Erroll Davis knew he had a mess on his hands when he agreed to temporarily lead the beleaguered Atlanta Public Schools. How big of a mess, however, only became apparent last week with the release of a report implicating nearly 200 teachers and principals in a cheating scandal of national proportions.
After working in corporate America for more than 30 years, Davis was ready for the public service phase of his life. For the next year, he will rely on lessons he learned as a CEO and as chancellor of the University System of Georgia to clean up the district and guide it back to legitimacy.
It is a yeoman task, but even some of his sharpest critics say he could do it.
"Some heads have got to roll over this thing and while he won’t like doing it, Erroll Davis won’t hesitate to take those heads right off," said former state Sen. Seth Harp.
Harp, who described Davis as a person of integrity, sparred with Davis during hearings over budget cuts for the university system. While Davis was combative and the two strong-willed men disagreed, Harp trusted Davis to give him straight answers.
Davis has little sympathy for teachers who say they were pressured to cheat. He said he's faced extreme pressure to succeed and living ethically is part of his DNA. The educators implicated in widespread cheating on state tests have lost their right to work with children, he said.
"There is no place left in this organization for those who cheat," Davis said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"It is not compassionate to allow someone who has cheated to remain on payroll," he said. "A major mistake leaders make is they show too much compassion for people and not the institution. I was hired to protect the institution and I will do it."
The road ahead is long and, in places, treacherous. It will take at least four months, likely longer, to work out the fallout among employees -- including those Davis decides to fire. Students cheated out of their learning will need extraordinary help to get it back. Accreditation woes caused by the city school board need to be addressed in concert with the scandal's consequences.
While describing Davis as "very capable," the way the school board responds to the cheating will be considered in determining whether the system can get off probation, AdvancED president and CEO Mark Elgart told WABE-FM (90.1) in an interview last week. Elgart's agency oversees the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which accredits the city's high schools.
Among immediate changes announced last week by Davis, APS will offer additional tutoring, after-school classes and other help for thousands of students affected by the scandal.
All employees will be required to take annual online ethics courses, beginning Aug. 1. Extraordinary test score gains will trigger automatic investigation.
Davis vowed the district will listen better. Already, he has scheduled meetings with principals and teachers and plans to visit schools often. As chancellor, Davis visited at least three of the system's 35 campuses each month.
Those are just the first steps.
The report released Tuesday by Gov. Nathan Deal castigated the district -- and former superintendent Beverly Hall -- for a deeply embedded culture of cheating, cover-ups and obstruction. More than 800 pages in length, it detailed how teachers, principals and others cheated by erasing and correcting students' answer sheets.
The scandal, first reported by the AJC more than two years ago, has made news coast to coast. What happens will play on a national stage as well as locally, as lawmakers and experts debate the scandal's effects on efforts to emphasize testing as a measure of teachers' performance.
Davis became interim superintendent July 1, the day after he retired as chancellor and four days before the state released the report. He agreed Thursday to serve as superintendent for one year, knowing full well what he was getting into.
"He has not shied away from it at all," board Chairwoman Brenda Muhammad said. His yearlong tenure will give the unsteady APS an anchor toward stability and he will help in efforts to restore accreditation, she said.
"He jumped into a river full of alligators," Harp said of APS.
At 66, Davis said he's too old to serve beyond a year. His goal is to clean up the district so it's ready for a world-class superintendent who can stay longer, he said.
"Remember, Obama didn't start the war but it's his," Davis said. "This one is now mine."
Davis developed his work ethic early, graduating from high school when he was just 16. He became the first person in his family to graduate college when he earned an engineering degree at age 20. He earned a master’s degree in business by the time he was 22.
As befits his engineer background, Davis applies an analytical approach to problems and does not make hasty decisions. He relies on facts and data, not emotion, Regent Willis Potts said. The State Board of Regents hired Davis in 2005.
His corporate background allows him to take a strategic approach. He constantly reviewed how short-term decisions would work into the system’s long-term goals, Potts said.
Davis' work with the university system allowed him access to Atlanta's business and philanthropic leaders, with whom the board wants to mend ties.
"He has just come in with the knowledge and the experience [and] the relationships," Muhammad said.
Davis plans to tap into his city and state connections. Now that he will be with the system for a year, Davis can recruit leaders and others to assist with the turnaround.
"There are many people in and out of the system who will be called on," Davis said.
While hiring Davis is a first step, the school board and community must realize it is large task to replace a culture of cheating with one of learning and education, said Tim Callahan, spokesman for the Professional Association of Georgia Education, the state’s largest teacher advocacy group.
"It is a big job that will take many years," he said. "It will take many, many people and not just one man."
Davis, who lives in Buckhead with his wife, balances his drive with a quick sense of humor.
At an orientation session with board members prior to starting his new job, Davis eased tension by joking he hoped everyone there knew he had nothing to do with the scandal. At a meeting last week, his first in the board's formal assembly hall, he deflected Muhammad's generous introduction by adding: "You didn't have to say all that just because I didn't have a name tag."
Parent Abby Martin, who has followed the investigation since early last year, noticed the difference immediately from Hall's often aloof demeanor. In an email, she said Davis' "focus on tone, culture and performance showed he has the ability to grasp our issues and to lead us back on the right path."
"Parents need to know that they can trust the system not to cheat their children again," said Martin, whose three children attend city schools.
Davis said some of his best experiences as chancellor were interacting with students. Students said Davis made time for them, even when they just wanted to complain about large tuition increases.
He "never talked to us like we were kids," said Corey Boone, past president of the student government association at Georgia Tech. "He treats people with respect."
In the week he's been with the system, Davis said he's observed people and programs that deserve community respect.
APS employs 6,000 people -- some 3,000 of them teachers -- most of whom work hard every day, he said. He questioned whether they get enough support. He wants an anonymous survey tool to allow employees to report if there is fear or intimidation at their school.
Everyone will be expected to excel, but Davis said he won't demand success by any means necessary.
"I will never be abusive, but I am frank and I am candid," Davis said. "Those who step outside the ethical boundaries will face consequences."
About Erroll Davis
Age: 66
Family: Married to Elaine. They run a family foundation that awards college scholarships to underprivileged students.
Previous position: Retired June 30 as chancellor for University System of Georgia. He was the first African-American and first person from outside academia to hold the job permanently.
Other work experience: former CEO of Alliant Energy Corp., an energy holding company, 1998-2005; president and CEO of WPL Holdings, 1990-1998; various positions at Wisconsin Power and Light Co. 1978-1990.
Previous education experience: member of the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents from 1987 to 1994; former chairman of the board of trustees and a life member at Carnegie Mellon University; and served on the board of trustees at the University of Chicago.
His education: Graduated high school at 16. The first-generation college graduate earned an undergraduate degree in engineering from Carnegie Mellon University at 20 and received a master's degree in business from the University of Chicago by the time he was 22.
About the Author
