APS Superintendent says System Will Move Beyond Cheating Scandal

Errol Davis made clear that the system will not interfere in the prosecution of former educators and stands by the "95 percent" who were not implicated in the alleged cheating.

  Dozens of former Atlanta Public Schools educators turned themselves in to face racketeering and other charges last week in a probe of alleged cheating on state standardized tests. In the attached video statement by Superintendent Errol Davis, he says that APS is going to "improve internal safeguards related to test materials," and that, he supports the "more than 95% of our employees who were not implicated in the scandal." Community members and parents have had tough words for the indicted teachers and administrators.  During the Atlanta Board of Education's meeting on Monday, board members heard from several people who shared their thoughts on the test cheating scandal: Community Member:  I will remember that Mr. Sam Williams [Metro …

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More than a Dozen East Atlanta Area Educators Indicted in APS Test Cheating Scandal

Beverly Hall, the former Superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools, is the top ranking official facing racketeering charges.

More than a dozen East Atlanta area educators were among 35 former school system employees indicted Friday for taking part in a systematic effort to rig the results of the state's Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT). The charges include racketeering and making false statements. [The full text of the indictment is in the PDF to the right of this article.] The East Atlanta Patch educators indicted include: State officials have argued that one of the worst effects of the inflated test scores was that many children who needed extra tutoring were denied services because their parents were told they were performing well in school. "The whole purpose behind this is to vindicate the little children who got gypped out of an education," …

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APS Teachers In Cheating Probe Could Be Fired Beginning Next Week

Some 180 APS teachers and administrators were accused of cheating, but roughly 120 remain on district payroll, costing taxpayers $600,000.

Daily PatchCast: APS Probation Ends, Occupy Atlanta Plans Return, Hollywood In Brookhaven

The day's top headlines for Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Atlanta Public Schools Come Off Probation. Occupy Atlanta: 'We Are The New World' Occupy Atlanta Plans To Re-Occupy Woodruff Park. Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn Movie Films In Brookhaven. Coyotes Spotted In Briarcliff Area. Trunk Or Treat In Stone Mountain. Halloween Night In Avondale Estates. Trick Or Treaters In Dunwoody's Briers North.

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Worried About APS School Closures? Changes Are Inevitable

APS Board Chairwoman Brenda J. Muhammad: "Something is going to have to happen somewhere."

For weeks, Atlanta Public Schools officials have been telling anxious parents that no decisions have been made regarding school consolidations and closures. At various meetings with parents around the city, APS board members and district officials have sought to assure them that rumors they've heard about their school being on a list for closure is just that: rumor. But at a meeting with the Council of Intown Neighborhoods and Schools at Toomer Elementary School in Kirkwood Wednesday night, Brenda J. Muhammad, APS board chairwoman, told parents changes are inevitable. "The reality is that some changes are going to have to be made," Muhammad said, alluding to an ongoing demographic study of the district. That study aims to project which …

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Parents Meet With APS Officials At Whitefoord Elementary

Parents get updates on SACS review, cheating scandal, redistricting, student teacher ratios.

Concerned parents filed into Whitefoord Elementary School Thursday night to ask Atlanta Public Schools board members and administrators questions about class sizes, the cheating scandal and possible redistricting. District superintendent Erroll B. Davis Jr. fielded a variety of questions from parents, but one common theme was clear — parents are concerned about overcrowding in Atlanta Public Schools classrooms. Davis said the district is still in the process of hiring roughly 172 additional teachers to split up large classes in the district. Some teachers at less crowded schools in the district will be moved to different schools to help balance the student-teacher ratio, a move criticized by several parents Thursday night. “I think that …

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Report: 13 Principals Retire Or Resign From Atlanta Public Schools

Former principals left district in wake of cheating scandal

Thirteen Atlanta principals, including four from schools in East Atlanta Patch have left the district, the Journal-Constitution reports. The principals, who either resigned or retired, left the district in thew wake of the cheating scandal embroiling the Atlanta Public Schools, the Dunwoody-based newspaper said. In all, 41 of the 179 APS personnel linked to the cheating have left the district, the newspaper said. The principals who have left in East Atlanta Patch include: Benton and Lavant had announced their plans to leave the district by retiring before the state completed its investigation into cheating at APS.

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Former Atlanta Councilman, State Senator To Hold Town Hall Meeting Tonight With Parents Over APS Cheating

Ideas for next steps sought

Former Atlanta city councilman and V-103 radio personality Derrick Boazman is hosting a town hall meeting — open to parents citywide — to seek ideas and solutions to the cheating scandal embroiling the Atlanta Public Schools. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight at Mt. Nebo Baptist Church, 1025 McDonough Blvd., just off Moreland Avenue. The intent is to look for solutions to begin fixing the problem, such as having churches hosting literacy programs, or giving parents training to give them the skills that will help keep their kids interested and involved at school. State Sen. Vincent Fort, the Rev. A.J. McMichael and current and former APS students, among others, also are expected to speak at the town hall.