A Letter from Superintendent Davis (Atlanta: credit, public schools, college)

[cwlawrence]

Dear Community Member,

Tuesday we received the state CRCT investigatory report from Governor Nathan Deal. After reviewing the report findings, I am outraged that some of our employees short changed our students by manipulating test data on the 2009 CRCT. I am angered that our students and parents were misled by faulty test scores that misrepresented students’ proficiency, thus depriving them of the support that they needed and deserved. I am appalled by the total failure of leadership across all levels. We - students, parents, employees and community members - have all been duped. Providing a quality education to all of our students is the only priority of APS, and anyone who has compromised our ability to do so will be dealt with swiftly and severely.

The findings in the report are sobering. Based on the findings of the report, state investigators uncovered cheating in 44 of the 56 schools that were examined. Thirty eight principals of 56 examined schools were found to be responsible for or directly involved in cheating. In total, 178 teachers and principals were found to have cheated. This is unacceptable, and I have absolutely no tolerance for people who commit these types of acts. I assure you that all individuals that have brought discredit upon this wonderful system will be held accountable.

To address the issues outlined in the report, I will initiate a number of changes in our organization. Action will be initiated against all employees identified as committing testing improprieties. I will also mandate that all employees successfully complete annual ethics training. I am moving the APS Office of Internal Resolution (OIR) from Human Resources to Internal Audits, which reports directly to the Atlanta Board of Education. I am requiring the Office of Research, Planning and Accountability (RPA) to set trigger points that will result in automatic investigations of schools whose test scores increase by a larger-than-normal percentage.

A climate survey will be conducted to periodically assess the organizational culture of our schools and departments. This will be an opportunity for you to point out any concerns you have with this system. Finally, the district’s Department of Strategy and Development will make customer service and student support key measures on the balanced scorecard to ensure that we are responsive to the students and parents that we serve. These actions are only a few of the changes that I will make. I plan to issue a detailed action plan in response to the state CRCT investigation report that will be based on an extensive and thorough review of the findings.

Education is a special calling for those who truly care about children and the importance of providing them with a solid, well-rounded education. Cheating hurts children because it obscures a student’s real academic standing, thus depriving some students of the additional instruction and learning support they may need to succeed in school, college and life. I do not accept the contention that setting challenging academic goals that some may have believed were too difficult to reach caused educators to cheat. We expect our employees to perform at the highest levels within defined ethical, financial, legal and environmental boundaries. Clearly, the behavior of some employees as described in the state report crosses those boundaries.

Rest assured that we will correct any remaining deficiencies in the testing area, while moving forward with our existing urban education reform programs and implementing others as required so that we can foster genuine student academic achievement throughout the district.

Thank you for your support and understanding as we deal with the difficult issues before us. Please join me in supporting our students, our staff and our school board as we work to provide the best education possible for Atlanta’s children.


Sincerely,

Erroll B. Davis, Jr.

Interim Superintendent

Atlanta Public Schools

[Caleb Longstreet]

Originally Posted by cwlawrence

Dear Community Member,

Tuesday we received the state CRCT investigatory report from Governor Nathan Deal. After reviewing the report findings, I am outraged that some of our employees short changed our students by manipulating test data on the 2009 CRCT. I am angered that our students and parents were misled by faulty test scores that misrepresented students’ proficiency, thus depriving them of the support that they needed and deserved. I am appalled by the total failure of leadership across all levels. We - students, parents, employees and community members - have all been duped. Providing a quality education to all of our students is the only priority of APS, and anyone who has compromised our ability to do so will be dealt with swiftly and severely.

The findings in the report are sobering. Based on the findings of the report, state investigators uncovered cheating in 44 of the 56 schools that were examined. Thirty eight principals of 56 examined schools were found to be responsible for or directly involved in cheating. In total, 178 teachers and principals were found to have cheated. This is unacceptable, and I have absolutely no tolerance for people who commit these types of acts. I assure you that all individuals that have brought discredit upon this wonderful system will be held accountable.

To address the issues outlined in the report, I will initiate a number of changes in our organization. Action will be initiated against all employees identified as committing testing improprieties. I will also mandate that all employees successfully complete annual ethics training. I am moving the APS Office of Internal Resolution (OIR) from Human Resources to Internal Audits, which reports directly to the Atlanta Board of Education. I am requiring the Office of Research, Planning and Accountability (RPA) to set trigger points that will result in automatic investigations of schools whose test scores increase by a larger-than-normal percentage.

A climate survey will be conducted to periodically assess the organizational culture of our schools and departments. This will be an opportunity for you to point out any concerns you have with this system. Finally, the district’s Department of Strategy and Development will make customer service and student support key measures on the balanced scorecard to ensure that we are responsive to the students and parents that we serve. These actions are only a few of the changes that I will make. I plan to issue a detailed action plan in response to the state CRCT investigation report that will be based on an extensive and thorough review of the findings.

Education is a special calling for those who truly care about children and the importance of providing them with a solid, well-rounded education. Cheating hurts children because it obscures a student’s real academic standing, thus depriving some students of the additional instruction and learning support they may need to succeed in school, college and life. I do not accept the contention that setting challenging academic goals that some may have believed were too difficult to reach caused educators to cheat. We expect our employees to perform at the highest levels within defined ethical, financial, legal and environmental boundaries. Clearly, the behavior of some employees as described in the state report crosses those boundaries.

Rest assured that we will correct any remaining deficiencies in the testing area, while moving forward with our existing urban education reform programs and implementing others as required so that we can foster genuine student academic achievement throughout the district.

Thank you for your support and understanding as we deal with the difficult issues before us. Please join me in supporting our students, our staff and our school board as we work to provide the best education possible for Atlanta’s children.


Sincerely,

Erroll B. Davis, Jr.

Interim Superintendent

Atlanta Public Schools

Erroll,

It's credible to see you have come out and give a verbal/written stance. However, actions always speak louder than words. To that end, I would like to see you personally become involved in the accountability for those that basically drilled the system for personal gain. Specifically, those listed and pictured in the recent AJC copy.

In other words, I can think of NO better way to show accountability than to recover the pensions and pending pensions of those responsible for these actions. Afterall, in the private sector most of us would face a similar course of action if we had abused a corporate trust to this level. Heck, even some Enron Management "got theirs" in the end? To the outsider, most see the school system as nothing more than a civil service job with a envied pension who practice education part time. Similar to GM, a pension company who makes cars. REMOVE their ill-gotten gains.....christ, chaffeurs? Limo's? Right up there with Kaseem Reed and his need for Escalades....IT's OVER THE TOP and it's a display of ego.....and we are to trust them to be the stewards of education?

Anything short of this type of action will simply reinforce what most folks suspect happens with any taxpayer dole. Long on pension, short on performance. I'm willing to bet that after the cameras fade and the noise goes away, every single one of them will be in line to receive their grand prize, the teachers pension, sooner or later. Let's see if you can step up, show some real leadership, and hold those accountable for what they have done.

I realize that this leaves you conflicted as I/we are asking for you to pursue those that you are close to. Tough call. However, try to see it from our eyes. Credibility is everything. Show some. Your statement is a start. Now, let's see you put some teeth into the situation otherwise, your statement(s) will be viewed as more of the same, and we will have as little hope of you changing anything in a system that is obviously lacking in oversight and ethics.

Good luck, we are counting on AND watching you.

[cityfilms]

I bet you a million bucks the teachers/principles who "cheated" had to look up the answers because they didn't know them themselves.

[Caleb Longstreet]

Originally Posted by cityfilms

I bet you a million bucks the teachers/principles who "cheated" had to look up the answers because they didn't know them themselves.

Hey, when Foxworthy's latest show runs dry, he can shift to a new one....."Are you smarter than a Atlanta Public School Administrator?" If they film it in Atlanta proper, they could come up with a host of new questions....

1) How many layers of management does APS need to run a school system?
2) Did they use complex derivatives, "calls","puts", or Boolean Algebra to come up with the final test results?
3) Is there a time when cheating is okay?
4) Do school administrators walk the walk or just talk the talk?
5) If an administrator gets caught cheating, do they still get a pension?
6) When is it okay to lie AND cheat?
7) Did they return ALL their books or do we just charge them anyway?
8) If they resign, do they get to keep the chaffeur and limo?
9) Did they get a detention? Suspension? Expulsion? or 2nd chance for the troubled, challenged, and inane?
10) Will they name a school after them?

Should be a hoot....