Investigator fires back at APS report

Submitted by Ben Mayer on Friday, July 22nd, 11:00 am

ATLANTA -- An attorney is firing back at claims her investigation into cheating at one Atlanta school was "watered down" and changed over and over to meet the demands of top district brass.

Two years before the state report on cheating in Atlanta schools came out, Penn Payne was hired by Atlanta Public Schools to investigate Deerwood Academy for testing irregularities.

COMPLETE COVERAGE: Atlanta Public Schools CRCT Investigation
RELATED: Read the Complete Report from the Governor's Special Investigators

The question now is was her report doctored and by whom?

An erasure analysis found a high number of wrong-to-right changes on the school's CRCT exams -- nearly one in every two classrooms.

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Dozens of educators step down amid cheating scandal

Submitted by 11Alive News Staff

Friday, July 22nd, 2011, 9:30am

Dozens of educators step down amid cheating scandal

ATLANTA -- Interim Superintent Erroll Davis says the number of teachers and principals who have either resigned or retired in the wake of the CRCT cheating scandal is higher than previously thought.

"The number we are dealing with now is down to 130s, 140s," Davis told parents during a townhall meeting at Garden Hills Elementary in Buckhead Thursday night.

He had given the 178 teachers, principals and staff implicated in the state's cheating investigation until 5 p.m. Wednesday to resign or face termination.

COMPLETE COVERAGE: CRCT Cheating Investigation

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LOCAL PROFILE: Moneylicious, a manual to finance for Generation Y

Submitted by Eden Godbee, Where U Live Producer

Thursday, July 21st, 2011, 6:48pm

L5P -- Learn how to maximize your income with this "moneylicious" manual. Local author, Ornella Grosz tells us how to "live large" with limited funds.

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Atlanta named 20th 'most walkable' city in nation

Submitted by Atlanta Busines... on Thursday, July 21st, 4:24 pm

ATLANTA -- Atlanta is in the upper half on a list of the nation's 50 largest cities in terms of walkability, according to Walk Score, a website that promotes walkable neighborhoods.

Atlanta ranks No. 20 on the 2011 list with a walkability score of 52.9.

To come up with the score, Walk Score measures walkability of individual addresses based on proximity to nearby amenities using U.S. Census Bureau data. The score is for the city, not the entire metro area.

Atlanta's most walkable neighborhoods are Atkins Park, Sweet Auburn and Downtown. Atlanta's least walkable neighborhoods are Wildwood Forest, Niskey Lake and Fairway Acres.

Click here to see a full breakdown of walkability by neighborhood within Atlanta.

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DISNEY CHANNEL'S FIRST NATIONAL DANCE TALENT SEARCH

Submitted by thebluebirdpatch.com, Liza Cardona

Thursday, July 21st, 2011, 1:09pm

DISNEY CHANNEL'S FIRST NATIONAL DANCE TALENT SEARCH COMES TO MALL OF GEORGIA SAT JULY 23

Make Your Mark: Ultimate Dance Off – 'Shake It Up' edition," Disney Channel's first national dance talent search just for kids, hosted by AT&T U-verse, will make its mark at Mall of Georgia in Buford, Georgia. Kids ages 8-16, with the consent of a parent, will have the opportunity to show off their dance skills and record a dance video onsite for online submission for a chance to compete in a dance off to air on Disney Channel in October 2011. The grand prize includes a special guest dance spot on "Shake It Up" plus the chance to meet the cast. Fans and dance enthusiasts are invited to come down and participate in a Q&A with Roshon Fegan.

READ THE FULL DETAILS AT http://www.thebluebirdpatch.com/2011/07/disney-channels-first-national-dance.html

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Elite Teach For America thrust into APS scandal

Submitted by Ben Mayer on Thursday, July 21st, 10:39 am

ATLANTA -- Teach For America teachers are recruited from the best Ivy League, private and state schools in the nation. They forego well-paying jobs to spend two years working in some of the country's most challenging school districts.

Even their ranks were not immune from the worst school cheating scandal in U.S. history.

Three Teach For America educators in Atlanta schools have confessed to cheating to state investigators and more were implicated.

"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.

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Jobless rate rises in June

Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Thursday, July 21st, 2011, 10:20am

ATLANTA -- Georgia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 9.9 percent in June.

That's up one-tenth of a percentage point from a revised 9.8 percent in May, according to state labor commissioner Mark Butler.

"The unemployment rate inched up slightly because of normal seasonal factors, primarily involving the end of the school year," Butler said. "Non-contract school workers such as bus drivers, lunchroom and janitorial workers are usually laid off during the summer school break."

The loss of 12,400 seasonal jobs in state and local public school systems accounted for the bulk of the 14,600 payroll jobs lost throughout the state.

"Also, new graduates began searching for jobs and are counted as unemployed while doing so," Butler said.

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