Two firsts

Atlanta educator prevails in tribunal

Angela Williamson, formerly of Dobbs Elementary School, is now the first teacher named in the CRCT scandal whom the APS tribunal has recommended be reinstated.

APS tribunal, for first time, backs firing a principal for test cheating

Selena Dukes-Walton, formerly of Slater Elementary School, is the first principal to go before the tribunal. Although no one contends she was personally involved in falsifying test results, the tribunal has recommended that she be fired for failing to prevent cheating.

I'm still thinking these tribunals would be a lot shorter if the so-called Blue Ribbon Commission hadn't done such a good job of tainting the evidence. But although I have nothing against Ms Dukes-Walton personally, I'm encouraged that "should have known" is almost as damning as "knew". It gives me hope that the same attitude will prevail with the people who really deserve to fry for gross malfeasance.

Six APS principals sue district to keep jobs
The district isn't planning to renew the expiring contracts of the six principals, all of whom were implicated in the 400-plus-page cheating investigation report released in July.
...The six principals have job protection rights earned while they were teachers. That means the district doesn't have to promise them another principal position, but it does have to guarantee them a teaching contract, or show why they should be fired from the district completely.

"Knew or should have known." Only two of these six are accused of actively cheating or telling teachers to cheat, but all of them satisfy the same criteria as Ms Dukes-Walton above: It was their job to ensure that this didn't happen in their schools, and they failed.