Atlanta superintendent calls alleged cheating ‘a painful chapter'; vows to regain public trust

By Kristina Torres

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

In unusually candid terms, Atlanta schools Superintendent Beverly Hall pledged Tuesday to take full responsibility and move the city system forward from "a painful chapter in our history" as she reiterated step-by-step how the system will respond to an investigative report on alleged test cheating.

"Let me be clear: As superintendent, the buck stops here," Hall said during her annual "state of the system" address -- her first major speech in Atlanta since the scandal broke earlier this year. Marking her 11th year as Atlanta's superintendent, it came amid arguably the worst crisis of her career here -- and only hours after Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed uncommonly intervened in a divisive city school board meeting.

"Our children deserve better," Hall said. "They have a right to teachers and administrators who believe in them and who are willing to teach them determination instead of deception."

The purpose and clarity with which Hall spoke stood in stark contrast to meetings held by the board Monday. By the time those meetings ended just after 11 p.m., the board had taken a series of 5-4 votes over a policy change their own lawyer termed illegal. They postponed a final vote at Reed's urging to seek an opinion from the state attorney general's office. Their actions have made some question the board's stability at a time of tremendous scrutiny.

"I felt we were reaching a point that was getting ready to devolve into a situation that would have made where we are today worse,” Reed said Tuesday, about why he intervened. “Emotions were high.”

Some parents think that it may be time for a change. "I'm not saying Dr. Hall hasn't done good things," said parent Shawnna Hayes Tavares, who has been critical of Hall. "But we need leadership changes."

The state ordered the investigation after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on statistically improbable increases in CRCT scores at schools in Atlanta and elsewhere in Georgia.

The commission's report cited no evidence that either Hall, who created an aggressive accountability system tied to test scores, or other top officials orchestrated or condoned cheating. Hall said the system's use of financial incentives for employees at schools meeting certain benchmarks would be reviewed.

All nine Atlanta board members attended Hall's speech. The crowd, which system officials estimated to be about 300 people, gave Hall a prolonged standing ovation to start. They used words like "expertise" and "integrity." Hall is "a superintendent who believed in me when, at times, I didn't believe in myself," said Brittany Williams, a 2008 graduate of the city's Therrell High School of Law, Government and Public Policy who helped introduce Hall and now attends Hampshire College in Massachusetts.

Board Chairwoman LaChandra Butler Burks said afterward that "we have to do away with the adult issues." Hall's current contract ends June 30. Butler Burks said the board has not talked about Hall leaving the system. She said she has no plans to leave.

"You don't run away," Hall said.

The investigative report was compiled by a commission appointed by the school board to review suspicious erasures on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests at 58 city schools flagged by the state. It was released Aug. 2, following a nearly six-month investigation.

According to an audit released by the state in February, a total of 191 Georgia public schools required review because they showed unusual patterns of erasures on the CRCT. Atlanta had the most schools flagged in any system. It is the last of the 34 systems to complete its investigation, which is now being reviewed by the state.

Based on findings of the investigation in Atlanta, Hall last week referred to the state teacher licensing board cases involving 108 city educators identified in the report. She also temporarily reassigned 12 principals.

The report said widespread cheating appeared to be limited to 12 schools, with some problems at another 13. It noted fewer concerns among the other 33 schools, although questions have been raised about the thoroughness of the investigation.

Hall has announced plans for intensive tutoring and other academic help for children at all 58 schools affected. Among other changes, this system will conduct annual testing audits, peer reviews of principals, school climate surveys and bulked-up ethics training.

"These actions represent only the beginning," Hall said Tuesday. She said her charge this school year was to regain the public's trust in its city schools.

Staff writer Ernie Suggs contributed to this article.

STATE BOE BRIEFING

Gov. Sonny Perdue is expected to be in attendance Wednesday when the state Board of Education receives a briefing from the Governor's Office of Student Achievement, a separate state agency which initially called for the cheating investigation. State board members may also discuss Atlanta's handling of its state-ordered probe.