The case so far
19 guilty pleas:
Millicent Few, Atlanta Public Schools human resources director
Lucious Brown, principal of Kennedy Middle School
Clarietta Davis, principal of Venetian Hills Elementary School
Armstead Salters, principal of Gideons Elementary School
Gregory Reid, assistant principal of Parks Middle School
Starlette Mitchell, teacher at Parks Middle School
Kimberly Oden, teacher at Parks Middle School
Derrick Broadwater, teacher at Dobbs Elementary School
Shayla Smith, teacher at Dobbs Elementary School
Gloria Ivey, teacher at Dunbar Elementary School
Lisa Terry, teacher at Humphries Elementary School
Ingrid Abella-Sly, teacher at Humphries Elementary School
Wendy Ahmed, teacher at Humphries Elementary School
Sheila Evans, teacher at Benteen Elementary School
Francis Mack, testing coordinator at D.H. Stanton Elementary School
Sheridan Rogers, testing coordinator at Gideons Elementary School
Lera Middlebrooks, testing coordinator at Dunbar Elementary School
Tamaka Goodson, school improvement specialist at Kennedy Middle School
Carol Dennis, secretary at Kennedy Middle School
15 defendants remain who have pleaded not guilty:
Beverly Hall, superintendent
Tamara Cotman, area superintendent
Michael Pitts, area superintendent
Sharon Davis-Williams, area superintendent
Dana Evans, principal of Dobbs Elementary
Christopher Waller, principal of Parks Middle School
Tabeeka Jordan, assistant principal of Deerwood Academy
Donald Bullock, testing coordinator at Usher/Collier Heights Elementary
Theresia Copeland, testing coordinator at Benteen Elementary
Sandra Ward, testing coordinator at Parks Middle School
Diane Buckner-Webb, teacher at Dunbar Elementary
Pamela Cleveland, teacher at Dunbar Elementary
Dessa Curb, teacher at Dobbs Elementary
Shani Robinson, teacher at Dunbar Elementary
Angela Williamson, teacher at Dobbs Elementary
One of the key figures in the Atlanta Public Schools test-cheating scandal is scheduled to plead guilty Friday and begin cooperating with prosecutors, say individuals closely familiar with ongoing plea negotiations.
Christopher Waller, the former principal at Parks Middle School, will admit to wrongdoing before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter. The judge has said Friday will be the last day he will accept negotiated pleas before the massive case heads to a trial scheduled this spring. For this reason, other former educators are expected to join Waller and plead guilty as well.
One of Waller’s lawyers, Don Samuel, declined comment Thursday. Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard also declined comment.
While principal at Parks, Waller wowed his bosses when the number of students exceeding expectations on the state’s curriculum tests increased dramatically. Then-Superintendent Beverly Hall, who is also charged in the racketeering case, held out Waller’s achievements as a model for others.
But the gains at Parks were the result of test-tampering, Fulton prosecutors have said in recent court hearings. A voluminous report released by the governor’s special investigators in July 2011 also disclosed extensive findings of test-cheating at Parks.
Waller became Parks’ principal in 2005 and served in that role until August 2010, when he was reassigned. He resigned in April 2012 after APS issued plans to fire him.
When interviewed by the governor’s special investigators, Waller said he would not have cheated because he did not want to risk losing his $107,000 annual salary and because he was a minister.
But Deputy District Attorney Fani Willis, in a hearing Monday, said allegations of misconduct against Waller date back to 2006. In January of that year, APS hired special investigator Reginald Dukes to look into numerous complaints, such as whether Waller was orchestrating cheating on standardized tests, manipulating attendance records, having inappropriate sexual relations with staff and improperly taking federal funds that were allocated for Parks’ after-school tutorial program. The indictment against Waller only covers allegations involving test-cheating.
With regard to test-cheating, Dukes concluded in his final report that Parks teachers had provided a writing test question to students that was almost identical to the actual question on the 2006 standardized test, Willis said.
Someone at the school “obviously looked at that exam before it was time to open it,” Dukes said in a prior interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “The students … should have been able to answer the question instead of being coached.”
Despite the litany of complaints against Waller, he was regarded as one of the system’s most successful administrators because of the marked rise in his students’ test scores. In 2007, for example, Hall rewarded Waller with a $10,000 bonus, Willis said.
The governor’s special investigators placed special emphasis on the test-cheating at Parks after Waller became principal, concluding that tampering occurred there each year from 2006 through 2010.
Waller pressured teachers to cheat on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test, the report said. It noted that on one occasion, Waller asked teacher Damany Lewis if he thought he could “get into something undetected.”
Later, Lewis, who confessed to his role and cooperated in the governor’s investigation, used a razor to open a shrink-wrapped stack of CRCT booklets, the report said. He then removed tests and made copies so teachers could provide them to students. Lewis then used a lighter to melt the plastic shut again, the report said.
This would be repeated year after year, and so many school officials became involved that the events were referred to as cheating “parties,” the report said.
Waller has certainly felt pressure to plead guilty since mid-December when his former vice principal, Gregory Reid, entered his own plea in the test-cheating case. Reid, who agreed to cooperate with the prosecution, was expected to give damaging testimony against Waller.
Waller’s cooperation could make things uncomfortable for his immediate supervisor, regional director Michael Pitts, one of the remaining defendants in the case.
On Thursday, Pitts’ lawyer, George Lawson, said his client will not be among those pleading guilty Friday.
“He maintains his innocence,” Lawson said. “If he was of the opinion he was guilty, he would have pled a year ago. Of course, he maintains his innocence.”
Millicent Few, the former APS human resources director, became the 19th APS defendant to plead guilty when she appeared in court Monday. As of Thursday, 15 defendants remained.
A number of lawyers representing the remaining APS defendants did not return phone calls seeking comment Thursday.
Hall’s lawyer, Richard Deane, has said his client will continue to fight the charges against her. Keith Adams, who represents former Dunbar Elementary School teacher Diane Buckner-Webb, said Thursday: “As of right now, we’re still going to trial.”
Angela Johnson, who represents former Dunbar Elementary teacher Pamela Cleveland, wouldn’t comment on whether Cleveland will accept a plea deal.
“The judge ordered all of us to speak to the prosecutors,” Johnson said. “I think everybody has spoken with the prosecutors. I wish I could tell you more.”
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