ATLANTA – Former Atlanta educators embroiled in the public schools cheating scandal are starting to turn themselves in to authorities.
The 35 defendants, including Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Beverly Hall, gave a mandatory deadline to surrender at the Fulton County Jail by Tuesday.
It follows Fulton County Grand Jury indictments Friday against the suspects in connection with alleged cheating on standardized tests scores and covering up those accusations.
All the defendants face serious criminal charges, with the prospect of lengthy jail sentences if convicted.
Charges of conspiracy
The teachers, principals and administrators, are charged with Georgia RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) conspiracy. Other charges in the 65-count indictment include false statements and writings, false swearing, theft and influencing witnesses in connection with the alleged conspiracy to alter Criterion Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) scores.
A statement from the office of the Fulton County District Attorney said the defendants “conspired to either cheat, conceal cheating or retaliate against whistleblowers in an effort to bolster CRCT scores for the benefit of financial rewards associated with high test scores.”
According to early Tuesday morning reports, only a handful of educators have turned themselves in. So far, there’s been no sign of former APS Superintendent Beverly Hall.
Tameka Goodson, a former Kennedy Middle School teacher, turned herself in at the Fulton County Jail around 12:30 a.m. She is being held on a $200,000 bond.
Others listed in the indictment, including Donald Bullock, Theresia Copeland, Sandra Ward and Gregory Reid, also surrendered to police later in the day. Online jail records list the bonds for Bullock and Copeland at $1 million each. Some of the lawyers are openly criticizing the high bonds.
An investigation years in the making
The grand jury recommended a bond of $7.5 million for Beverly Hall. If convicted, she faces up to 45 years in prison.
The District Attorney’s 21-month criminal investigation follows a 2011 probe initiated by the Governor’s Office into testing irregularities and cheating allegations on 2008 – 2009 CRCT exams in dozens of Atlanta Public Elementary Schools.
The alleged activity dates back to as early as 2005 and took place in 58 of the Atlanta Public Schools.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s team of investigative reporters broke the story about suspicious standardized test scores and possible cheating in Atlanta Public Schools in 2008.
“We produced computer analysis which showed very suspicious patterns in the changes in scores,” Kevin G. Riley, editor of the AJC, told theGrio. “This story would never have come to light if it wasn’t for our reporting.”
The big question is whether this scandal is an isolated problem or a microcosm of a system that places too much emphasis on standardized testing, especially in disadvantaged or failing schools.
Is testing to blame?
Riley says the pressure to improve scores is enormous and subsequent AJC reporting “found suspicious test scores across the country. The computer analysis of changes doesn’t prove cheating but the scores need to be looked at.”
Critics say the No Child Left Behind education law puts undue focus on test results.
The scandal has rocked the school system in Atlanta. Parents are outraged and it has robbed tens of thousands of children an honest evaluation of their abilities.
Jerome Dorn, a disabled veteran, has a grandson who previously attended Deerwood Academy elementary school in south Atlanta. The school’s assistant principle, Tabeeka Jordan, is facing charges of racketeering, false statements and theft by taking.
“I know Tabeeka very well,” said Dorn, who was a volunteer at Deerwood. “I personally think she’s an excellent educator. I am sad and shocked that something like this could have happened.”
African-Americans are suspected
The majority, if not all, of the educators implicated are African-American, including Hall. Many of the schools impacted are in urban, inner-city, minority neighborhoods.
The district’s high test scores after Hall’s arrival at APS propelled Hall’s status to National Superintendent of the Year, won her more than $500,000 in performance bonuses and reaped in nearly $1 million in federal funds for Atlanta schools.
Atlanta native Sidmel Estes, who was an honors graduate of APS and Northwestern’s School of Journalism, said, “I am quite disappointed and disturbed by what is happening in the Atlanta Public School system.”
Estes comes from a family of esteemed African-American educators. Both her parents were lifelong employees of APS.
Her mother, Emellen Mitchell Estes, served for almost 40 years, including 20 years as the founding principal at M. Agnes Jones School. Her father, Dr. Sidney Harrison Estes, was a teacher, principal and later assistant superintendent of APS for many years. Her brother, Chris Estes, has been a principal for many years.
“They all believed in excellence and performance and nothing like this would have happened under their watch,” said Estes, a veteran journalist and adjunct professor of journalism at Clark Atlanta University. “I don’t understand why there has been such a shift in our priorities.”
“They are hiring people who are interested in increasing their salaries and test scores to increase their salaries, rather than educating our children.”
Follow Kunbi Tinuoye on Twitter at @Kunbiti