Atlanta Public Schools Interim Superintendent Erroll Davis spoke at Garden Hills Elementary on July 21 before a packed house of parents and educators wanting answers about how he has handled the fall-out from a cheating scandal at Atlanta Public Schools.
Davis replaces Beverly Hall.
Davis sought to allay fears parents had about school accreditation, how the school system treated whistleblowers and the fate of their fellow teachers. Davis made clear his first priority is the school system as a whole and its students.
“We’ll do our best to identify all of those children who had been cheated and try to remediate them,” Davis said. “That is a work in progress as are a lot of other changes we have been making.”
Davis told the audience he’d spent the afternoon speaking with Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard about its investigation of cheating at the Atlanta Public School system. Davis said he would seek to deal with administratively teachers and employees who aren’t prosecuted.
“As I met with the DA I asked we be given the list of people as soon as possible that he’s not going to prosecute so we can put them in administrative process,” Davis said.
Davis drew many rounds of applause and zinged local media about coverage of cheating in public schools.
School Board Member Nancy Meisteer introduced Davis.
“I believe he is the right man at the right time and here for the right reasons,” she said.