PSC investigator following up with those in CRCT report

By Terry Lewis (1157)
terry.lewis@albanyherald.com

As of Saturday, November 17, 2012
© Copyright 2013 Albany Herald

ALBANY, Ga. -- The Herald has learned that the Georgia Professional Standards Commission has an investigator in town and is conducting interviews with witnesses, teachers and administrators involved in the Dougherty School System's CRCT cheating investigation.

According to DCSS attorney Tommy Coleman, PSC Investigator John Grant has been in Albany since late Wednesday and will likely interview all 49 teachers and administrators named in December's CRCT report to Gov. Nathan Deal.

Grant is expected conduct interviews throughout the coming week.

Some 24 teachers and administrators faced local administrative tribunals beginning in August, and many accepted suspensions. Others were cleared and returned to work outright -- including Albany High School Principal Angela Shumate and Dougherty High Principal Jose Roquemore.

The Professional Standards Commission has responsibility for the preparation, certification and professional conduct of certified personnel employed in Georgia public schools.

After completing its local investigation, the PSC can accept the DCSS board's decisions or suspend or revoke teacher certifications.

Calls to Grant for comment were not immediately returned.

Roquemore reinstated as Dougherty Principal

Dougherty High School Principal Jose Roquemore, suspended in the turmoil of Dougerty County's CRCT probe, was reinstated as Dougherty's principal during the DCSS School Board's work session last Wednesday at Sylvester Road Elementary.

Roquemore was the principal at Morningside Elementary in 2009 when he was accused in the CRCT report of "directing teachers to alter grades and coercing or intimidating them."

He was scheduled to appear before a tribunal immediately after former Northside Principal Angela Shumate, but the case was dropped after the panel recommended she be rehired by the system.

At the time, school system attorney Flin Colemen said the Roquemore and Shumate cases were virtually identical, and he elected not to pursue the Dougherty principal's case because he expected the same outcome.

More like this story

Angela Shumate reinstated as Albany High principal ( October 29, 2012 )
PSC Suspends Monroe Principal Valerie Thomas for 90 Days in CRCT fallout ( March 12, 2013 )
Goseer, four DCSS principals to retire ( May 9, 2013 )
Tribunal recommends Northside Principal's contract be renewed ( August 21, 2012 )
PSC withdraws prinicipal's suspension pending hearing ( March 15, 2013 )

RedEric 7 months ago

Wow, you mean this might really get fixed? They had to make cheating and acceptance of cheating costly. Otherwise it can get so big it cannot be changed. It could become normal operation. It is good to see it is still considered a problem.

stc1993 7 months ago

The dumbing down of American schools continue.

FlunkyMonkey 7 months ago

AMEN

Bubbavet_rureel 7 months ago

What about the recent child molester sentence to life? Oh, I understand sorry. Keep beating a dead horse.

Sister_Ruby 7 months ago

Well if I had been on the jury I would have held out for the Death Penalty.

But to get to the basics of your question, AT LEAST SOMETHING HAPPENED TO THE GUILTY PERSON unlike the DCSS debacles.

DaneGlesak 7 months ago

Mr. Grant is one man. It would take a 12 man crew trained like Navy Seals to recon and then aggressively remove the problem but they are so dug in and so many people including those in high authority that it will never be solved. It would bring down too many and leave us with so little personnel the state would have to bring temporary people in just so we could finish the school year out.

FryarTuk 7 months ago

Gov. Haley Barbour's advice to GOP reorganization is the same adivice I would offer to State BOE - give the DCSS a good proctology exam.

waltspecht 7 months ago

Another valid investment which will produce another coverup. No, I don't like the way any of this went. Integrity certainly wasn't there, nor was there any leadership. Only threats and "Oh, I have to protect my job." No, I don't hate these people, only feel they should have been held to a higher order of the public trust. I really wouldn't care which Minority they claim, only that they let the students and community down and do not deserve to be Certified in any of their positions.

hotdog 7 months ago

According to some of you these teachers were guilty from the beginning....some were for saying to the children 'go over your answers' many teachers and parents say that when children say they are finished not to cheat, but to ensure kids not rush to finish just so they can be done with the exam or assignment...

waltspecht 7 months ago

A test Administrator is supposed to be perfectly neutral, showing no emotion nor making any suggestion. So yes, to even tell them to go over their answers was unethical. That is a learned skill they should have been taught prior to taking the test. Sorry if that doesn't seem fair to you, but it is an honest approach that should have been taken. For isn't it unfair to those students that didn't get reminded to go over their answers?

lynn227 7 months ago

At the end of each CRCT question, when read, it states, "Choose the best answer." This is highlighted to be read to the students. If there are 60 questions, it is said 60 times. Then at the end of testing, we are told to read the highlighted instructions, "You have time to go back over the section we have just completed. You may not go beyond this section. You may look over your work and make sure you have chosen the best possible answers."

Sister_Ruby 7 months ago

And the odds of correcting wrong-to-right answers at that level versus the overall population of kids that take the test across the USA was ONE IN FIFTEEN BILLION.

waltspecht 7 months ago

Next I am going to get told the questions and answers are all read to the students, and there is no voice inflection involved which might indicate a correct answer. Just how much is this system dumbing down our students? I knew of one individual student that used to volunteer to tutor students in the lower pie sections. I once asked her why. She said because they are taught the questions, and it gives me a heads up advantage when it comes to testing. Funny how she figured that one out isn't it?

Sister_Ruby 7 months ago

Unless there had been an eyewitness, that scenario you describe would not have been flagged in the erasure analysis because the lil' chilluns would have gotten the answer correct to start with. Oh, the situation was MUCH worse than what you describe, walt.

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