The Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal will be the subject of a new film called "Wrong Answer," now in development. The film, first announced in 2015, will be directed by Ryan Coogler and will star Michael B. Jordan as former Parks Middle School teacher Damany Lewis. National Book Award winner Ta-Nehisi Coates is writing the script, which is based on a 2014 New Yorker article by Rachel Aviv. Assuming that the movie follows the scandal from Lewis' point of view, here are some of the real-life players who could be portrayed in the film.
Credit: Bita Honarvar
Credit: Bita Honarvar
DAMANY LEWIS: A popular math teacher at Parks Middle School who changed answers on standardized tests at that school over four years. He later admitted to wrongdoing and cooperated with state investigators. He is shown here at the 2012 hearing that determined he should be fired — the first teacher ousted over the scandal. The 2014 New Yorker article centered on Lewis' story and portrayed him as a tragic hero who wrestled with his actions. He is serving as a consultant to the filmmakers and will be played by Michael B. Jordan.
Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC
Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC
CHRISTOPHER WALLER: Former principal at Parks Middle School. According to state investigators, Waller orchestrated the cheating at Parks and went to great lengths to cover it up. He was one of the 35 educators indicted in the case and pleaded guilty to making false statements. He testified that his actions were known by regional executive director Michael Pitts, who told him to "keep my mouth shut and see what happens." He received five years' probation and 1,000 hours of community service, and was ordered to pay $50,000.
CRYSTAL DRAPER: Former language-arts teacher at Parks. Like Lewis, she admitted to state investigators that she had helped change test scores for four years in a row. In the state report, she gave detailed information as to the teachers' cheating methods and described the pressures they faced from Waller. She opted to quit rather than face being fired from APS.
Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC
Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC
STARLETTE MITCHELL: Former teacher at Parks. She admitted to correcting wrong test answers over three years while being under what she called "extremely intense pressure" from Waller. She pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of obstruction and received one year of probation and 250 hours of community service. After hearing her guilty plea, Judge Jerry Baxter said, "I'd give that about a D as far as an apology."
Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC
Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC
SANDRA WARD: Former reading coach at Parks. The governor's office report concluded that she helped Waller facilitate cheating at the school. She was indicted on charges of racketeering and making false statements but pleaded guilty to a lesser misdemeanor count of obstruction. She received probation. Ward testified that Parks teachers changed test answers while Waller distracted the school's testing coordinator at long lunches. She was hired by the Birmingham City Schools as a math teacher.
ALFRED KIEL: Former testing coordinator at Parks who kept the standardized tests in his office during testing week. The New Yorker article describes how Principal Waller would distract Kiel by taking him out to lunch while other teachers entered Kiel's office to change test answers. The governor's office report said of Kiel: "Given the efforts Principal Waller made to hide his scheme from Kiel, we conclude Kiel cannot be faulted for not discovering the cheating."
Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC
Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC
GREGORY REID: Former assistant principal at Parks. The governor's office report said Reid "helped Principal Waller facilitate cheating." According to Waller and Ward, Reid suggested that teachers could obtain standardized test questions in advance as a way to cheat. Reid has denied suggesting this, but he did plead guilty to two counts of obstruction. He received two years of probation, 500 hours of community service, and was ordered to pay $50,000. His decision to testify for the prosecution may have swayed Waller to plead guilty.
Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC
Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC
TAMEKA BUTLER-GRANT: Former teacher at Parks who was an early whistle-blower. In 2006, she wrote a letter to APS Superintendent Beverly Hall that claimed that Waller was pressuring teachers to cheat on standardized tests. Butler-Grant's complaint was one of the reasons APS conducted an internal investigation that year. She was transferred against her will to another school and eventually found herself fired from the APS system. She sued APS in 2011 and received $20,000 in a settlement. In her testimony during the APS trial, she suggested that regional executive director Michael Pitts may have discouraged teachers from talking to the GBI during the state investigation.
Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC
Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC
STACEY JOHNSON and FABIOLA AURELIEN: Math teachers at Parks. Like Tameka Butler-Grant, they were aware of cheating at the school but refused to take part. Johnson testified that she felt ostracized by Principal Waller for not joining what he called "his team." Aurelien said she was refused a promotion for the same reason. In 2006, Aurelien reported cheating to Waller, who replied that he needed more information. She says Waller then announced her allegations to her colleagues. Along with Butler-Grant's complaint, this led to the 2006 internal investigation by APS.
Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC
Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC
REGINAL DUKES: Former Atlanta police detective hired by APS in 2006 as a private investigator to look into complaints about cheating. His report concluded that Waller, among other things, was coercing teachers to cheat at Parks Middle School. Dukes testified at the APS trial that his report was received by top APS officials, including Beverly Hall and Michael Pitts, but that they ignored his findings.
Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC
Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC
MICHAEL PITTS: Former regional executive director who reported directly to Beverly Hall. He was responsible for a region of schools that included Parks Middle School. Butler-Grant said that after she filed her complaint with Hall, Pitts met with teachers at Parks to discourage them from filing any more such complaints. Others testified that Pitts was aware of the cheating: Waller, who testified that Pitts directed him to keep quiet about cheating at Parks; and APS investigator Dukes, who informed Pitts of his findings. Despite this, Pitts maintained his innocence and said he didn't know about the cheating. He was convicted of racketeering and influencing witnesses and sentenced to 20 years in prison with seven to serve, 2,000 hours of community service and $25,000 in fines. His sentence was later reduced to three years in prison with seven on probation.
Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / KDJOHNSON@AJC.
Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / KDJOHNSON@AJC.
BEVERLY HALL: Former superintendent of APS. Once lauded as the National Superintendent of the Year for lifting her district's standardized test scores, she became the top target for prosecutors eager to prove that she knew those scores were bogus. The state's report on the scandal concluded that she had been warned repeatedly of cheating but failed to act. Hall was charged with racketeering and faced as much as 45 years in prison. She always maintained her innocence but never went to trial. She died of breast cancer in 2015 as the APS trial was coming to a close. "If I'm guilty of anything," she said, "I'm guilty of assuming that the teachers could teach so the students could learn. ... The superintendent is accountable, but the superintendent is not responsible."
Credit: Bita Honarvar
Credit: Bita Honarvar
HEATHER VOGELL and JOHN PERRY: Reporters at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Perry still is). In late 2008, they were the first to report on suspect results on state tests at five elementary schools, including one in Atlanta. The next year, an AJC statistical analysis led by Perry would find improbable test score increases at a dozen APS schools. Soon the governor's office would conduct its own analysis of test erasure marks and the state Board of Education would order more investigations across the state.
Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC
Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC
GOV. SONNY PERDUE: Georgia's governor from 2003-2011. In 2010, skeptical of the findings of the "Blue Ribbon Commission" that APS had assembled to investigate itself, Perdue appointed three special investigators to conduct their own review. As many as 50 GBI agents questioned APS educators over 10 months. The report was released in 2011 after Gov. Nathan Deal took office.
Credit: Bob Andres
Credit: Bob Andres
MIKE BOWERS and RICHARD HYDE: Bowers was a former state attorney general. Hyde was a former Atlanta police officer and investigator. Together with former DeKalb DA Bob Wilson, they were appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue to investigate cheating at APS. Their report named 180 educators across APS who were possibly involved in cheating. Prosecutors in Fulton County would use the report to guide their investigation before they issued indictments.
Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC
Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC
JUDGE JERRY BAXTER: Superior Court judge who presided over the APS trial in 2014-15. The eight-month trial of 12 APS educators provoked daily outbursts from Baxter, who cajoled everyone involved to keep the proceedings on course. Some of the defendants clearly frustrated Baxter toward the end of the trial. He delivered stiff sentences and chastised anyone whose apology didn't sound sincere. "I just wanted people to accept responsibility," he said. Baxter has since retired from the bench.
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