Another Atlanta teacher accused of cheating has opted to quit rather than be fired by the district, school officials said Thursday.
Crystal Draper, a teacher at Parks Middle, admitted to special investigators she erased test answers four years in a row. She is the fifth teacher to quit out of 11 targeted for termination by Atlanta Public Schools.
The district is paying $1 million a month to about 110 educators accused of cheating who are on administrative leave, but is trying to resolve the cases by the end of the school year.
Draper was scheduled to go before a panel of educators Monday to contest her firing.
Her resignation followed colleague Damany Lewis being fired by a panel that heard his case Wednesday. Lewis said teachers at Parks were under tremendous pressure, and asked for leniency for himself and others.
In the 400-plus page report released by state investigators in July, Draper said she and other teachers were afraid of Principal Christopher Waller, who allegedly directed cheating at the school. She said Waller made comments such as "I need those numbers," and would punish those who did not do as he asked.
Neither Waller nor Draper could be reached for comment.
After months of delay and millions spent in payroll and legal expenses, educators suspected of some of the most egregious cheating have begun appearing before a tribunal to determine whether the district has grounds to fire them.
About 180 educators were named in the investigation, which found that cheating occurred at 44 schools and involved some of the district's top officials. That investigation was prompted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's reporting. Investigators say some of the worst cheating took place at Parks Middle School.
An emotional Lewis testified Wednesday about the pressure he and other teachers were under to improve scores at the school, which faced takeover for not meeting testing goals. After Waller's first year at the school (when the report said cheating began) he said Parks won praise from visitors for its teaching and learning and day-to-day operations.
But the demand for more increased.
"Every day, every teacher at Parks worked hard. Every day, teachers came early and stayed late," Lewis said. "Everything was data-driven. Data was the primary source of behind-the-scenes pressure on individuals who really cared about the school the most."
Lewis officially will be removed from the payroll if the Atlanta school board votes at its next meeting to uphold the tribunal's decision, APS spokesman Keith Bromery said. Lewis can appeal the firing to the state school board.
Other teachers who have resigned or retired rather than face termination are from Venetian Hills and Gideons elementary schools, where widespread cheating also was said to have taken place.
The report claims that Venetian Hills teachers Jacquelyn Parks, Melba Smith and Hardy Scott, along with other teachers known as "chosen ones,” met in a windowless office in the afternoons to change answers behind a locked door.
Daisy Bowser of Gideons was part of a group of teachers that held a weekend "changing party" at the home of a teacher in Douglas County.
Five other teachers have been notified of the district's intention to fire them. Tribunal hearings are scheduled in those cases through the end of the month, but will be canceled if the educator resigns.
Michael McGonigle, legal director for the Georgia Association of Educators, said the district may have a more difficult time proving cheating in cases where the educator has not confessed. In some cases, educators named in the report are accused of improper voice inflection or giving improper instructions during testing, he said.
"There are plenty of folks who are innocent ... and have defenses, and we would expect exoneration or penalties less severe than terminations," he said.
Where are they now?
Some of the key players in the cheating investigation are still on leave, while others have moved on with their careers.
Robin Hall, a former principal and area superintendent, works for the Washington-based Council of the Great City Schools as its director of language arts and literacy. Hall joined the organization on Oct. 6 and soon after retired from the school district.
Former area superintendents Sharon Davis-Williams, Michael Pitts and Tamara Cotman are still on the payroll. They earn six-figure salaries, and according to their attorney, George Lawson, each was issued an intent-to-fire letter months ago, but no hearing has been scheduled. They deny any wrongdoing.
Former Deputy Superintendent Kathy Augustine left APS and was fired in August as superintendent of a suburban Dallas district because of her alleged involvement in the case.
Millicent Few, former chief of human resources, was ousted in February from a consulting job in Connecticut after district leaders there learned that she's accused of trying to cover up cheating. Few resigned from APS in July.
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