PUBLIC SAFETY
Have a heart and share the road with bicyclists
Several lives were destroyed on July 4th, when Bryan Morgan was hit from behind and killed while riding his bike.
I am an avid bike rider, and ride (usually in the early morning) on the streets of Atlanta. With flashing lights front and rear, and multiple reflecting devices, I still have cars buzzing me 20 or 30 miles over the speed limit (allowing six to 12 inches between me and their mirrors). The sad part of this is there is hardly any traffic at this time of day — and no reason not to slow down and allow some space.
Now, a driver is facing murder charges, and a family has buried a husband and father — because we get in our two-ton vehicles and cut off the outside world. Please slow down and share the road.
John Mount, Atlanta
EDUCATION
APS’ recovery will take much work — and time
When you’re at the bottom of a hole, stop digging. That’s what should happen with Atlanta Public Schools. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the governor’s investigative team did an outstanding job in detailing the extent of the cheating scandal. There was a culture of fear and intimidation affecting principals and teachers. Students were betrayed, and denied opportunities for remediation. Now it’s time for the rebuilding process.
They say that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. In appointing Erroll Davis as the interim superintendent, the first step was taken, and it was a significant one. Measures must be put in place so this kind of thing can’t happen again. It will mean some people losing their jobs, to be replaced by others who will start putting an emphasis on learning (not just test scores). Everyone must realize that these things take time and not expect overnight miracles, but be willing to set strategic short- and long-term goals. The future of the Atlanta school system is at stake — and there is no other direction to go.
Jerry Schwartz, Alpharetta
EDUCATION
Test administrators should be outsiders
Regarding the APS test cheating scandal, kudos to the AJC staff for their dogged investigation and exposure of this huge problem. As a result of your efforts, it appears that something will finally be done to correct the situation.
Here’s a simple suggestion for solving the problem: Take the fox out of the henhouse by having outside test administration, instead of the same person(s) with vested interest conducting classroom teaching and CRCT testing. For example, Georgia’s Department of Education might be asked to schedule state employees to carry CRCT exam forms to individual public schools, take a couple of hours to let students take the test, collect completed forms and carry them back to the department for computer scoring.
The department would send a printout of student results to the pertinent school principal. This would ensure unbiased measurement of how well teachers are teaching and students are learning. I feel sure teachers who did not cheat would probably welcome this vindication (not to mention all the students).
Linda Edmonds, Decatur
