Former Parks Middle School teacher Dorothea Wilson said she helped change students’ answers on state tests because she feared being transferred to a different school.
“You either conform or you was reformed,” she said of her actions. “…It’s Atlanta Public Schools.”
Wilson was one of two Parks teachers who testified Thursday in the Atlanta schools test-cheating trial.
Wilson and teacher Kelli Smith spoke about the culture at Parks under former principal Christopher Waller as part of the state’s case against former regional executive director Michael Pitts, one of 12 defendants standing trial.
State investigators have painted Waller's reign at Parks as an example of the "toxic culture" that had infected Atlanta's school system. Waller, who pleaded guilty to a felony charge of making false statements, is expected to testify for the prosecution testify later this month.
Smith, who testified that she did not cheat, said that when a district investigator interviewed her about anonymous complaints brought against Waller she was “completely terrified” that she would be accused of making the complaints and that Waller would transfer her to another school or fire her.
“If he felt you weren’t on his team, you were removed,” she said of Waller.
The teachers’ testimony followed more than two days of testimony from former state official Kathleen Mathers as well as testimony from Stephen Cramer, a researcher who conducted analyses of erasures on student answer sheets.
Next week, prosecutors are expected to call former Gov. Sonny Perdue to the stand. He is expected to be followed by GBI Director Vernon Keenan and Bob Wilson, one of the governor’s special investigators.
APS trial: Former state official returns to stand - 8:01 a.m.
Former top state education official Kathleen Mathers will return to the witness stand Thursday for her third day of testimony in the Atlanta Public Schools test-cheating trial.
Mathers, once the executive director of the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, has sat on the witness stand two full days. She has testified about her discovery of suspicious test score gains at Deerwood Academy in the summer of 2008, her decision to order a statewide erasure analysis on 2009 standardized tests and her recommendation that a special investigation be undertaken because of her dissatisfaction with a Blue Ribbon Commission’s investigation of test-cheating at APS.
Mathers’ testimony also showed why the end of the trial is nowhere in sight.
Lead prosecutor Fani Willis spent most of Tuesday leading Mathers through her direct testimony. Cross-examination began late Tuesday and continued through Wednesday with lawyers representing 11 of the 12 defendants asking Mathers questions. Willis then asked Mathers more questions and defense lawyers then conducted more cross-examinations.
When adjourning court for the day, Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter told Mathers she would have to return one more day. Then, looking out to the lawyers, Baxter said, “Hopefully, we can see another witness at some point.”
It was anticipated that former Gov. Sonny Perdue would testify Wednesday, but now he isn’t expected to take the stand until next week.
Prosecutors have said they plan to rest their case sometime in January.
About the Author
