have lots to catch up on, although I was delighted to see many issues already discussed, including comments on the new pleas this week in the APS cheating case.

The AJC reported that 21 defendants have now taken plea deals, leaving 13 headed to trial this spring in a high-stakes racketeering prosecution.

Among the 21 was Millicent Few, who once headed the school system's human resources department and was a trusted adviser of former Superintendent Beverly Hall.

The AJC reports:  Few, 55, pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count of malfeasance in office. She was sentenced to 12 months on probation and ordered to perform 250 hours of community service and to pay $800 in restitution. Because she pleaded guilty as a first offender, Few will not have a conviction on her record if she successfully completes the terms of her probation. Few, who is a lawyer, also will be able to keep her law license, said her attorney, Dwight Thomas.

The prosecutors now consider Few a vital witness in their case against Hall. 

According to the AJC:

Few's testimony will establish that Hall was aware of test cheating throughout APS, Deputy District Attorney Fani Willis said. Perhaps her most damaging testimony could be her account of what happened after concerns were raised by the Governor's Office of Student Achievement about improbable test score gains by students at Deerwood 

APR 16 2013

Clayton County school board chair: Today marks culmination of long road to making schools better

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Boston tragedy: A picture that says 1,000 words and inspires thousands more tears

This 8-year-old boy is one of the victims of the Boston Marathon attacks. His name is Martin William Richard. His mother and sister were also seriously injured. Many people, including the folks at the Georgia Department of Education are posting this touching photo of Martin on Facebook in which he holds a sign that reads: “No more hurting people. Peace.” His dad Bill Richard released this statemen

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Schoolhouse to courthouse: Three DeKalb officials indicted

The AJC’s Ty Tagami reports today that three former school administrators were indicted by a DeKalb County grand jury on charges they manipulated tests or attendance records to improve measures of school performance. According to Tagami: Just two weeks after a Fulton County grand jury indicted 35 former Atlanta Public Schools educators in an alleged cheating conspiracy, the DeKalb grand jury accus

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Florida teachers file lawsuit today to stop evaluations that rely on test scores

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A college degree may someday be as essential as a high school diploma

Dhathri Chunduru is a former Fulton County special educator. She works for an educational non-profit and supports the development of teachers and instructional coaches. In this piece, she addresses the growing sentiment that too many people are going to college, that not everyone needs high education. She makes an interesting point: A century ago, we said the same thing about a high school diploma

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A teacher explains: Why I won’t resign. A letter of resolution.

I have shared some very passionate teacher resignation letters on the blog, including an incredible one from former local teacher Jordan Kohanim. (If you missed her piece, read it here.) But here is a letter from a teacher explaining why she is not resigning. New York teacher Christine McCartney published this letter on her  “An Educator’s Re-education” blog. McCartney has been at the University

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New calls to probe cheating allegations in Washington under Rhee

PBS’s John Merrow recently revealed a 2009 confidential memo pointing out troubling test answer erasures in Washington, D.C., schools, which were led at the time by Michelle Rhee, now the head of  the national advocacy group StudentsFirst. Merrow reported that the erasure concerns raised in the memo by an outside data consultant failed to prompt any investigation by top officials in the district.

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