DeKalb yanks 24 teachers from classroom on cheating allegations

Twenty-four DeKalb County educators have been  reassigned to nonschool duties over irregularities in 2009 state testing that affected nine schools and possibly 1,400 students. The unidentified educators, both teachers and principals, could face losing their teaching licenses. The DeKalb District attorney will review the investigation conducted by the school system and determine if criminal charges are warranted.

School officials told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday they referred 24 educators and five former employees to the Georgia Professional Standards Commission after an internal investigation uncovered numerous irregularities on the April 2009 Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests.

“No cheating has been proved and no one has come forward and admitted to cheating," schools spokesman Jeff Dickerson said. “But we couldn’t have these individuals in the classroom right now. We made these decisions based on what is best for our students.”

Removing more than two dozen educators under the cloud of possible test cheating  is the latest trouble for the state’s third-largest school system, which is in the middle of an investigation to determine if it meets national accreditation standards.

Despite the new troubles, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools said Thursday’s action will help – not hurt the district.

"The actions taken by DeKalb will not have an impact on (its) accreditation,” said Mark A. Elgart, SACS’ president and CEO. “In fact, it shows that leadership is responding to and handling the situation.”

On Wednesday, SACS completed a three-day review of the school system. Accreditors are expected to make a recommendation in 30-45 days.

The moves Thursday are the result of statewide investigation into erasure marks on the CRCTS. The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement began looking into the tests after an investigation by the AJC found test performance in some districts showed inexplicable gains.

Meanwhile, DeKalb launched its own investigation after the state found DeKalb had more wrong answers erased and changed to correct answers than most school districts in the state.

As a result, Interim Superintendent Ramona Tyson reassigned five principals, five assistant principals and 14 teachers from schools. The new temporary assignments, which start today, include administrative positions in transportation, IT and other central office departments.

Tyson said the district will not know if more educators will be moved as a result of irregularities until the investigation is complete.

"Anyone that has a heart for children would be taken a back by this," Tyson said.

On Thursday morning, Tyson met with the school board in a closed meeting to tell them about the moves. She then planned to hand-deliver the information to DeKalb District Attorney Robert James.

“It’s just to keep the district attorney (apprised) of actions,” Dickerson said.

Dickerson said he does not anticipate criminal charges, but it is up to the district attorney if he wants to investigate. Late Thursday, the District Attorney’s office said it had not received any information from the school and that it is too early to anticipate possible charges before prosecutors review the information.

“The district attorney will make the determination on how to proceed legally,” said Erik Burton, spokesman for the district attorney.

School officials declined to identify the employees or schools, but said the 29 included five employees who previously were terminated or resigned.

The PSC can revoke or suspend an educators' teaching certification, which means they can no longer teach in Georgia. Anyone who loses their certification will likely be terminated, Dickerson said.

Dickerson said he did not know how long the PSC's investigation will take, but said the school system has already rehired several retired principals and teachers to fill the vacancies.

Despite refusing to identify the employees, the district issued cryptic letters to parents at impacted schools, including Glen Haven Elementary and Cedar Grove Middle School, which are both in Decatur.

Wilbert Rush got one of those letters when he picked up his fourth-grader from Glen Haven. He defended the principal as a by-the-book administrator who wouldn’t tolerate cheating at the school.

“It’s a good school, you never hear about nothing bad happening around here,” he said. “These teachers are good teachers. They live in the neighborhood and around the corner.”

Cedar Grove Middle School parent Judy Williams was also surprised when her son showed her the letter. She said she likes the school and the principal, but was troubled by the allegations.

“I want them to be honest, that’s what we teach our kids," she said. "I think its grown people messing up these children. It needs to stop being about them and the prestige and be about these children.”

DeKalb officials declined to give specifics on the internal investigation, but said they spent months conducting interviews and analyzing data.

On Dec. 17, the school systems received a letter from the state about the erasure analysis. The letter cited a lack of training, failure to have proctors assigned to special needs student groups, holding tests too long and “tampering and other acts that threaten the security of test administration,” Dickerson said.

Kathleen Mathers, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, called DeKalb’s investigation “very comprehensive and thorough.”

“DeKalb did one of the best investigations that we saw in the state,”Mathers said.

Father of two Bill Armstrong said he was happy to see the district taking what he called swift and appropriate action.

“The last thing we need is a cheating scandal. But if DeKalb is handling it in the proper way, as it appears at first glance, and in contrast to Atlanta Public Schools, then I must say it's better than making it worse,” said Armstrong, president of the Huntley Hills Elementary School Council. “I do find the timing, the same week that SACS is here reviewing DCSS, to be more than a little suspicious.”

DeKalb’s largest teachers’ union, the Organization of DeKalb Educators, said it continued to get calls through the day from teachers who had been moved and others worried about their jobs.

“While we do not condone cheating, we expect a fair process, and that our members’ rights will be honored,” said David Schutten, the organization’s president.