Jurors in the Atlanta Public Schools cheating trial returned Tuesday from an unscheduled break, hearing from defense witnesses called to counter prosecutors’ portrait of a former principal accused of racketeering.
Three witnesses testified that former Dobbs Elementary School principal Dana Evans was an effective leader and that they were unaware of cheating on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test at her school in 2009.
Twelve former educators, including Evans, are on trial, accused of engaging in a racketeering scheme to change wrong answers on the 2009 CRCT. Prosecutors contend the alleged conspiracy was hatched to improve scores on standardized tests, especially at poor-performing schools.
Prosecutors portrayed Evans as a demanding and threatening principal who told teachers who couldn’t hack it that “Wal-Mart is always hiring.”
Defense witnesses countered that narrative. Sixth-grade math teacher Warren Edwards said he considered Evans’ management style to be “top notch.” He said he never saw her pressure his colleagues.
Former Dobbs kindergarten teacher Jaclyn Wallace testified that Evans came to Dobbs to change the culture. Evans listened to her staff and “wanted the kids to be treated with respect,” said Wallace, now teaching in South Carolina.
Wallace’s daughter was in the fifth-grade classroom of Shayla Smith, who pleaded guilty to lesser charges in the APS cheating scandal to avoid the risk of a felony conspiracy conviction and 20 years in prison. Wallace said she saw no evidence that Smith — who was sentenced to a year on probation plus 250 hours of community service — had cheated on the 2009 CRCT.
“I saw nothing unusual in (my daughter’s) assessments or CRCT scores,” Wallace said.
Wallace also testified that she never heard Evans pressure teachers with the Wal-Mart comment.
Mario Watkins, a middle school principal, was the first to testify Tuesday, underscoring statements he made last week that cast doubt on the motives of prosecution witnesses who spoke against Evans.
The lengthy trial lost almost two days of testimony since last week because of an ill juror and bad weather.
Jury selection began in early August and there have been 17 weeks of testimony. Expectations are the jury could begin deliberating the massive and complex case in late March or early April.
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