DeSoto ISD - will they fire their new superintendent on her first day?? (Dallas: condo)

[FarNorthDallas]

Former APS leader may lose new job amid scandal | 11alive.com

Not sure if y'all are following what happened in the Atlanta Public Schools - massive systemic cheating on their yearly high stakes test (shocked I tell ya, I'm just shocked) and now the 2nd in charge of Atlanta schools will start as the new super in DeSoto ISD tomorrow - if they don't fire her immediately.

CRCT Cheating | ajc.com

The investigation showed organized cheating - teachers and principals changing answer sheets, looking at the tests in advance, giving students the right answer -in more than half of the schools. This lady's name comes up in the report. It said she had to know what was happening and if you read the report - she absolutely had to know it was going on. Scores were going up NINE standard deviations in 1 year in some cases - if not more.

The district and the schools had a culture of fear and intimidation, as the pressure to improve scores led to employees cheating. Sounds like a lovely place to work.

This is what happens when you have high stakes testing. And we know cheating happens on the TAKS test.

Anyway, DeSoto ISD would be crazy to keep this woman Kathy Augustine on the job.

[Philip T]

Dunno.

Might improve Test Scores, yunno.

Don't even know why we continue to pretend we care, anymore.

The same crooks that were ripping off Bond Money from Dallas ISD was hired to run the Bond Program in Atlanta.

Anymore we just do crop rotation.

[Macbeth2003]

Yep. Lets face it, no one cares about education, just test results. Not even test accuracy, just test results.
First thing they look at when deciding what teachers/principals/adminstrators to hire and fire, and first thing parents ask about. "Is this school exemplary?"

No one cares about anything else anymore.

[loves2read]

While I agree that certain school officials--teachers, admin staff--and district staff--were probably involved in this directly or indirectly
to issue a statement that says someone either "knew or should have know" that illegal activities were occurring and thus gave tacit approval (condoned) what was happening--
is just too broad a brush to wipe over someone's career like that--

you have to consider that the governor's office may have very strong political reasons to try to implicate as many people involved in the school district as possible--making it seem that he is doing something positive to "root out" the troublemakers and "improve" education

As I have read the articles this collusion happened over two years ago and all the guilty parties have not been "brought to book" so to speak--and the investigation is on-going--

BUT at this time there is no DIRECT evidence that shows this woman WAS involved in what was going on--

just because you work in a district does not mean that you automatically know or are involved in every event that happens--especially on different campuses--
the Dallas story says that the woman has been forthright about what was happening in Atlanta to the DeSoto board--

to fire her without PROOF that she was involved in either committing the testing illegalities or covering them up is going to open the DeSoto board to a lawsuit by her

they need to think about what they are doing before terminating her contract--which would be a real strike against her professionally--when so far NO evidence has been shows to prove that we is implicated in this scandal--

remember "plausible deniability"--Bush and Cheney both clamined in about not knowing what they were doing when they "outed" Valarie Plame to get back at her husband--

this woman probably has even MORE plausible deniability--


I think the governor is trying to smear as many people as possible with accusations to make it seem like

[Pete53FR]

Cheaters are like liars they will do it again. It appears that not only is this woman a cheater she is also lying about it.

I believe that the school is well within their rights to not hire her after all we live in Texas where workers have few rights at all.

[loves2read]

this woman was offered a contract--she was not hired like an office worker off Craigs List or someone at McDonald's--
her contract specifies her salary, benefits, and other aspects of her job performance

if DeSoto's board voids that contract without proof--and at this time there IS no proof that this woman did or condoned any of these illegal testing actions--
then what the board does is basically going to get them in trouble

AND what the governor of Georgia said about her could be consider libel because there is no proof at this time--and if she is fired because of what his office put out--then that is actionable it would seem to me

proof and opinion are two entirely different items--and one does not substitute for the other no matter how strong the opinion might be--

[1957TabbyCat]

Originally Posted by Pete53FR

Cheaters are like liars they will do it again. It appears that not only is this woman a cheater she is also lying about it.

I believe that the school is well within their rights to not hire her after all we live in Texas where workers have few rights at all.

Show her the way out the door, but I bet the board caves. Your likely right on her character.

Chances are she likely would belong as a shift leader at a burger joint or department head at Walmart on the night shift.

[loves2read]

this is the Texas I have come to dread--
people who ignore facts in place of opinions and emotional rants
what about the phrase "NO EVIDENCE" fails to compute?

[FarNorthDallas]

Did you read the report, loves2read? It's pretty bad.

[Twincam666]

Of course they did not, she's a woman, she's black and Jesse Jackson would not have liked it!

So they'll pay her to do nothing but screw our children over