1. Computer disruptions at schools nullify results of state tests.
This spring, school principals across Georgia did what they'd always done on the morning their students were in their chairs, poised to take the most important test of the year. They went on the intercom and counted down to zero. When the principals yelled "go," nothing happened at many schools. That's because more schools than ever opted to take the Georgia Milestones standardized tests on computer, and when all the students in each school tapped and clicked at the same time, the local networks buckled. It was one of the many technological problems that led the Georgia Board of Education to give up on the 2016 test results. Read more.
2. Atlanta charter school where $600k allegedly stolen will close.
A troubled Atlanta charter school will close at the end of this school year, the victim of alleged theft by the school's founder and mismanagement. Closing Latin Academy, a public charter school overseen by the Atlanta school district, will leave hundreds of students with few alternatives besides the low-performing traditional neighborhood schools many left behind. Charter schools are publicly funded but operate independently of local school districts. Latin Academy's problems became public last year after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that more than $600,000 was taken from the school to pay for dinners, non-work-related travel, bonuses to employees and "personal entertainment at local night clubs." Read more.
3. Sexual messages bring UGA administrator's resignation.
A former University of Georgia associate vice president in its student affairs division has resigned after a sexual harassment complaint by a student. T.W. Cauthen's resignation is effective Friday. The complaint was filed in November, according to documents The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained through an open-records request. It alleged Cauthen and the undergraduate had engaged in online and text communications of a sexual nature in early May 2015 after meeting on Grinder, a social media app for gay men. They initially did not know each other, but became aware of the UGA connection after exchanging photographs. Cauthen broke off the communication. Six months later, in early November, the student filed the complaint with UGA's Equal Opportunity Office. Read more.
4. A sneak peek inside Braves' SunTrust Park.
Eleven months before the first game at SunTrust Park — and five days before the start of 2017 season-ticket sales to the general public — the Atlanta Braves provided the first detailed look inside their new Cobb County stadium Thursday. Among key features noticed: the steel structure for a canopy that a stadium architect said will provide shade for 60 percent of fans in the stands, the cantilever construction that will help push many seats in the upper and middle bowls closer to the action than at Turner Field and the concrete surface for a high-tech interactive space above the right-field corner. Read more.
5. See who was honored as Heroes, Saints and Legends.
Lillian Darden was my first friend at what has been my church home for the past 16 years. I didn't know she was Methodist royalty. Her parents, the Rev. Candler andDorothy Budd, were instrumental in establishing what is now Wesley Woods Senior Living retirement communities; the Rev. Budd was a 64-year member of the North Georgia Methodist Conference who pastored seven churches. I also didn't know about her family's political prominence: Her husband, former U.S. Rep. Buddy Darden, served for nearly a dozen years in Washington. Read more.
About the Author
