Educators - Guilty of Theft by Taking

So the verdict came down a few days ago in what is being called the “largest cheating scandal in the nation’s history”. On Wednesday, a jury of their peers found 11 of the 12 educators on trial guilty for the role they played in falsifying student’s responses on the state’s standardized test in Atlanta Public Schools.  They were all convicted of racketeering - a felony that carries up to 20 years in prison, and some were also convicted of making false statements, which can add more years to their sentence.  The verdict comes 7 years after an investigation by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that exposed the cheating. In a surprising move, the judge overseeing the case, Judge Jerry W. Baxter, ordered that the convicted be taken into custody immediately.  This came as a shock to both the defendants and their attorneys.  Apparently they were under the misguided impression that they would be allowed to remain free on bond until their sentencing. 

While the nearly 3-year investigation of about 44 Fulton county schools uncovered almost 200 employees, including principles and the district’s schools superintendent, in a conspiracy to inflate test scores on the state’s standardized test and misrepresent the achievement of Atlanta’s students for financial gain, only 35 would face a Fulton County grand jury. Among them was Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Beverly Hall, who passed away last month.  Of the 35 accused, 21 of the educators negotiated plea agreements; two defendants died before they could stand trial, leaving the 12 that ended up going to trial.  Of the 12 on trial only one, a special education teacher, was exonerated/acquitted. After giving the order for the defendants to be remanded into custody until sentencing, Judge Baxter said, “I don’t like to send anybody to jail.  It’s not one of the things I get a kick out of, but they have made their bed, and they’re going to have to lie in it, and it starts today.”

What I find interesting is the notion by some people that the judge’s order was too harsh. Let’s face it, they had tons of opportunity anytime during the past 3 years to come clean and save tax payers money by avoiding a trial. They knew they did something wrong regardless of how insignificant the role they may have played on the whole cheating scandal fiasco.  To perpetrate a facade of innocence expecting to get off knowing fully well that they were not speaks volume to their character. The sad thing about it is that these were the people in charge of educating our children.  Don’t think for one minute that this issue started or stopped with these 35 educators. I suspect that this has been going on for a while and is probably still going on in other counties, cities, or states. It just took this long for it to be uncovered here in Atlanta thanks to the reporter at the Atlanta Journal Constitution who first broke the story in 2009. Hopefully this verdict and upcoming sentencing will act as a deterrent and send a message to any future educator who would think to follow suit. The other sad thing is that the true victim of this seemingly victim-less crime are the students.

If I was to wager I would say this all came about – cheating scam - because the teachers failed to effectively teach their students the knowledge and skills they need to successfully pass the standardized test on their own.  Speaking from experience I know firsthand what it’s like to have a teacher assigned to a classroom who is not equipped to teach the children in her care. I remember when my son was in middle school and he was having difficulty understanding the basic algebra concept. I would spend time with him at nights after I came home from my own college classes helping him with his homework.  At one point after successfully showing him a shortcut on how to remember how to apply the greater than/lesser than symbol accurately, he said to me, “that was so easy mom. Why didn't Ms. “Smith” just say that?” He would go on to suggest that I would make a great teacher.  After getting his progress report, which was less than desirable, I made a trip to his school to inquire about this grades. I was told that his grades was a reflection of both his classroom test scores and classroom participation but I should not be overly concerned because he was mastering the CRTs (standardized test) which showed him as performing way above average and in some areas he was performing on high school level.  She went on to say that while his classroom grades were not good, he was obviously learning something because he was performing so well on the CRTs. Of course I took great pleasure in informing his teacher that she should not take credit for his performance on the CRTs because it was my hard work which was responsible for his success. Looking back I can honestly say that had it not been for my consistent involvement and commitment to work with my son at nights he may not have graduated from high school and he would not be as well rounded as he is today. But what about those other students who don’t have parents who are as committed or who have a reasonable expectation for their child’s educational need to be met at school? Who will ensure that they will learn what they need to learn in order to be able to master the states’ standardized test on their own?

The lesson here that we as parents should take away is that we cannot take it for granted that our children’s educational needs are being completely met at school. Apparently financial gain is far more tempting for educators to motivate them to drop the ball and resort to underhanded schemes to achieve the end result that hard work and perseverance use to accomplish. We as parents have a responsibility to ensure that our children are well rounded in and out of the classroom setting. Challenge them, ask questions and above all, don’t be afraid to hold our educators accountable for the job they are being paid to provide. Don’t put anything pass them. Truth be told, until this cheating story broke I had no idea this was even possible. Who would think that the very adults who are entrusted with teaching our children the building blocks they need to ensure they can succeed in life and who should be role models to them, would be found guilty of robbing them of the very educational experience they deserve.  

To that end I wholeheartedly agree with Judge Baxter’s decision to incarcerate those defendants and I hope they all get the 20-year sentence because they are just as guilty as a robber who was convicted of “theft by taking”. As far as I am concerned they took away those students’ right to be educated and equipped to pass the standardized test on their own resolve.  As such, the punishment should fit the crime.  I’m just saying. I got issues – what about you?)i(

Copyright © Todos Escribe. All Right Reserved

 The views and opinions shared here are by the Author and are the property of Todos Escribe.