• Atlanta educators begin surrendering in school cheating scandal

    David Goldman/AP

    Atlanta Public Schools defendant Sandra Ward, right, turns herself in at the Fulton County Jail accompanied by her attorney Robbin Shipp on April 2 in Atlanta.

    By David Beasley, Reuters

    Former educators indicted in a cheating scandal that has rocked Atlanta's public school system began turning themselves in to authorities on Tuesday, ahead of a deadline to surrender voluntarily.


    At least three of the 35 former Atlanta public school educators indicted by a grand jury last week had reported to the Fulton County jail by mid-morning, according to jail records.

    They face charges including racketeering and making false statements for allegedly conspiring to alter and improve standardized test scores to obtain cash bonuses, according to prosecutors.

    Atlanta educators accused in the cheating scandal have begun to turn themselves in to face allegations they changed students test scores to earn bonuses. NBC's Thanh Truong reports.

    Former Atlanta School Superintendent Beverly Hall was among the former teachers, principals and administrators named in the 65-count indictment returned on Friday. She was not among the first defendants who turned themselves in.

    All of the defendants have been given a Tuesday deadline by the Fulton County district attorney's office to surrender or face arrest in their homes or workplaces.

    Hall was named National Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators in 2009, the same year prosecutors contend widespread cheating took place.

    She received a $78,000 bonus that year from the school system for improving its test scores, prosecutors said.

    "The money she received, we are alleging, was ill gotten and it was theft," Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said at a news conference on Friday.

    Related:

    School cheating investigation puts Atlanta teachers, principals at center of scandal

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  • Principal at center of Atlanta test-cheating scandal resigns, report says

    By msnbc.com staff

    A central figure in the Atlanta Public Schools’ test-cheating scandal has resigned, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Wednesday.


    According to the newspaper, investigators said Christopher Waller, former principal at Parks Middle School, played a key role in the cheating over four years at the school.

    State officials launched investigations into allegations of widespread test-cheating in Atlanta Public Schools after the Journal-Constitution’s reports in 2008 and 2009 called to question gains in the Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Test.

    Officials with the school system issued an intent-to-fire letter last week, according to the Journal-Constitution.

    Waller cited personal reasons for his departure, the Journal-Constitution reported.

    “I've enjoyed being a principal in Atlanta Public Schools, working with students, parents, my fellow teachers and administrators," Waller said in a statement, the Journal-Constitution reported. "I appreciate the guidance and kindness offered [to] me during my time with the system."

    Rock Center's Harry Smith investigates the largest cheating scandal to ever hit America's public schools. Atlanta Public Schools, once praised for soaring test scores, has come under fire after a 10-month investigation revealed widespread cheating by teachers on standardized testing. Dr. Beverly Hall, the former superintendent of Atlanta's public schools, speaks in her first national television interview.

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