A fifth grade teacher allegedly helped students cheat because they were "dumb as hell."
Atlanta math teacher Shayla Smith appeared before a three-person test-cheating tribunal on Monday. The tribunal endorsed her termination to the school board of Dobbs Elementary after an hour of deliberation. The school board has not yet voted on whether Smith's contract will be renewed.
The Atlanta Public School system enlisted the tribunal to investigate prevalent cheating. Approximately 180 teachers stand accused of dishonesty.
Smith's hearing included testimonies from a former student and a colleague.
Schajuan Jones, Smith's fellow instructor, taught fourth grade near Smith's classroom. One day Smith proctored an exam for another teacher. Afterward, Jones claimed to have heard Smith admit to deceit, while voicing unsavory opinions of the children.
"The words were, 'I had to give your kids, or your students, the answers because they're dumb as hell,'" Jones told the tribunal. She claims she didn't speak out earlier because she feared reproof or reprisal from the principal.
Both women admitted to not getting along. During the hearing, Smith accused Jones of being a liar.
The student claimed that Smith gave her and other students answers to a test in the summer of 2010. Smith allegedly pointed to the correct answers throughout the exam, according to the unidentified girl, who is now in the eighth grade.
But the girl's testimony wasn't air tight. She also said the exam lasted for several days but Smith maintained it was only one day. A testing expert sided with Smith on this point, reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Along with giving students answers, Smith has also been accused of changing answers after collecting the tests. The exams' many erasure marks show that someone changed the answers from wrong to correct, said Superintendent Erroll Davis.
Although this is not hard evidence that Smith altered the students' responses, Davis does not trust that Smith will proctor future tests with honesty, according to WSBTV.
The Atlanta Public School system enlisted the tribunal to investigate prevalent cheating. Approximately 180 teachers stand accused of dishonesty.
Smith's hearing included testimonies from a former student and a colleague.
Schajuan Jones, Smith's fellow instructor, taught fourth grade near Smith's classroom. One day Smith proctored an exam for another teacher. Afterward, Jones claimed to have heard Smith admit to deceit, while voicing unsavory opinions of the children.
"The words were, 'I had to give your kids, or your students, the answers because they're dumb as hell,'" Jones told the tribunal. She claims she didn't speak out earlier because she feared reproof or reprisal from the principal.
Both women admitted to not getting along. During the hearing, Smith accused Jones of being a liar.
The student claimed that Smith gave her and other students answers to a test in the summer of 2010. Smith allegedly pointed to the correct answers throughout the exam, according to the unidentified girl, who is now in the eighth grade.
But the girl's testimony wasn't air tight. She also said the exam lasted for several days but Smith maintained it was only one day. A testing expert sided with Smith on this point, reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Along with giving students answers, Smith has also been accused of changing answers after collecting the tests. The exams' many erasure marks show that someone changed the answers from wrong to correct, said Superintendent Erroll Davis.
Although this is not hard evidence that Smith altered the students' responses, Davis does not trust that Smith will proctor future tests with honesty, according to WSBTV.
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