State Witness Recalls 2006 Cheating Probe at Parks Middle School

In 2006, Reginald Dukes, an outside investigator was asked to look into allegations of cheating and corruption at Parks. It came after anonymous letters cited misconduct under Principal Christopher Waller. Duke’s findings were revealed in his report about cheating on an 8^th grade writing test.

But that’s not all he told district officials.

“Also at that meeting I told that I had some unsubstantiated information about preparation for cheating on the 2006 CRCT. That they were going to do cheat on that also, they had made plans to do it”.

The CRCT was Georgia’s yearly standardized test. In court, Dukes was asked by prosecutor Clint Rucker about that meeting with APS superintendent & current defendants Dr. Beverly Hall and regional director Michael Pitts.

Rucker:           

“You tell the superintendent you found that Mr. Waller is planning to cheat on the 2006 CRCT. They cheated on the 8^th grade writing exam. You suspect something about the after-school program. And what did she say?”

Dukes:            

“Do you have any more evidence?”

Under cross-examination, Michael Pitts’ attorney, George Lawson challenged Reginald Dukes on his written report mentioning the CRCT.

Lawson:         

“Is that acronym in any of your reports anywhere?”

Dukes:            

“It has not been reduced to writing because I had no evidence of that. I simply mentioned that in the meeting. There was word traveling around they were.”

This week, the prosecution will continue to lay its framework for widespread cheating and the attempt to cover it up, when Christopher Waller, the former Parks principal testifies. He’s expected to testify this week to cheating and coercing others to do so because of pressure from up top to produce high test scores.