UPDATED:
The Dougherty County School board will now decide whether a former principal named in the 2009 CRCT cheating scandal will get her job back. After a tribunal hearing for Angela Shumate today the members of that panel voted against the superintendent's recommendation and said Shumate's contract should be renewed.
The decision came down to evidence, or lack thereof, of cheating. The major part of the debate was whether statements Angela Shumate made to teachers were meant to encourage cheating, or just showing support for students.
It took the tribunal less than an hour to make a decision in Angela Shumate's favor. They rejected the superintendents recommendation not to renew her contract.
"Angela Shumate's contract should be renewed for 2012- 2013," announced the tribunal.
Shumate, the former principal at Northside Elementary celebrated by hugging her supporters.
She was accused of encouraging teachers to assist and prompt students during the CRCT and of changing grades on report cards.
Flin Coleman, the school system's attorney called five witnesses.
During questioning, former Northside teacher Tiffany Randle admitted telling students to check their work if she noticed a wrong answer.
She says she did that after Shumate made statements during a faculty meeting to "take care of my babies" and "make sure my children do well."
"The idea was given to me," said Randle.
"By who?" asked Coleman.
"By Dr. Shumate," she replied.
The defense says Randle threw Shumate into the mix once she realized she had been caught cheating by GBI agents.
Other educators testified they interpreted Shumate's statements differently and that Shumate never asked anyone to cheat.
And Shumate stood by that when she went before the tribunal.
"I have a heart for my babies," said Shumate.
Ultimately the tribunal sided with Shumate and voted to reinstate her contract.
"There was no clear evidence that the educator coerced any educators to cheat," said Gary Walker, the tribunal chairman. "Both attorneys did a really good job of presenting the evidence and the evidence presented by the system was based on what was given to them by the GBI investigation primarily. And it was just a little weaker than it should have been in order to provide the support for the position."
"We're delighted. I think it's the right decision. I think it's the proper evaluation of the evidence and obviously Dr. Shumate is elated as am I," said her attorney, Charles Cox.
"I don't know exactly what the deliberations of the tribunal were when they were back there, but I certainly see and knew in advance of this that there were many weaknesses in this case. But my hands are tied, all I can do is present what I'm given," said Coleman.
Now the recommendation will go to the school board who will ultimately decide Shumate's fate.
Shumate was principal of Northside for seven years, and was moved to principal of Albany High School in 2011.
Also, during the hearing Shumate was accused of changing three students grades, that were in the 50s and 40s to 60. Tia Ford, a former teacher at Northside Elementary testified, saying Shumate met with her about the changes and told her she did it to give students a chance to bring their grades up. Shumate denies changing any grades and said she never met with Ford.
The school board is meeting Wednesday and they're expected to vote on six other recommendations from previous tribunals.
Two more tribunal hearings are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday of this week.
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The teacher tribunal hearing the case against Former Northside Elementary principal Angela Shumate has voted to retain her services to the Dougherty County School System.
Superintendent Dr. Joshua Murfree's recommendation was to not renew Shumate's contract.
Shumate was the last witness her attorney called on for questioning. The Dougherty County School System rested its case against Former Shumate without calling her for questioning.
Shumate was the only educator scheduled for a tribunal hearing Tuesday as one of nearly 50 Dougherty County teachers named in the CRCT cheating investigation.
Shumate's attorney called Tinsley Dozier as their first witness. Dozier was the assistant principal at Northside.
About midday, the tribunal listened to Jane Hill's taped interview with GBI. Hill who was a proctor for the CRCT said she did not witness any inappropriate behavior/cheating. But said there was pressure on the teachers to perform well.
The attorney for the school system, Flin Coleman says the evidence will show that Angela Shumate, who was principal of Northside Elementary, encouraged teachers to assist students to score well on the CRCT in 2009. Coleman is expected to call Shumate for questioning.
Shumate's attorney, Charlie Cox says their evidence will show that Shumate did not direct anyone to cheat on CRCT. Cox says Shumate was unaware of cheating and did not encourage cheating.
So far three witnesses have been called. There's debate over a statement Shumate said during a faculty meeting before the CRCT.
The second witness, Tiffany Randle, who was a fifth grade teacher at Northside had her tribunal last week. She testified saying she told students to check over their work during the CRCT if she noticed a wrong answer or saw several answers in a row with the same letter marked.
Randle says Shumate gave her the idea to prompt her students during a faculty meeting when she said, "you all better make sure my children do well" and "take care of my babies."
Randle says the pressure to succeed came from the top down.
The defense questioned Randle about what she originally told GBI agents. Randle first said she was shocked her classroom was flagged and said nothing about Shumate.
However, in a later meeting with GBI agents, Randle admitted to prompting students and mentioned Shumate and the instructions she gave.
The third witness Jane Hill, an early intervention teacher at Northside, recalled the statement Shumate made during the faculty meeting.
Hill told GBI agents she interpreted that as prepare the students as much as possible. But says she could see how other teachers could take that the wrong way.
The fourth witness was Tia Ford, who was a third grade teacher at Northside She was originally given a non renewal notice but that was withdrawn. Ford says Shumate held a staff meeting where she instructed teachers to give students no less than a 60 on their report cards.
Ford testified saying Shumate gave this instruction to give students a chance to pull up their grades the next nine weeks.
Ford says she didn't follow those "guidelines." But that three of her students who were failing had their grades changed to a 60. Ford mentioned the changes to board members who were touring the school because she thought the change was a computer glitch.
Later, Shumate called Ford into her office and told her she changed the grades and didn't need her permission to do so.
So far, ten teachers have been cleared because there wasn't enough evidence against them.
There are now six educators who have had their hearings before the tribunal, and a 40-contract-day suspension without pay has been recommended for each:
Jennifer Smith
Alberta Wallace
Lavonda Jolivette
Fatima Jackson
Tiffany Randle
Tara Mallard
The tribunal consists of: Sidney Coleman, hearing officer, Gary Walker, Sam Allen, and F. D. Toth.
These educators will have hearings before the tribunal in the coming weeks, with hearing dates:
Nikki Lyons 8/22
Jose Roquemore 8/23
Beverly Knighton Harris 8/27
Adrienne Savage 8/28
The tribunal hears the evidence and makes a recommendation to the Dougherty County School Board. The DCSS board reviews the recommendations and makes a decision to accept or reject the suspensions.
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Former Northside Elementary principal Angela Shumate
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