Atlanta schools took a big blow this week after 3 dozen former educators and the ex-superintendent were indicted in court after a cheating scandal.
Beverly Hall went to court to face charges of racketeering, false statements and theft since investigators found some of her bonuses were involved with students’ test scores.
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While she has denied knowing about the cheating, she retired just days before a state probe was released in 2011, according to the Huffington Post.
One of the students’ mothers said of the situation:
“I have a 15-year-old now who is behind in achieving her goal of becoming what she wants to be when she graduates. It’s been hard trying to help her catch up.”
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The site reports:
The criminal investigation lasted 21 months and the allegations date back to 2005. In addition to Hall, 34 people were indicted: four high-level administrators, six principals; two assistant principals; six testing coordinators; 14 teachers; a school improvement specialist and a school secretary.
All of the people named in the indictment face conspiracy charges. Other charges in the 65-count indictment include false statements and writings, false swearing, theft and influencing witnesses.
The investigation involved at least 50 schools as well as hundreds of interviews with school administrators, staff, parents and students. The district has about 50,000 students.
UGH!
This sounds like a big, messy scandal that we hope gets cleared up soon!
