A local news channel in Atlanta reports that three Teach for America instructors confessed to participating in the district-wide cheating scandal that involved
“„“A handful of our teachers did confess to cheating and there are no excuses for that. It’s completely unacceptable,” said Metro Atlanta Teach For America Executive Director Kwame Griffith.
“„Teach For America’s ties to district leadership run deep, and some of its most ardent supporters fared the worst in the report.
“„Quotes from embattled Superintendent Beverly Hall, who brought Teach for America to the city, still adorn the program’s website.
“„Former Deputy Superintendent Kathy Augustine was a board member for the organization. The state’s report concluded Augustine, “knew or should have known cheating and other misconduct was occurring in schools in the APS system” and that Augustine made false statements about an investigation into cheating at Deerwood Academy.
“„Missy Ball-Rivner was a Teach For America participant in 2009 and is a University of Georgia graduate. Her classroom was flagged for having a high number of erasures in the state’s CRCT report, but she has never been implicated.
“„“I want to know why my classroom was flagged and who did those erasures and what happened,” Ball-Rivner, now pursuing a Ph.D., said. “My kids. I thought they did really well on the tests and I’m finding out that they didn’t do as well.”
“„Teach For America officials have no investigation into their teachers’ actions, have not offered them legal assistance and say that, so far, have no plans to change internal policy.