Atlanta school teachers ‘stole the hopes and dreams of innocent kids’

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Hall, who retired under a cloud of suspicion in 2011, faces a plethora of charges. Prosecutors recommended a $7.5 million bond. She could face up to 45 years in prison. To onlookers, that may seem extreme. For Atlanta parents struggling to provide health and balance for our children, it sends exactly the right message.

A child I knew to be struggling academically was bringing home “solid Bs,” despite my efforts to goad her into the classroom on a daily basis. I did everything except sit behind her in class. My protests, and those of other parents, were met with reassurance and later arm-folded silence laced with resentment.

Ultimately, after a torrent of pressure from reporters — including repeatedly unanswered phone messages and Freedom of Information Act requests by the Atlanta Journal Constitution — the case brought together an unlikely coalition of Georgia civic and business leaders. Two republican governors, a former attorney general, a popular big city mayor with close ties to the Obama administration and a multi-termed, dogged county prosecutor stood shoulder-to-shoulder.

Among them was Richard (Dick) Hyde, a tough-as-nails former detective turned private investigator. Hyde, known for his no-nonsense style, spent years chasing down every breadcrumb of evidence. Former corrupt judges, drug dealers and white-collar criminals are certainly sorry they ever met him. I had the pleasure of spending time with Hyde when I helped re-open the Atlanta Child Murders case for a CNN documentary. I knew him, by reputation, from the countless ethics investigations he has led. He is among the most compassionate people I have ever met and, in my opinion, the straightest of straight-shots. If the truth is out there, Dick Hyde will find it. If he knocks on your door and flashes his badge in your peephole, you should answer.

It was Hyde who convinced Witness #1, a third-grade teacher in southwest Atlanta, to come forward. She had been one of “The Chosen”, a group of seven teachers and principal staff at Venetian Hills Elementary School who sequestered themselves in windowless rooms and corrected the answers on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). That instructor hid an electronic wire on her person for weeks to record the conversations of her colleagues. According to the investigative and prosecution team, the audio renderings are damning.

In those after school hours, a box of Just Basics pink rubber erasers were weaponized. Administrators stood guard at classroom doors while those under their charge effectively gunned down and maimed the collective futures of thousands of, by and large, black and economically disadvantaged public school children. Of the 100 schools in the Atlanta system, 58 of them were impacted by the cheating scandal. All of them are located disproportionately African-American communities.

The grand irony? Nearly all of the indicted educators are black.

I was among a group of business leaders and community advocates that welcomed Hall to our city. During her decade long tenure, Atlanta students often “out-tested” our suburban neighbors on state tests despite economic disparities. Even so, we watched uneasily as she humiliated “low performers” during rallies at the Georgia Dome. Many of us wondered aloud about her take-no-prisoners, by-any-means necessary management style, her refusal to answer public questions without a screener and the high dollar security detail more befitting of a head of state. She fired 90 percent of her district principals when they did not meet testing performance goals. Tempers flared among parents, while the business community applauded her administration’s commitment to “accountability.”

When the local teacher’s union blew the whistle in 2005, nobody listened. Hall was getting results. Test scores were at an all-time high. In 2009, the American Association of School Administrators named Hall “superintendent of the year”. She was effectively untouchable.

Today, Hall stands accused of helming a criminal enterprise — one that victimized thousands of children from underserved communities. As I sat staring at the television watching her walk into Rice Street this evening, I recalled the spate of effusive, self-congratulatory public letters Hall issued over the years. Looking back, knowingly or not, she misrepresented the academic performance of the 52,000 children — including mine — ho she was charged to serve. Under Georgia law, it does not matter if she did not know. What matters is she fostered an environment that fermented criminal activity and that she should have known. In this case, malfeasance is criminal.

Next: high stakes testing a ‘minefield’, but lack of integrity to blame