APS: On the hot seat this week over open meetings and SACS concerns
On the day before the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education faces a state hearing, the Georgia attorney general sanctioned members for open records violations and announced plans to monitor the group over the next year to assure compliance.
The extraordinary oversight agreed to by the board stems from a series of complaints from city residents and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about both the board and the administration of ex-schools chief Beverly Hall.
State investigators earlier this month released a searing report that said Hall ignored a culture of cover-ups and obstruction that blossomed during her 12-year tenure. It also detailed extensive cheating by educators on state tests.
Among the most serious of the public records violations, investigators said Hall — who left the system June 30 — and former Deputy Superintendent Kathy Augustine illegally suppressed a report by a testing expert last year that largely confirmed an AJC analysis that suggested test cheating occurred. The district withheld that report from the media and public.
Among the most serious of the open meetings violations happened in April,when Gov. Nathan Deal summoned the board, Hall and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed to the Capitol for a private meeting. It came on the heels of Deal signing legislation giving him the power to remove board members if they did not make sufficient progress by midsummer toward regaining full accreditation.
The meeting was held despite objections from the AJC that the Georgia Open Meetings Act requires such meetings to be open to the public, because a quorum of the board was present. Senate Democratic whip Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, also filed a formal complaint with the attorney general.
(I do have to note that the governor’s office also did not seem inclined to open that meeting to the public.)
In other APS news:
–The board called for a special election Nov. 8 to fill the seat vacated earlier this month by former Chairman Khaatim Sherrer El who is moving to New Jersey for a job.
–District officials said 41 of the 179 educators suspected of cheating have vacated their positions. They plan to move ahead with termination proceedings against the rest.
–The 13-member state Board of Education starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday will hold a courtroom-style one-day hearing on whether to recommend their removal for running afoul of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), the primary accrediting agency in Georgia. An immediate ruling is not expected. The state board has 15 days to make a recommendation to Deal, who by law makes the final decision.
–In Texas, the Board of Trustees of DeSoto Independent School District is meeting now to discuss a possible voluntary exit agreement with Kathy Augustine, a former APS deputy superintendent. Augustine spent only one day at work in her new post before the DeSoto school board placed her on leave with pay while they researched her involvement in cheating on state exams at APS.
According to the Dallas Morning News:
Board members will discuss a “voluntary exit agreement” behind closed doors during tonight’s DeSoto ISD board meeting. Augustine has been on paid leave for two weeks as fallout from a report detailing a yearlong state of Georgia investigation found she served as second-in-command in Atlanta schools during pervasive cheating. According to Monday’s board agenda, trustees will discuss with district legal counsel issues “concerning Superintendent’s employment and possible voluntary exit agreement, and duties and responsibilities of Acting Superintendent.”
UPDATE Tuesday morning: The DeSoto board took no action because only four of the board’s seven members attended the meeting. So, Augustine remains on leave, pending the board’s action.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled
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74 comments Add your comment
catlady
July 25th, 2011
9:28 pm
Why isn’t the Gov on the hotseat about calling the closed meeting, thus enticing the board to break the law?
Maureen Downey
July 25th, 2011
9:34 pm
@Catlady, Good question. Along with Nathan Deal, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed was also there to meet with Superintendent Beverly Hall and APS board members.
FBT
July 25th, 2011
9:39 pm
It just gets more ridiculous by the minute.
Another Mom
July 25th, 2011
9:40 pm
@catlady and Maureen – My thoughts exactly!
Greg
July 25th, 2011
9:40 pm
Once again the focus is on the board and not the children. I’ve repeatedly called upon the parents of APS elementary schools to file a class action suit. This is the only way an image concious establishment will address the real issues. Your tax dollars were stolen based upon a false premise and the only thing that will get the attention of the power structure is a lawsuit. The dog and pony show must end immediately and there is only one way to end it.
Atlanta mom
July 25th, 2011
9:54 pm
Maureen
“The 13-member state Board of Education starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday will hold a courtroom-style one-day hearing on whether to recommend their removal for running afoul of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)”
Where is this meeting being held and is it open to the public?
catlady
July 25th, 2011
10:01 pm
I just thought there was a law against enticing other people to break a law. I know our BOE members apparently check with each other about anywhere they might go and all be together. I suspect they even check to see if a quorum is going to the Baptist Church’s special Easter program that 70% of the churchgoing public attends! I’m pretty sure they don’t all come to graduation.
Casandra Johnson
July 25th, 2011
10:19 pm
@Atlanta mom – Yes, State Board of Education meetings are opened to the public, as I have attended them in the past. They are held in the twin towers building directly across from the State Capital building. Address is 2070 Twin Towers East, 205 Jesse Hill Drive SE, Atlanta, GA 30334. I encourage you and other parents to go if you can.
Casandra Johnson
July 25th, 2011
10:29 pm
This is clearly a story of the corrupt fighting against the corrupt, and it’s the children who are suffering as a result. Woe to Atlanta-God is not pleased and His judgment against this wicked and perverse city has only just begun!
Dr. John Trotter
July 25th, 2011
10:44 pm
I stated on this blog at the time that the meeting in the Governor’s Office was illegal, but I also said at the time that the Governor and “the Big Boys” must think that the law applies to everyone else and only to them when it is convenient.
SACS’s Mark Elgart, school board attorney Glenn Brock, and then State Board members James Bostic and Brad Bryant met illegally with the Clayton County School Board members behind closed doors.
Erroll Davis and the Atlanta Board of Education will violate OCGA 20-2-940(g). Mark my words. This law is simply not convenient to them. Will SACS, the Governor, or the State Attorneys General give a hoot about this violation? From what has already been said in the media, I KNOW that this fundamental due process provision will be violated.
I have been predicting Erroll Davis’s and the Atlanta Board’s violation of the accused’s due process right for the last two weeks.
http://www.georgiateachersspeakout.com
Dr. John Trotter
July 25th, 2011
10:49 pm
What about the Cobb County Board of Education? Fifty-seven (57) illegal board meetings. Admitted. Oh, I forgot. Doesn’t Glenn Brock work closely with Mark Elgart? What does SACS stand for? Surely Ain’t Committed to Standards (SACS)?
David Sims
July 25th, 2011
10:50 pm
Why is it that the governor of Georgia believes that he can choose whether or not to obey Georgia’s laws? If a closed meeting is illegal, then is holding one a misdemeanor or a felony? (Does he run stop signs too?) What did Deal expect to gain by holding a closed meeting? Since we didn’t hear the meeting ourselves, we don’t even know whether his intentions were good.
Curious One
July 25th, 2011
11:03 pm
APS, AG, Egghead and Brock and Clay – now that group can’t be up anything legal or righteous ! Bet the students will be the losers !
Dr. John Trotter
July 25th, 2011
11:05 pm
I will laugh big time if ole Glenn Brock is put in charge of “training” Atlanta School Board members! Ha! (I see that he was conferring with a State Attorney General at this big meeting. Follow the money, folks. Follow the money. This is about money,not the children.) His firm seems to get it wrong constantly for screwing up things up in Cobb County. Even recently his firm was again castigated by the Marietta Daily Journal for apparently giving the wrong advice to board members about whether the school board had to disclose names of administrators on whom they were voting in personnel action items. Again, I repeat…the Cobb County Board of Education admitted in the last year or two that it had violated the Open Meetings Law 57 times over the course of the last few years.
Glenn Brock is the principal partner, along with Chuck Clay, of this law firm. Putting a single nickel into the coffers of Brock, Clayton, Calhoun, and Rodgers to train the Atlanta School Board members will be a wasted nickel. Would you hire Pete Rose to lecture the players against gambling? Glenn Brock and the gentlemen stated above met illegally with the Clayton Board of Education. When Brock was either forced out or volunatarily resigned down in Clayton County as school board attorney (depending on whom you believe), the next day he blasted the entire Clayton County Board of Education (including headlines in the AJC) in the media. Hmm. It seems to me that this might be a violation of the Bar’s Code of Ethics. Can a lawyer even do this if he is terminated or resigns from being the attorney of a person accused of murder? Hmm. I don’t know.
Dr. John Trotter
July 25th, 2011
11:07 pm
Who died and made Glenn Brock the expert on school law? Ha! What a schemer! He needs to stay up there by the Big Chicken!
Sharon Pitts must Go
July 25th, 2011
11:32 pm
Like it or not, Trotter is and was right this time… I remember reading his warning
Maureen Downey
July 25th, 2011
11:33 pm
@mom, It is being held in the state board offices, which are in the Sloppy Floyd building across from the Capitol.
It is a public meeting.
State Board of Education 2070 Twin Towers East
Atlanta, Georgia
Sharon Pitts must Go
July 25th, 2011
11:36 pm
wasn’t this the same meeting that mayor reed said that he wouldn’t support any superintendent candidate that the board selected if Kashim El was still the board chair????
the mayor is a bully and needs to apologize to El
Steve Perry on CNN says
July 26th, 2011
12:01 am
The only folks who get fired for breaking the law—-drum roll—-the TEACHERS!
Erroll Davis “does not” admit nor reject guilt for the BOE but promises not to do it again!!! ……Give the teachers that option also
Dr. John Trotter
July 26th, 2011
12:04 am
@ Sharon Pitts must Go: All modesty aside (besides, it gets in the way! Ha!), I’ve been right on a number of things. In fact, WHAT things on this blog have I been WRONG on? Really. Which ones?
Let’s see now…Right on Beverly Hall. Right on Systematic Cheating in Atlanta and DeKalb (very public on this). Right on corruption to the core — in fact, called both publicly in several media, “Gangsta School Systems.” This was done long before the traditional media got involved. Right on Mark Elgart and SACS. Phony as can be. SACS stands for Surely Ain’t Committed to Standards, right? Right about the Chamber of Commerce/Piedmont Driving Club folk running the show in Atlanta and propping up Hall. Right about Edmond Heatley being an educational disaster in Clayton County even before he left Chino Valley, California. I will be proven right about Michael Hinojosa in Cobb. Just wait and see. I am also right on Glenn Brock. I think that his firm is terrible on transparency. I think that his firm is also wrong on its apparent advice to school boards on the Complaints Law (O.C.G.A. 20-2-989.5). Hey, don’t forget Michelle Rhee. It appears that I was right all along about this Educational Hypocrite too.
Now I wasn’t just right about these people. I was talking openly about them and their actions or lack of actions long before the rest of the public chimed in. But, hey, who’s keeping score?
I am right that most of the hoopla in public education these days is about money. The Educational Industrial Complex involves billions of dollars, and Big Business now sees clearly that there is big money to be made off the largess of the public’s budgets for school systems. Public education has become a racket. It is sad. But, it is ever so true. If the business magnates and foundations and educrats would forget about the money and just let teachers teach (and support the teachers when it comes to defiant and disruptive students), then we would go a long way in solving so much of the mess in the public schooling process. But, this may not be what the business magnates want. It seems that they can make more money when there is a mess. All of tinkering from Bill and Melinda Gates and Eli and Edyth Broad and the Walton Family and the Federal Government (and in many instances, the State Government) have made the public schooling process in the United States even worse. Tell me one problem that this tinkering has resolved. Just one, OK?
Chris
July 26th, 2011
12:30 am
I wholeheartedly agree with your point about the racket of education. It has become a billion dollar industry and we are only getting pennies on the dollar of our tax money funneled back to the local level.
Go Panthers!
July 26th, 2011
1:14 am
Ok. Did anybody else just deduce the same thing that I did? The BOE just voted to have a November special election to fill the seat that is currently vacant, BUT they could all be recommended for removal within 15 days from tomorrow’s hearing and their seats vacated by termination by Deal? Hence, they just agreed to a special election to elect their successors after they possibly get fired?
Karma is a mighty big…trick.
@ Maureen: Am I interpreting this correctly?
Dr. Craig Spinks/ Augusta
July 26th, 2011
2:08 am
Dr. John,
Sounds like Mr. Brock considers himself above the fray and the law. Is such a perspective unique to schoolboard attorneys? We have one in our part of the state who must be blood-kin to Brock. Of course, both are laughing at taxpayers expense all the way to their respective banks.
Dr. Craig Spinks/ Augusta
July 26th, 2011
2:10 am
OOPS: taxpayers’ not taxpayers.
RWPatrick
July 26th, 2011
2:34 am
What mendacity? Pervarication? Folly? Since money talks and might makes right, just
follow the money and the mighty hand that has it. There lies the end of the rainbow of
deception and deceit. It is about the children. Come on. Take your head out of the sand.
What children? What an after throught? It is about the money! It is about the power and
control! Caesar demands both!
Elizabeth
July 26th, 2011
6:07 am
I have tried not to comment too much on the APS cheating debacle because it has all been said. However, 3 vents in the AJC this morning made me decide to write this. The first stated that the Washington politicians “learned their math skills” in APS schools. The second suggested that those parents who are upset about it “spend the day in their child’s classroom and see what the teachers have to deal with every day”. The third said that “teachers cheated so your little darlings could make AYP”.
The sad truth is that the ones who cheated– teachers, administrators, etc., have caused every teacher in this state, if not the nation, to be placed under a blinding light that will not fade for many years. Most teachers do not cheat, nor do most administrators. Yet education, already under fire form all sorts of pressures, is now in a place where every success or failure is going to be questioned. Now teachers will not only have to prove that they did all they could to help students learn, they will also have to prove that these gains were made legitimately. Schools under pressure to do what no other profession is required to do– have 100 per cent success with every client every day– will now be under even more pressure.
Doctors are not required to heal every patient. Lawyers are not required to win every case. Chipper Jones is not required to hit a home run every time he comes to bat. Yet schools are expected make every child meet an arbitrary and impossible goal– make every student be on “grade level” using an arbitrary and inflexible standardized test. ONE test. One at bat. One trial. One miracle cure .Everyone knows it can’t be done. Everyone knows it is not that easy. But no one listens.
So we begin another school year as teachers go back to work this week in my system (not APS).
Pray for all the educators who did, and continue to do, the right thing , not the wrong thing. Pray for the ones for whom cheating is not an option and who will have to do even more to prove that they really do TEACH, not CHEAT. Most of us work long hours and agonize over our students ( not just their test scores) every day. I for one do not know if I can take any more pressure. I know that there are many like me. We do the best we can to teach the children under conditions that no doctor, lawyer, or ballplayer would tolerate for five minutes. We need support, not blanket condemnation. I wish I thought we would get it.
Carla
July 26th, 2011
6:53 am
Removal of the current APS school board will allow healing to begin in this broken system. The members have failed the students, taxpayers, and violated the law. Public trust has been damaged and the lives of many students damaged. The focus should be on restoring public trust and critical process changes that will make education and students a priority. I am appalled that the members would not follow Mr. El and voluntarily step down for the good of the students that they let down.
JB
July 26th, 2011
7:03 am
At this point, why don’t we just dissolve the Atlanta Public Schools system and absorb everyone into the respective counties that they are in? Is there really a need for a separate school system? I know people don’t care for Fulton County much, but you have to admit, they aren’t currently having all of these issues.
Dondee
July 26th, 2011
7:05 am
@Elizabeth…well said. And for any of us teachers who are in systems that signed up for RTTT funds, we can know be thrilled to know that our pay will be linked to our student achievement. Not saying that I do not expect all of my students to make gains throughout the year, because I do. However, with the nature of humans and all the baggage they bring to school, some are going to achieve more than others. I am not a miracle worker, just a teacher, who does want every child in my class to succeed to the best of his/her ability.
Dondee
July 26th, 2011
7:06 am
now be thrilled….brain not in gear, yet!
Mandy
July 26th, 2011
7:20 am
They need to fire the whole board and start fresh with new people. Hands down. I talked to a friend that said cheating has been going on for years. That when she was in school teachers and other educators cheated to keep schools opened. Then it got out of hand for the all mighty dollar.
Matthew
July 26th, 2011
7:26 am
Kasim Reed is a bully and he ran Khaatim El out of town for daring to ask questions of Dr. Hall. Reed’s shady ways will catch up with him very soon.
Dr NO
July 26th, 2011
7:45 am
You can attempt to drag Deal and Kasim in this all you want but that ole “bait and switch” routine doesnt play this time. Also Im sure many will cry out in anguish…”SACS, its SACS fault” and that too is laughable.
One thing for sure, that keeps getting mentioned is “its cultural.” I have no doubt thats is one fact here that is fact.
Check Philly!! They are uncovering cheating issues there now. LMAO!!
Just keeps getting better and better.
Watch And LEARN!!!
Dr NO
July 26th, 2011
7:47 am
JB
July 26th, 2011
7:03 am
Best idea yet. APS is nothing more than a group of “hip hop showboats”. All flash no substance. All styling and profilin.
Dr NO
July 26th, 2011
7:49 am
“Woe to Atlanta-God is not pleased and His judgment against this wicked and perverse city has only just begun!”
Glad I dont live in the Atlant HellHole…lol.
Sharon Pitts must Go
July 26th, 2011
7:55 am
ok Trotter…I am slowly becoming a convert
Doris M
July 26th, 2011
8:04 am
I wholeheartedly agree with statements made by John Trotter. Education is a BIG business. And truly, you’ve got to follow the money. Another blogger advised that APS should be incorporated into Fulton County Schools; that might make more sense to taxpayers.
Dr. Craig Spinks/ Augusta
July 26th, 2011
9:13 am
Sharon Pitts must go,
Our kids, schools, communities and state would be better off if a majority of our public school teachers were converted to The Education Gospel According to Dr. John.
Kira Willis
July 26th, 2011
9:20 am
I think that we would all be better off if we separated ourselves from the US DOE. The strings that come with the money far outweigh the money.
APS Parent #2
July 26th, 2011
9:33 am
With all due respect Dr. Trotter, there are many of us who have seen through the APS veil of secrecy for some time. Go back and read my posts.
The AJC uncovered the cheating in late 2008. The board took their seats under “seasoned” leadership of Butler-Burks and Harsh-Kinnane, Dr. Hall’s chosen stoolies. Everything that happened with the board, the CRCT investigation, SACS’ involvement, the Mayor’s involvement, the StepUp parent group pressure against the 5 and the concerted ethics complaints against “select board members” – all of it is related to the Chamber of Commerce & Atlanta business community’s relationship with Dr. Hall and control of the system through the 4 board members. (I still would like to know who paid for the lawyers of the 4 to initiate the lawsuit against the 5!! Follow the money.)
Remember the recording of Dr. Augustine that “select” parents would be called in to help “erase” board members? Those parents would be APS loyalists. I think we should ask Harsh-Kinanne who among the StepUp crowd are her friends, I think we should also ask the Grady High School principal who among that group got favors from Dr. Augustine over the years so that when Dr. Augustine called her parent hitmob in they would respond so ruthlessly using their contacts in the press and the Grady mother who works in the Mayor’s office.
APS is a public school. Unfortunately, over the past 11 years, it did not operate first and foremost as a school. It became about developing and marketing efforts of the business community and Dr. Hall and personal members of her staff. Short cuts were taken for the high glossy brochures and the pr value of large grant funds.
With the help and support of Atlanta business, the Atlanta political machine and APS parents who were well-connected to the press, APS decided it was above the law and did not need to comply with any of it. If they needed an opinion, then they also had the Attorney General in their pocket to cause chaos and confusion.
Fortunately for the vast majority of APS students, teachers, staff and parents who were NOT part of the APS mob machine, THE OFFICIALS WHO ARE STATE-ELECTED – the Governor, the State’s Attorney General and the Georgia Department of Education – SAVED THE DAY.
For those of you who continue to want Mayor Reed to appoint the ABOE replacements if they are booted, please keep in mind what his mission was when he met behind closed doors with the board members and the Governor. Atlanta big business had a noose around Reed’s neck and told him he better “fix” the board and get them to do what they wanted (which was to replace El and disarm the 5 votes they could not control). Reed did as he was asked with NO regard to the children.
But for the state report, the Atlanta officials and business community would likely have gotten away with sweeping the CRCT mess under the rug. SACS was just part of their strategy. It really doesn’t matter who sits on the board as long as the business community learns they are to blame for the educational mess of our students and the international embarrassment of our educational system.
APS Parent #2
July 26th, 2011
9:43 am
I only say it doesn’t matter who sits on ABE because I fear the Chamber and business claws are too deeply imbedded in the public works contracts.
This really is no different than mobs being entrenched into sanitation contracts up north or in transportation contracts. People die and are killed for money all of the time, so I guess this could be worse because I don’t think that there have been any APS killings yet.
In an ideal world, it would be great though to have board members act as a board and be the balance to the superintendent. Vetting reforms before they are put in place and then doing benchmarks and analysis to see if reforms are working. APS is flash and show with their reforms.
Take a look at the high schools on the list and you’ll see that if the AJC wants to uncover more APS mess, then it needs to head out of the CRCT mess in grades K-8 and up to high school. They’ve danced around the issues, but haven’t done their full investigation.
Does anyone really think APS was dysfunctionally run only on the bottom layers of their foundation? Because the problems are in the foundation, then the top floors built on this foundation should be falling too.
If we are taking the time to fix the system, then let’s take the time to fix all of the problems.
@APS Parent #2
July 26th, 2011
9:48 am
Amen.
Kasim Reed, the Business Community and SACS were all content with acting like the cheating tragedy never happened. The Mayor gave Beverly Hall complete power over the schools and ran Khaatim El out of town when we refused to carry the Chamber’s water.
PJ
July 26th, 2011
9:50 am
For every official who steps down/is removed from his/her position, there is another waiting in the wings who believes he can step in and reap the same or better financial benefits despite what happened to his predecessor. It will be up to those who truly, truly care about what happens to children and their/our futures to guarantee that this doesn’t happen. Keep fixing it until it doesn’t need fixing anymore.
APS Parent #2
July 26th, 2011
10:09 am
Enter your comments here
APS Parent #2
July 26th, 2011
10:15 am
Those who truly care must include at the forefront the parents.
The struggles differ in the various parts of the city. The northside parents have more time to focus on the educational matters in their schools because for the most part they are living in safe situations without gang influences or daily violence. When they get home at night, they will have food on the table, resources for their children and a routine.
Many southside parents have some of this mix, but most don’t to the same level. When you are unemployed, living with government assistance, in unsafe neighborhoods with gangs, your daily focus is on getting your kids to a safe place first with education perhaps being the benefit.
APS needs to do its job and deliver a good education for all children. The education a child receives should not depend on the circumstances of what kind of parent/family the chiild lives with. Haven’t we learned anything from all of the movies and documentaries that have been made about this? Waiting for Superman for example.
How about waiting for teaching and learning in the form of a qualified teacher who is supported by his or her parents and his or her administration without fear of retatiation?
BCR
July 26th, 2011
10:17 am
The voters in these districts keep electing these incompetents. Until each parent/citizen takes personal responsibility to become informed and involved, nothing will ever change. Sadly, too many elections are popularity contests.
catlady
July 26th, 2011
10:18 am
It’s sad that that system in Texas might be the only one with the (testicular fortitude)
to put the kabosh on Ms. Augustine. Here in Atlanta, where she wronged so many adults and children, we seem content to sit on our hands. Why is that? Will the folks who have adored B Hall in Washington and elsewhere call her to accounts? Will anyone in Georgia?
Will the Attorney General investigate the Governor’s office for calling an illegal meeting (or, rather, demanding that the APS board have an illegal meeting in his office?)
When will the AG move on indictments for RICO, perjury, and theft against those named in the Bowers report?
When will the C of C cabal be called to account for the same?
Teachers are always held accountable for everything. Past high time for some of the others to be hauled into judgement as well!
catlady
July 26th, 2011
10:21 am
And anyone surprised this morning by the limp-wristed response by the state BOE? “We’ll give you one more chance, one more chance, one MORE chance. Please?”
joe
July 26th, 2011
10:29 am
How these people got to keep their jobs is a travishamockery. Nothing like inmates running the asylum…
Trotter is ..... RIGHT?
July 26th, 2011
10:31 am
Though he’s usually full of bluster (and himself), Trotter is spot on with his assessment of Brock and SACS.
Why is NO ONE pressing SACS on its decision to basically IGNORE the dysfunctional situation with the Cobb County School Board??
As a Black man, I literally cringe when I hear and read other African Americans attaching race to a situation without merit. HOWEVER, though I don’t know if race has anything to do with SACS’s inactivity in Cobb County, it certainly does beg the question and adds fuel to the fire of those who believe that race does indeed play a role here.
Unfortunately, unless Gov. Deal steps in (and I highly doubt that he will), only the MEDIA can hold SACS’s feet to the fire in Cobb County.
Dr NO
July 26th, 2011
10:53 am
If the parents whose children were short-changed in this cheating scandal do not stand up and demand the heads of these APS liars and cheats then they deserve exactly what comes there way. All this crap-ola about praying and God and let by-gones be by-gones and crying does no more than foster a continued atomsphere of lying and head turning.
And mark my words…these children being pushed thru the system will find themselves behind bars. With these sorry parents weeping and wailing about poor little johnny and the APS officials lying all the way to the bank.
WATCH AND LEARN.
Go Panthers!
July 26th, 2011
10:58 am
http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/state-suspends-hearing-lets-1047880.html
So, yet another back door meeting between lawyers and powers that be let the ABOE off, scott free, again? Without any presentation or justification to the public of their case, they get to go home AND keep their positions? I’m not voting for these clowns for anything ever again just for their unmitigated arrogance and lack of humility and accountability regarding this situation. How much bolder can they get? This just gets more incredulous with each new development. They better not ever ask for my vote for anything ever again. I am disgusted with them all and wouldn’t even give them my vote for dog catcher.
This is just slimy. There’s a reason they had to go to Marietta to find lawyers to take their cases. RESIGN THE NINE (minus 1)!
Really amazed
July 26th, 2011
11:09 am
Why are any of these people still employed?????
Dr. John Trotter
July 26th, 2011
11:13 am
Good morning, Bloggers! I just got onto this blog this morning. Good comments and good questions. Where oh where is Mark (MIA) Elgart and SACS (Surely Ain’t Committed to Standards) concerning Cobb County? Does Mark’s apparent cozy, good-ole-boy relationship with Glenn Brock prevent him from being objective with Cobb County or from equitably applying SACS’s so-called standards? Talking about arbitrary and capricious! Ha! Fifty-seven illegal meetings? Wow! Some person apparently from Cobb County wrote a comment on my personal blog — http://www.georgiateachersspeakout.com — and chastised me for saying “57.” He said the number was actually “54,” and this guy was serious. But, I remember “57.” I could be wrong. Please correct me if I am wrong. But, 57 or 54…who cares? It is still scads more than Clayton County and Atlanta City, and this “illegal” meetings pretext is what “they” have gotten onto Clayton and Atlanta for. Race? Probably…but maybe simply connections more so than race. But, more than anything, it is about the almighty dollar. When SACS puts a school system on probation, SACS makes more money. The school system has to pay SACS for training and for the training materials and for each trip into the school system. Then, it seems that old Glenn Brock ends up coming to the “rescue” for the school boards in “trouble” with SACS. Check it out. I don’t think that his firm works for free!
I think that I will do an open records request on Glenn Brock’s firm. When monies are received from governments or governmental agencies or agencies which receive government monies, then the law firm is subject to the Open Meetings Law. I will keep you posted on this, OK? I bet it is millions upon millions of dollars made off of these school systems. This ought to be quite interesting. Do they hate me yet at Brock, Clay, Calhoun & Rodgers (or is this “Rogers”?)? I don’t know. I’ll meet them at the Big Chicken, and we can discuss the Leo Frank case. Cobb County has a haunted past. Don’t be fooled by the “I live in East Cobb” veneer. It’s not all glitzy Gallerias. There are many good folk in Cobb County, but some of its “leaders” may rule by “the strong arm.”
Thanks to everyone for the kind comments.
APS Dedicated Teacher Still
July 26th, 2011
11:31 am
Going back to APS is going to be difficult this year. It doesn’t matter whether the Board remains or not. Our school system has been shattered. And, we the lowly teachers have to pick up the pieces.
I’ve read Mr. Martin’s piece and all of the commments here and it still makes me shutter about the road ahead. We still have to go in the classroom with our heads held high and do the best that we can.
That is all that we can do as teachers.
The saddest thing about this whole thing is that Dr. Hall made so many appointments at the high school level that are still in place. These administrators are ruining the schools and the focus on elementary and middle schools has left these ill equipped people in place.
If the studenbts could not pass the CRCT, then what effect did this have on their ability to pass the EOCT in any subject and the GHSGT?
The state should reexamine high schools who have not made AYP; perhaps they weren’t dealing with a level playing field like other high schools. For example, Frederick Douglass High School had feeder schools that were on the list for rampant cheating. Teachers continued to complain about the lack of preparation of the children but principals Horton and Brown did not listen and blamed the teachers for the low EOCT scores. Brown posted teacher’s test scores in faculty meetings to shame them. But, he did not take in to account that the incoming 9th graders especially were ill prepared for high school work.
The new principal now thinks that the solution to the student’s inability to learn the school song that has been in existence for 40 years is to change the tune. Can you imaging someone suggesting that they change the tune to our National Anthem because it wasn’t updated for the 21st century? Right, kinda stupid. Before all of those games, people go out and sing it and the beat goes on. One year at the school and this guy wants to change over 40 years of tradition.
Douglass was targeted by the Hall administration for destruction. It did too well as a traditional high school and the teachers were defiant. Many were Douglass graduates and believed in their school. They wanted to teach there and provide the type of top quality education that their teachers provided for them.
The new principal is the last of the Hall appointees. Changing the tune of the school song would be the last of the traditions of the once proud Astros to fall. Once the faculty consisted of more than 50 dedicated Douglass graduates; now there are 6 remaining…
The Hall administration was a nightmare and eventually someone is going to look beneath the covers and see that the high schools deserve a second look but, that would be too unsettling for the city of Atlanta.
As for the APS Board; they have received a reprieve but it is totally unfair for the district representing Douglass to be without a representative on that Board. El resigned remember.
Yes, I know that there is a member on the Board who graduated from Douglass and a couple of Atlanta City council members too, but the people don’t have a champion (or do they?)
APS Dedicated Teacher Still
July 26th, 2011
11:35 am
Forgive me, students…
sirwinston19
July 26th, 2011
12:05 pm
This whole thing with SAC and the cheating that has surface and many turns in it. Dr. Davis should stop the wheel from turning and see where this whole thing started. Like someone said, this whole thing is complicated to a point where no one knows if there is any truth or has this small thing has been exaggerated to make us all thing that we have a “mob-style” operations in our school system. I just think this is negligence and it coldl have halted if those in key positions have been open and aggressive to seek if this was actually happening rater, sitting back thinking it was not! This but not at all consider ridiculously and the adbantageous is to put money in the hands of others to run APS. The state of Georgia has been put into an embarrassing situation and to give other the impression that we are not going to have this type of things; we start firing and letting these Educators go…but that is the wrong things to do! You are not solving anyting by firing and getting educator to resigned because it place a burden on the children and the system; remember, 32 or more children are placed in one class room with one teacher and if anyone thinks that a teacher can teach effectively all of those children with some of them have special needs; you are wrong. We all may be hurt, dissatisified with what has happen, but none of us lift one finger to help these teachers and children. At a minimum, you fine all of those involved who said they cheated one week pay and send them right back into those class room to teach those children; I am sure some of them had a good rapport with those kids. You don’t take out grievous jester toard Educator who was doing what they were told; and to get that understanding, you find out who told them to cheat! If you don’t do this, then you are no better than those who said they cheated. I do think that this is the legitimate thing to do since you are going to pay those who you put on administrative leave anyway. It is better putting them back in the classroom to earn that pay, if not, then its free pay the get. Dr Davis, you can be persistent on finding the facts as to who told them to cheat, but also be persistent in making those educator accountable by making them continue to work!
Dr NO
July 26th, 2011
12:10 pm
This is a GREAT example of ATL politics at its best!!
WATCH AND LEARN!!
Dr. John Trotter
July 26th, 2011
12:33 pm
So…let me get this straight…the Atlanta Board of Education was put on probation by that phony SACS group because of “in-fighting” among the board members? Hmm. I guess Mark Elgart, as I have observed and stated on many occasions, has a problem with democracy. I presume that he likes oligarchies and plutocracies. But, stay with me for a moment, OK?
So, Mark Elgart wants school board members to sit around, holding hands and singing “Kum Ba Ya,” right? Of courses this naiveté does not work on the Alpharetta City School where ole Markie lives. Nor does it work at the Georgia State Capitol where the General Assembly meets. Nor does this concept work in our U. S. Capitol building. But, Mark Elgart wants school boards — or, is this just a pretext for intervention with some school boards? — to sing nursery rhymes together?
Hey Mark, what about ole Cobb County where Glenn Brock and Chuck Clay hail from? I guess it’s O. K. for this school board to look and act like the Balkans. Ha! This is perhaps the most balkanized school board in Georgia! They fight continuously over school calendars. That’s like having fist fights over whether to use Dixie Cups at the PTA meetings. How silly! But, nevertheless, the Cobb County Board of Education is fractured and divided like the Hatfields and the McCoys. If you look up “school board in-fighting” on Wikipedia, you might find a photo of the Cobb County School Board!
Hypocrites! They are all Hypocrites! Ha! Haven’t I been writing for years that the three Biggest Educational Hypocrites in Georgia were Beverly Hall, Crawford Lewis, and Mark Elgart? Two down. One to go. Mark Elgart is pretentious and phony. Someone mentioned earlier about me being full of bluster! Ha! At least I don’t make pretentions of being “holier than thou.” I am your Beloved Bast_rd of Public Education. I call bull sh_t “bull sh_t” when I see it. SACS is pure “bull sh_t.”
Dr. John Trotter
July 26th, 2011
12:41 pm
By the way, why do school boards put up with the SACS hypocrisy? The Georgia Accrediting Commission (GAC) has been around since 1903. It is led by the venerable Dr. Carvin L. Brown. He has gravitas. Elgart? Phony as a three dollar bill, in my opinion. GAC qualifies for the HOPE Scholarship as well. GAC is headquartered out of Athens, Georgia. SACS, under the dubious “leadership” of Mark Elgart, has worn out its welcome here in Georgia.
Jack
July 26th, 2011
12:44 pm
Everyone was trying to protect Hall.
Dr NO
July 26th, 2011
12:59 pm
Oh yeah…SACS is to blame.
Go Panthers!
July 26th, 2011
1:18 pm
@APS Dedicated Teacher Still:
Prayers are with you for this school year and beyond. There are those of us who will always remember the legacy & impact of the old “Doug.” As I stated in a previous post, I did see a statistic somewhere in my research for my Masters that stated that Doug is THE public school, nationwide, that has graduated THE MOST legitimately-verifiable African-American millionaires in this country’s history. I wish I could find it to post here. Unfortunately, I’ve been unable to do so.
It’s up to those alums to bring back that tradition of excellence, and with their resources and talents, this is a possibility. It’s some of the other schools that have been eternally decimated that I am concerned about. Hall did indeed erase a great deal of what worked. In the coming years, just as you’ve stated, it will be easy to compare the stats of the changed high schools with their earlier incarnations and, on some level, empirically prove this fact. The unprovable and intangible fact is that a number of storied traditions that allowed a great many at-risk students to have so much pride in their APS school that they were positively peer-pressured into success were never understood by Hall and her staff to begin with, and when one doesn’t understand the value of a thing, they just throw it away to hide their own ignorance. As citizens and alums, we can make sure that these schools and their stories endure for future generations by keeping a lot of their traditions alive anyway.
Keep teaching and singing the old song. It might be the one thing that sends the new principal packing as his attitude indicates that he will never be a true Astro, no matter how long he works there.
anotherone
July 26th, 2011
1:26 pm
Kira Willis- I think you’re wrong about US DOE. When I first started teaching in south GA (1982) they handed me a Science book to teach from that said, ” Perhaps one day man may land on the moon.” ( Wasn’t that in 1969?) I have ALWAYS been comforted by the fact that SOMEBODY cares that children in south GA have access to the same curriculum as children in Atlanta, New York, California,etc.
Dr NO
July 26th, 2011
1:57 pm
anotherone
July 26th, 2011
1:26 pm
Oh yeah…thats believable. Got anymore as hilarious.
catlady
July 26th, 2011
2:01 pm
Re the ATL school board getting a reprieve until November: Anyone know the old children’s song about Little Rabbit Foo Foo? That’s what today’s decision reminds me of. They (ATL BOE) have had chance after chance, but they keep picking up the field mice and bopping them on the head.
APS Parent #2
July 26th, 2011
2:41 pm
Andrew Young’s recent comments on WSBTV have the reason why:
-The ABE members still have their offices;
-Drs. Hall and Augustine are not in jail;
-APS In-house Attorneys Veleter Myzeck and Sharon Pitts have not been disbarred;
-This whole mess ever happened….
He noted that “Atlanta has its own way of handling things” (or something to that effect). Andrew Young doesn’t think the Atlanta business community really played a role……which comments coupled along with another former mayor of Atlanta Shirley Franklin…..lend weight that Atlanta does have a way of handling things…..behind the scenes and under the table.
Atlanta’s locally elected officials including the ABE and the Mayor Reed should all be booted out of office. Come on parents, it is time for those of us who have children in the system to be real parents and stand up for our children’s futures.
We need to support the teachers not in the report and take back our schools from the business mafia.
APS Parent #2
July 26th, 2011
2:44 pm
We also need to take it back from SACS.
anotherone
July 26th, 2011
3:18 pm
Dr. No, I do! However, it’s about to storm here,so….maybe later.
East Cobb Parent
July 26th, 2011
3:53 pm
@ Dr. Trotter – you are right as always in regards to Cobb County, SACS, and Glen Brock and company. I wish someone would kick SACS to the curb and be done with it. If you want a good laugh, sign up for David Banks Grapevine. He’s still pushing balanced calendar because Cherokee County uses it and has such a wonderful school system. Hmmmm I guess he missed the fact that 29% of the schools failed to make AYP (that’s another issue)
I only hope, for the sake of the children, that you are wrong in regards to the new Super in Cobb. I’ll wait for that pig to fly.
gamom
July 26th, 2011
4:19 pm
just an observation – I doubt APS is the only district that violates open meetings laws or open records requests for that matter
Angel of God
July 26th, 2011
9:00 pm
At least, Dr. Davis is trying to fix the gangster school system. The problem with the Atlanta School Sytem is the stealing of money. I saw this first hand when I was fired from an elementary school because I tried to do the right thing. I tried to get help from 3 lawyers and they all lost my case ,one made up lies on me, another took my money and told me to drop my case and the other said that he believe what the principal said about me. I fought all the way to the Georgia U.S. Courts for justice. It seems like the Lord fought this battle in his own way and his own time. All the top officials of APS had personal motives and they did not include our children. All the cheaters need to be fired just as I was fired and walked out the door.
Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil
July 26th, 2011
10:41 pm
@Angel of God July 26th, 2011 9:00 pm
What goes around comes around. People reap what they sow. God is revealing the demons of the world. He will bring them all down.
Everyone who has wronged you will pay for what they have done. Just sit back and you will see them get what they deserve. They will all rot in HELL!!!
APS/APS
July 27th, 2011
11:25 am
Mr. Davis states he wants to change the APS culture but I don’t see that happening with all of these Hall leftovers all over the place starting at the CLL. I will continue to operate outside of the district as i don’t trust these folks I see him walking around with on a daily basis. I will use this blog and any other means to get information to him about the corrupt culture that is still in place as Hall put folk in place 30 deep. So it is as if she is still present daily.
Sharron Pitts was here every year of Hall’s tenure and is corrupt period. Why is she still here. I guest we are waiting for Millicent Few to out her soon in the court room. You just read that Joyce McCloud had submitted application on-line to follow Augustine to Texas. The crap never ends, the two of them were going down to Texas to perpetrate the same crimes committed in Atlanta on that small unaware school district. It’s crazy that these folks are being prosecuted faster before more damage is done to other schools. These gypsies don’t stop they multiply and keep moving.