And now it will really get messy

APS testing coordinator accused of organizing cheating | ajc.com
During the first day Friday of what is expected to be a two-day tribunal, former and current teachers at Atlanta's Usher Elementary School pointed a collective finger of blame at Donald Bullock Friday as the mastermind behind test cheating at that school.
At Usher Elementary, Bullock, according to testimony, collected completed tests then gave them back to some teachers so they could change wrong answers to right. Some teachers said Bullock pressured them to cheat. Others said they refused to cooperate.

This is exactly what I feared had to happen. Teachers who were threatened with vaguely-defined, career-ending consequences have to testify, publicly and by name, to the actions of a testing coordinator. Three named teachers share similar stories of a man who made it clear what was expected of them. The coordinator's lawyer says, of course, that his client did nothing wrong.

Were I a wagering man, I would bet money that when his turn to speak comes, he will claim that he, too, was a victim pressured to achieve the numbers on which someone else's bonus depended. That may even be true.

"I was approached and asked if I wanted to make sure that my children did well," Smith said, pausing frequently to compose herself or wipe away tears. "I didn't really answer. And then (Bullock) was there with my tests. He knew a lot about me. He kind of used that as leverage. He said I could be replaced. I was a non-tenured teacher."

...When the cheating scandal broke and APS's Blue Ribbon panel investigators asked teachers about cheating, Smith said she lied to them. "I didn't want to get anyone in trouble," she said. "I thought if I denied everything, it would just go away."

That's going to be a popular refrain.

Maybe someone has been reading this blog: At last, actual numbers! Thanks, AJC!

• Number of final resignations/retirements that have been received since late February: 24 
• Number of tribunal hearings that have been completed: 2 
• Number of letters sent to educators outlining charges and the district’s intent to terminate: 34 
• Number of hearings still scheduled: 21 
• Number of employees who have resigned or retired since receiving charge letters: 11 
• Number of employees recommended for termination but not yet acted upon by the school board: 1 
• Number of employees whose whose resignation is pending: 1 
• Number of employees who declared an intent to retire but not yet made it official: 1 

They also face possible sanctions from the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, the agency that licenses teachers. On Thursday, The PSC recommended 19 revocations of licenses and 48 suspensions. One suspension was for one year, 47 were for two years.

The bullet points total 95 educators. The PSC has revoked or suspended the credentials of 83 educators: I assume the two lists overlap, which leaves 12 unaccounted for. The PSC, APS and the District Attorney each have a role to play here, and action from one doesn't preclude action by either or both of the other two. Nor do I know how this compares with my own scorecard, above.

Still looking for the Dirty Half-Dozen, though. Two of them may be out of reach, but I want to see the heads of the other four roll, at least as publicly as the teachers they terrorized into being unwilling co-conspirators.

See also: Teacher lashes out against accused APS test coordinator | wsbtv.com