Archive for the ‘Atlanta Public Schools’ Category

The Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal has produced one of those odd unions between Republican conservatives and Democratic liberals.

Members of both factions are calling for the head of Sam Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, one of many business leaders who supported ousted superintendent Beverly Hall throughout the investigation.

On Monday evening, state Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) upped the ante with a protest in downtown Atlanta – to argue that Williams’ defense of Hall will reflect on next year’s regional penny sales tax for rail and road projects.

At one point, in an e-mail, a Chamber executive suggested that the findings of an early investigation should be “finessed” past then-Gov. Sonny Perdue.

Williams is also treasurer of Citizens for Transportation Mobility, and will have a major hand in fund-raising for the campaign.

Williams has been out there defending himself. He gave two TV interviews last Friday – one to Channel 2 Action News. Williams …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Linking the APS cheating scandal to the transit tax vote »

Andrew Young, the former mayor and U.N. ambassador, thinks the Atlanta Public Schools system needs an honor code – and not just for students. From Mark Winne of Channel 2 Action News:

From the Channel 2 web site:

“The cheating speaks to the character, and that’s where the failure is,” Young says. “This is a time for us to decide what we want to do with our school system.”

Young told Winne he was casual friends with [former APS school superintendent Beverly] Hall, but never close to her. Young says Hall was too isolated in her position as superintendent, “but we’re the ones who isolated her.”

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Early this week, Monica Pearson of Channel 2 Action News popped up on the island of Maui to interrupt former school superintendent Beverly Hall’s Hawaiian vacation. On Wednesday, it was the turn of 11Alive’s Karyn Greer. She didn’t get much, either. From the 11 Alive web site:

Greer: I want to ask you, people are very, very upset back home. People were saying that you absolutely had …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Andrew Young says APS needs an honor code »

The temptation to write one’s own obituary is universal. But very few of us actually get the chance to do it – and at taxpayer expense, too.

Georgia’s political elite report receiving a manila envelope postmarked July 1 – prior to the release of the CRCT report — from Beverly Hall, written on Atlanta Public Schools stationery.

It was attached to an 11-page, glossy account of her years as Atlanta school chief, compiled by the APS communications department. Click here to see it.

From the cover letter:

“There are dark clouds and some storms surround us, but I am convinced that those matters will be dealt with appropriately.

“You can take pride in the fact that on the preliminary results of the 2011 CRCT, APS showed progress in 4/5 core subject areas; Mathematics, Reading, English/Language Arts and Social Studies. Science remained the same as in 2010.

Overall, the growth from 2000-2011 on these more rigorous assessments, given under the strictest security possible are …

Continue reading A last word from Beverly Hall, via the U.S. Postal Service »

Monica Pearson of Channel 2 Action News tracks down former Atlanta school superintendent Beverly Hall on the Hawaiian island of Maui:

- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider

For instant updates, follow me on Twitter, or connect with me on Facebook.

Continue reading Casually running into Beverly Hall on Maui »

Monica Pearson of Channel 2 Action News is conducting a cross-country search for the former superintendent of the scandal-ridden Atlanta Public School system:

Pearson might want to check in with former Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin, who said she called Hall after the report was released last week. Posted by USA Today via 11Alive:

“I called to say I was thinking about her, and I hoped she could relax and reflect,” Franklin said. “She said she was intending to do that. This is a really tough report to internalize.”

Franklin said Hall did not offer an apology to her during that conversation.

“I didn’t ask for an apology, and my conversation was short,” Franklin said. “I think she has appropriately apologized to the teachers, students and to the general public.”

Meanwhile, the AJC’s Politifact Georgia today takes a look at Franklin’s evaluation of Hall’s tenure as school superintendent.

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Cobb County has become the latest Republican-controlled bastion in metro Atlanta to …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: In search of Beverly Hall »

We don’t usually begin the day with video, but ever since the days of Henry Grady, Atlanta has always been more than sensitive when it comes to how outsiders perceive the Southern metropolis.

The Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal is drawing attention from every quarter. Here’s the heartburn that ABC News gave the Metro Chamber last night:

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State Rep. Ralph Long, D-Atlanta, on Wednesday held a news conference at the state Capitol to blame the APS mess on Mayor Kasim Reed, who as a state senator backed legislation that – Long maintains — strengthened the hand of the Atlanta school superintendent at the expense of the board of education.

Reed says the legislation was necessary to attract top-flight talent for the job of superintendent, and said human beings rather than legislation were to be blamed for the cheating scandal. Long and Reed have a history of disagreement stemming from the 2009 race for mayor.
The video from Aaron Diamant at Channel 2 Action News: