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by Paul Bass | Aug 6, 2010 12:08 pm

(28) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Paul Bass Photo Melissa Bailey Photo Gary Holder-Winfield talked about the death penalty—and changed minds in Hartford. A challenger back home is talking about the death penalty, too—and hopes to change voters’ minds.

Both Holder-Winfield and Willy Greene, a former alderman challenging him in an Aug. 10 primary for the 94th General Assembly District seat, are up front about their views on the death penalty.

Holder-Winfield argued that it doesn’t deter crime, it’s cruel and unusual punishment, and it wastes taxpayer money. He also argues that comes down disproportionately hard on African-Americans; the 94th District includes the predominantly black Dixwell and Newhallville neighborhoods.

Holder-Winfield made those arguments at the state Capitol during this past two-year term, his first term in office. And he did something more experienced colleagues told him he could never do: He convinced both houses of the legislature to vote to repeal Connecticut’s death penalty. Along with two other accomplishments—introducing of a school reform bill that passed in modified form and galvanizing a statewide Facebook protest that got the state to resume processing unemployment claims—that crusade quickly made Holder-Winfield a name for himself in Hartford.

Click on the play arrow to watch a speech Holder-Winfield made during a death penalty debate on the state House floor.

Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell vetoed the legislature’s bill. Holder-Winfield tried, but failed, to talk her out of it. The legislature failed to override the veto.

If reelected, Holder-Winfield said, he’d like to reintroduce the death penalty abolition bill. Especially if the Democrats win the governor’s office for the first time since 1986.

Meanwhile, Willy Greene said he would support the death penalty if he wins the seat.

“I think there are some crimes that are so horrific that it warrants the death penalty,” he said.

He cited the Petit family slayings in Cheshire. Dr. William Petit, a survivor of the tragedy, lobbied legislators, then successfully lobbied Rell, to keep the death penalty intact.

“My heart goes out to the doctor,” Greene said. “Those men [accused of the murders] are deserving of the death penalty. We can find monies to take care of these people and keep them in jail for 30 years or a lifetime. But we can’t find money to put into the school system to give them an education and the supplies they need.”

Greene said he used to oppose the death penalty. Among the incidents that changed his mind was the killing of his brother two years ago.

It costs more money to prosecute death penalty cases, through appeals, than to house an inmate for life, Holder-Winfield responded. Greene said that with modern scientific identification techniques, the system should be able to streamline cases and save money.

Holder-Winfield also pointed to a 2008 study by Yale Law School Professor John Donohue III that showed that someone who kills a white person is more likely to face capital punishment in Connecticut than is someone who kills a black person.

All killings are horrific, Holder-Winfield argued. He disagreed with having different levels of punishment because some are more “heinous” than others.

“If somebody murders your wife nicely or murders her in a heinous way, you’ve lost your wife. She’s been murdered. Murder is heinous. What we do with the categories that we set up, the value of certain lives [is treated as] being more important,” he said. “If you’re a uniformed officer, you count; if you’re just Gary the activist walking down the street, you don’t count. If you’re in an area and you get murdered, but you don’t get kidnapped, you don’t count. If you get kidnapped, you count. They’re very much arbitrary. I used to wear a military uniform. I don’t think my life is any more valuable than anybody else’s. Never was. Never is.”

2 Generations, 1 Spirit

Holder-Winfield, who’s 36, wore that uniform in the U.S. Navy, when he worked as a load dispatcher on a nuclear-powered ship. He currently works as a staffer in the Southern Connecticut State University office of the American Association of University Professors. He moved to New Haven as an adult and lives in Newhallville.

Greene, who’s 61, is a retired public schools administrator and one-time head of the Dixwell Community “Q” House. He has been involved in Newhallville and city politics for decades.

While one is old school, one new school, the older and younger candidates share an independent streak, having won elections against the city Democratic machine. They agree on a range of issues from red-light cameras (for) to pushing the housing authority to put air conditioning in all senior housing complexes.

After walking the district for this campaign, Greene (pictured) came up with another topic that he’d like to push the housing authority on as a state representative. He noticed how Newhallville, which in his youth had one of the city’s highest homeownership rates, has dramatically shifted to a largely rental neighborhood. And some of those rentals are running as high as $1,200 a month, even $1,800 a month, for apartments in rundown houses on struggling stretches like Starr Street—because they’re rented under the federal Section 8 program administered by the local housing authority.

“I think it’s ridiculous,” Greene said. “Some of these houses, a good strong wind would blow them over. The state rep is going to have to sit down with the rest of the delegation and have a real heart to heart with the housing authority.”

He also wants to push the authority to post 24-hour guards at complexes where seniors live alongside younger people with drug problems or other disabilities, he said. “That’s the biggest complaint I’ve heard,” he said. “It’s a revolving door. People are coming in all night long.”

Looking ahead, Holder-Winfield said he’d like to reintroduce a bill that failed to advance in the last session to push police departments to use sequential line-ups when asking witnesses to identify criminals. Sequential line-ups force witnesses to compare a picture or person with their memory of the perpetrator, not with the other pictures or people that are presented in a simultaneous line-up. Sequential line-ups that are double-blind—where the administrator of the line-up doesn’t know which person is the suspect and can’t therefore nudge the witness to the “correct” conclusion—have proven to result in the fewest false identifications.

Eyewitness IDs are proving unreliable too often, Holder-Winfield said, citing this CBS 60 Minutes report. Locking up the wrong people doesn’t keep the streets safer.

Some people accuse him of just “helping criminals,” he said. “I want the system to work right. If we put people in jail, let’s put the right people in jail.”

Both candidates also promised to take on education if elected.

Greene spoke of pushing for more alternatives to college for students who would thrive in trades. “We have to look at designing curriculum for the chid that doesn’t want to go to college,” he said. “We have to get them ready for jobs that are out there rather than racking up student loans at Branford Hall or Stone Academy.”

Holder-Winfield said he wants to “explore” what he called a little-noticed contributor to the state’s highest-in-the-nation racial achievement gap: the poor job administrators and teachers often do in communicating with lower-income parents. He also promised to continue pushing state officials to live up to promises made in a new results-based accountability system.

Style note: Willy Greene previously spelled his name “Willie” Greene in political life. It’s not a typo.

Comments

posted by: Bill Saunders on August 6, 2010 9:14pm

And most importantly, Representive Holder-Winfield, innocent people get put to death, and for them, there is no appeal process.

posted by: Threefifths on August 6, 2010 10:50pm

Again blame the teachers.Did you read this report.

posted by: Henry Fernandez on August 7, 2010 7:39am

This is an excellent article that lays out clearly the views of the candidates. In the article both candidates provide thoughtful issue-based responses, as opposed to some other local and state races which have become negative, with press coverage and campaign materials really focused on personal issues largely irrelevant to how someone will perform as an elected official.

The article makes it obvious that Gary Holder-Winfield has taken strong visible stances on legislation that both means something for his district and says something positive about who we are as people. In doing so he treats voters with the respect of explaining his positions intelligently and not defaming those who disagree with him.

And he does this, as in the case of the death penalty, on issues that are complex and often treated simplistically by politicians as wedge issues only for political gain. This approach educates voters and has already allowed him to build consensus to pass tough bills in the legislature.

I applaud him for this.

posted by: Old Newhallville on August 7, 2010 11:19pm

I understand Holder-Winfield position and what Mr Fernandez is saying. But Mr Greene also says the “with modern scientific identification techniques, the system should be able to streamline cases and save money. Mr Fernandez conveniently left that out when referring to Greene’s position.

I have listened to Greene speak to a number of groups over the last several years and he would speak of his brother Rickey and he does not believe that the man responsible for his brothers death deserved the death penalty but was deserving of some jail time.In court during the sentencing Greene said there must be consequences for those who kill and have no regard for human life.

I recall a speech Greene gave in 1989 during his first term as Alderman, He said that when we don’t want to take the unpopular position even though it is right the position you can always refer to a study supporting your taking the wrong position. But try using that same report to get the family or families to understand the loss of their love ones due voilence.

Greene’s position is in-line many from our district. Finally like I had to convince Greene to get his head out of Mayo ... I am working hard to do the same to let him know that Bass is not his friend.

posted by: Brian L. Jenkins on August 7, 2010 11:42pm

Willie, with all do respect, it is clear that you have a burning desire to serve in some elected capacity, and that is commendable. However, you’re challenging a person who in my opinion is doing a tremendous job for the very community you’re trying to rescue. I could understand the importance of holding our elected officials accountable, but this is a Brother you need to get behind and help mentor, not help destroy.
Perhaps you need to create a coalition of like minded individuals and focus on removing some of those inept members of the Board of Alderman.

posted by: Gary Holder-Winfield on August 8, 2010 9:47am

Three Fifths,

You know better than that because you and I have talked about this issue but just to clarify I do not ‘blame the teachers’. My point is that the gulf that exists between people in different classes in our society makes its way into the school and, yes, the classroom. It operates from both ends and is another aspect of what we should work on if we care about the gap. You can watch me talking about it before the US Commission on Civil Rights Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93uxIXL9vY0&feature=player_embedded

posted by: FIX THE SCHOOLS on August 8, 2010 11:52am

When it comes to public education, hopefully both candidates support using the most powerful tool in the toolbox, one that will serve as the catalyst for the creation of high quality schools everywhere.

“Money-Follows-The-Child” will ensure that when a student transfers to a charter school, an inter-district magnet school, or any public school, the funding for that child actually will go with her to the new school.

Folks, you won’t believe it but right now Connecticut taxpayers pay almost $200 MILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR to schools for children who aren’t even enrolled there! That’s like a gas station on one corner demanding money from you for a full tank of gas when you filled up at another station across the street? That’s what is happening today in Connecticut.

Money-Follows-The-Child will eliminate this wasteful allocation of tax dollars and create the incentives for schools to improve so that they won’t lose students and dollars. Today, schools have no reason to improve because they aren’t losing any funding. How many businesses small or large get to keep getting paid after their customers stop buying from them?

The other terrible thing about this is that the good schools can’t grow to serve more children because they can’t have access to the funding that is otherwise wasted on keeping the bad schools awash in funds.

Gary and Willy, where are you on Money-Follows-The-Child? How are you going to fix our schools?

posted by: Concerned Citizen on August 8, 2010 10:13pm

Thanks to Henry Fernandez and Brian Jenkins for their constructive comments. I agree with your points about Mr. Greene supporting Rep. Holder-Winfield and trying to rid the BOA of some of its ‘politics-as-usual die-hards’ who only serve as barriers to progressive thinking and productive action. And to Mr. Hernandez for recognizing that Rep. Holder-Winfield treats voters with the respect of explaining his positions intelligently and not defaming those who disagree with him.

When it comes to Three-Fifths he knows exactly what Rep. Holder-Winfield said; sadly, 3/5ths seems to get more personal satisfaction from being negative than from being constructive. He knows better; therefore, it has become a waste of time to read his comments. Maybe 3/5ths you could go back to helping to inform the community in constructive ways; you are certainly capable. Gary Holder-Winfield is a breadth of fresh air. I hope that he will also show the same type of leadership on some other local issues involving the broader community. We certainly need it.

posted by: Threefifths on August 9, 2010 12:56am

posted by: Gary Holder-Winfield on August 8, 2010 9:47am
Three Fifths,

I have yet to see you come out in surport of the teachers union in this state which is under attack like in other states.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxWbJ2wu5NM

How about a bill that will make the charter schools be audited by the State Comptroller.
In fact how about puting this in the bill.

The Charter Schools Act must be amended to include:

1. STUDENT RIGHTS – Charter schools MUST be required to retain Special Ed and ELL students. No longer push out, counsel out or expel them out of the school.
2. PARENT RIGHTS – Every charter school board MUST have a parent board member who is the President of the school’s independent parent association.
3. BILL OF RIGHTS – There MUST be a universal Parents Bill of Rights and Students Bill of Rights for charter schools.
4. INDEPENDENT PARENTS ASSOCIATION – Every charter school MUST be required to have an independent parents association.
5. CO-LOCATIONS – The state MUST develop a better process in determining co-locations in public school buildings in New York City because it is pitting parents against each other.
6. ACCOUNTABILITY & TRANSPARENCY – Charter school board members and employees MUST be held to rigorous financial disclosure requirements and conflict of interest prohibitions as all other organizations receiving public money. There MUST be more oversight of Founding Boards. Board members MUST NOT be allowed to be permanent trustees. All employees (principals, directors, staff) MUST not be allowed to serve on the board. All schools must be audited by the State Comptroller.
7. CHARTER CONTRACT & BY-LAWS – Every charter school MUST be required to post their charter and by-laws online to increase accountability and transparency in charter schools and their governing boards. Every board meeting MUST be held at the school.
8. STATE RECEIVERSHIP – The state MUST have the authority to take over a charter school and re-constitute the board of trustees.
9. MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS – For Profit Management organizations MUST NOT be allowed to manage charters. Public money should be spent on public students.
10. COMPLAINT & GRIEVANCE PROCESS – The state MUST develop a formal complaint and grievance process that includes tracking and resolving issues within 30 days.
11. TEACHER RIGHTS & PROTECTIONS – Teachers in charter schools MUST be provided with whistleblower and job protections when exposing corruption, financial mismanagement and corporate chicanery in charters. No teacher should be fired for standing up for their students.
12. CHARTER AUTHORIZATION – Authorization MUST only be granted by the Board of Regents.

Check this report out.

http://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/PICBWGAP.pdf

Concerned Citizen on August 8, 2010 10:13pm

When it comes to Three-Fifths he knows exactly what Rep. Holder-Winfield said; sadly, 3/5ths seems to get more personal satisfaction from being negative than from being constructive

Was you there when I spoke to Mr. Winfield. I don’t think so.And if you were you shold have introduction yourself. As far as being what you say is negative to you my comments may be constructive to some one else.

He knows better; therefore, it has become a waste of time to read his comments.

If my comments are a waste of time they why did you read them and respond?

Gary Holder-Winfield is a breadth of fresh air. I hope that he will also show the same type of leadership on some other local issues involving the broader community. We certainly need it.

this is what I think of the politician of the two party system.

‘Politics’ is made up of two words, ‘poli,’ which is Greek for ‘many,’ and ‘tics,’ which are blood-sucking insects.
- Gore Vidal

A professional politician is a professionally dishonorable man. In order to get anywhere near high office he has to make so many compromises and submit to so many humiliations that he becomes indistinguishable from a streetwalker. - H.L. Mencken

posted by: Gary Holder-Winfield on August 9, 2010 9:13am

3/5ths:

Your point shifts throughout a discussion which makes discussing issues with you both unending and sometimes frustrating. You began by asserting that I was saying something I was not. I refute the point you were making and you move on to whether or not I support the unions - you know I do - we have talked about that also (by the way I am endorsed by teacher unions). My support is not, however, unconditional. If the unions are a problem then as with the bill we just passed I will challenge the stance they have taken on an issue.
I will look at what you propose but I wonder since you have the ability to contact me outside of this forum, if this is so important, why you did not take the opportunity to do so outside of this vehicle?
If you seek only to castigate anyone who enters politics as if we are all the same (way to oversimplified to be true) that is fine, have at it but if you want to discuss policy I am game for doing that as well.

posted by: Gary Holder-Winfield on August 9, 2010 9:23am

Fix The Schools:

While unpopular in Hartford you may or may not know that I have been pushing for a discussion on Money Follows The Child. I am not sold on it (at least not how it is currently being floated) but it is something we need to research and consider better than we have. By the way, just mentioning that we should look at this policy point has gotten me labeled as pro charter schools. While I am not anti charter schools “pro Charter Schools” is an ininaccurateescription. I am for what we can do to educate children who right now are not being adequately educated.
I will continue to look in general at education funding (a mess no matter who you ask) and specifically about Money Follows the Child and whether or not we can work it out where all concerned can - maybe not love the policy - but live with it.

posted by: Brian L. Jenkins on August 9, 2010 10:34am

Threefifths, you continually encourage others to enter into this additional party that you speak so highly about. Will your party be absent of “blood sucking insects?”

Rep.Holder, I have to concur with Concern Citizen in regards to your silence on issues germane to the local community. Though I find you to be most impressive as a legislator. Conversely, your silence on local issues to some extent, are deafening. “To whom much is given, much is required.”
Mr. Holder, your political position affords you the opportunity to hold workshops in the city that address self awareness, leadership training, communication skills, conflict resolution, self advocacy and goal setting programs for young people. These are just some of the issues that are much needed in your district to help annihilate some of the social ills that are choking the neighborhoods throughout the city. If the resources are not made available and or you’re receiving push back from those that claim publicly to be supportive, but instead have become a private stumbling block. Then these individuals need to be outed also publicly. BY YOU!!!
Stay strong Mr. Holder and keep up the good work.

posted by: Old Newhallville on August 9, 2010 11:22am

I have known Greene since he was a kid and have I never seen him disrespect any voter when he was serving as Adlerman. He kept the entire ward informed about what was going on. He always took the time to explain what was going on and met with the ward on regularly basis. He was always visible and he is visible now.

Now brother Brian you know me to. You always see me when came down Hazel Street when you lived here. And you always took the the time to get out of your car and speak to all of us on the block. You know that trying to fight the battle on the Board of Aldermen is useless. Your ward has not anyone standing up for them since you left. You were there and know better than many.

Greene is not out to destroy Gary he is not that kind of man and know you this. Many hear not see more of Gary because of the position he holds. We see gary in the paper. We see Greene on a daily basis and he has been a big help to many even while not holdding elected office.

Everyone has an opinion and I respect that. But Greene has a right to run without being accused of trying to destroy Gary. Just because I disagree with Gary does not mean I don’t like him. I believe Greene is the best person for the job. We see Greene whether he is running or not running for office.

Gary has done some good in the district but he does connect with the average guy on the street or the family in the community. Greene does and always have.

posted by: FIX THE SCHOOLS on August 9, 2010 12:03pm

3/5,

On your Anti-Charter School Governance Manifesto, believe it or not lots of those rules/laws that you copied and pasted from some pro-union, anti-child website actually exist in law and/or policy.

But the thing you don’t seem to get is that charters were invented to cut out the very kind of compliance-based administrative protocols that govern today’s public schools.

Why would we want to do away with these rules? Because everyone knows that all the rules in the world don’t create good education. And when rules like the ones you espouse and others are put into effect, you stamp out the flexibility to run a great school.

Mr. Holder-Winfield,

Anyone who is truly “pro-charter” doesn’t get it. There are plenty of crappy charters. And we need to get kids out of bad charters as fast as we should get kids out of bad district schools.

What you might be is Pro-GOOD charter, which is a far more thoughtful position to take. And to take it a step further, maybe you are really “Pro-GOOD public school” because as you know public schools come in all shapes and sizes and include charters, district, and magnets.

But the political reality is that on a proportional basis in CT., there are far fewer really good district schools in our big cities than there are good charters. There are some reasons for this but we need not get into a history lesson here.

So in response to the stark contrasts in performance between district schools and charters, the forces of the status-quo (primarily the 2 teacher unions in addition to a few bad superintendents) have risen up and fought tooth and nail against the kinds of reforms that promise to help children immediately.

As you study this important funding issue going into the next legislative session, here are some things to think about:

1. Don’t buy into the twisted argument that charters drain much needed resources from public schools. Charters ARE public schools and they educate a disproportionate number of poor, minority children. High-performing charters are closing the achievement gap and we should invest in all schools that can do that.

2. If you really value the interests of disenfranchised children over the interests of politically active adults, you would introduce a voucher bill as well.

3. We need to no longer be patient with turn-around efforts on the part of district administrations. It’s simply not good enough to be on the 15 year plan when we know how to do it in 7. As a legislator and a forceful advocate you have it in your power today to save a generation of children from being mis-educated and sentenced to a life of poverty.

4. Push for stronger state action in governing our cities’ public schools. The state and SDE should use its funding leverage to FORCE cities to do far better in educating all children. The race to the top was a great example of how the federal government used its leverage to gain a host of terrific reforms across the country. The state should do the same thing with our large cities.

Lastly, as a constant reminder of how important this stuff is, pretend that you have a 1st grader at home. And think about what you would feel like if today you weren’t as lucky as all of the politicians or education big-whigs who always seem to win the school choice lotteries. Pretend that your just a regular guy and your daughter didn’t win the lottery and now she has to start school in one of a multitude of failing elementary schools in New Haven, Hartford, Waterbury, Bridgeport, New London, etc. When great gap-closing schools are willing and able to open NOW if they had equal funding, how patient would you be as parent? And how would you feel if some politician said “Sure, we COULD get your daughter into a great school but we aren’t going to because we don’t think it’s politically acceptable to provide equal funding.” Lots to think about over the next few months. Good Luck!

posted by: Threefifths on August 9, 2010 1:06pm

posted by: Gary Holder-Winfield on August 9, 2010 9:13am
3/5ths:

I will look at what you propose but I wonder since you have the ability to contact me outside of this forum, if this is so important, why you did not take the opportunity to do so outside of this vehicle?

I did You e-mail seems not to be working.You need to check.

If you seek only to castigate anyone who enters politics as if we are all the same (way to oversimplified to be true) that is fine, have at it but if you want to discuss policy I am game for doing that as well.

I am castigating the crooked corporate control Two Party system.There are a few exceptions, if any.But the government representatives known as politicians, have their political careers for selfish reasons.Look at King John. That’s why they use the term Public Servants so frequently. It masks the reality of their greed, deceit, and self-serving actions. The way they operate makes them anything but Public Servants. They appear to be either political prostitutes or political pimps.I also feel the same about Bankers and Preachers.
You are a part of a political system that has failed the people. Case and point.If you main man Dan Malloy does not win the election tomorrow,I bet all of his supporters and you wiil support Ned Lamont.So this is one of the reason I have a problem with the crooked two party system.One is a mattress the other the Box spring.

It makes no difference who you vote for—the two parties are really one party representing 4 percent of the people. - Gore Vidal

posted by: Brian L. Jenkins on August 9, 2010 10:34am

Threefifths, you continually encourage others to enter into this additional party that you speak so highly about. Will your party be absent of “blood sucking insects?”

The party that I talk about is a system that you would still have your Democratic And republican parties,But you would also have other parties at the table.It is called proportional representation.As of now people vote for political parties, rather than individual candidates.Under proportional representation it is based on the principle that any group of like-minded voters should win legislative seats in proportion to its share of the popular vote. Whereas the winner-take-all principle awards 100 percent of the representation to a 50.1 percent. majority,proportional representation allows voters in a minority to win their fair share of representation.In fact proportional representation is gathering impressive support,Because the people are geting sick and tired of the two Party system.Let me tell you something.My sister in new york sells real estate to Diplomats in the United Nations .So time I have lunch with her and I get to talk to some of those Diplomats and even they say that how can the american people let a two party system control them.They told me the people have no voice in a two party system.That is why most countries use proportional representation like Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

My question to you is when are you moving back here? You need to work on the problems in Atlanta like this. And stop worrying about New Haven.

Scandal Haunts Atlanta’s School Chief.

By SHAILA DEWAN

ATLANTA — Early on in Beverly L. Hall’s 11-year tenure as superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools, she figured that the academic gains she intended to make with the city’s mostly poor, black students would face skepticism.

“I knew the day would come when people would question, was the progress real?” she said in an interview last week.

So Dr. Hall took a risk, signing up for a trial program to track and compare urban school districts. Since then, Atlanta has made the highest gains in the program in reading and among the highest in math, making it a national model and Dr. Hall a star in the education field.

But that has not insulated her from a cheating scandal that initially threatened to engulf two-thirds of the district’s 84 schools. Even after an independent investigation recently found that the problem was much less widespread, critics have called for her resignation and attacked the investigation’s credibility.

The scandal has revived age-old questions about the ability of urban students to achieve — skepticism that Dr. Hall, who rose through the ranks of New York City school system and is now one of the longest-serving urban superintendents, has spent her career trying to dislodge.

The investigation centered on suspicions that answer forms on the state achievement test used to measure progress under the federal No Child Left Behind law had been tampered with by educators. The investigation found statistical indications of widespread cheating at 12 schools, isolated cheating at 13 schools and little to no evidence at the remaining 33 schools, but no smoking gun. It referred 109 educators for further investigation.

Throughout the crisis, Dr. Hall has responded with a cool professionalism rather than the outrage that some critics have demanded. Even as she has vowed to ferret out any dishonest educators and has removed the principals of the 12 schools, she has insisted that pervasive wrongdoing has yet to be proven.

“Hall’s own refusal to accept reality,” Jay Bookman, a columnist at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, wrote in one of the more polite dissections of Dr. Hall, “is downright stunning.”

To Dr. Hall, there are plenty of reasons to resist the idea that the district’s progress is a mirage. During her tenure, the graduation rate has increased by 30 percentage points. In the last three years, the college scholarship money offered to Atlanta graduates has doubled. And in the urban district tracking program, where progress is measured by a gold-standard test called the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, scores have continued to climb.

“I’m surprised that the allegations persist in the face of very convincing evidence from NAEP that the gains are real,” said Michael Casserly, the executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools, a coalition of 66 of the country’s largest school systems. The national assessment is less vulnerable to cheating because it is not self-administered by school districts.

The cheating suspicions were raised after the 2009 state achievement tests, when a state report measured erasures that changed wrong answers to correct ones, finding an unusually high number of erasures at 58 Atlanta schools. Erasure analysis is a blunt instrument that flags potential cheating but does not, on its own, prove that administrators or teachers tampered with answer forms.

After the report came out, the 2010 achievement tests were given under intense scrutiny, and the results were not good. Scores dropped districtwide, particularly at the flagged schools.

Meanwhile, a blue-ribbon commission appointed by a nonprofit education group was investigating the 58 schools. The commission, using Caveon Test Security, a firm that specializes in forensic data analysis, conducted a more nuanced erasure analysis than the state’s, taking into account factors like whether the erasures actually made a difference in whether the student passed.

John Fremer, the president of Caveon, said that if the company had conducted the initial screening, 33 of the schools would not even have been flagged. Investigators interviewed almost 300 people and reviewed 50,000 e-mails. No one confessed to cheating, and the commission found no direct evidence of it.

But local news organizations seemed unable to digest the investigation findings. WABE, the local NPR affiliate, incorrectly reported — twice — that the commission had referred all 58 schools for further investigation.

On its Web site, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first trumpeted “Cheating found at 58 public schools,” then did an about-face and accused the investigators of disregarding irregularities in hundreds of classrooms.

Mr. Fremer said he believed that state officials had also reached their own conclusions. “They already knew that all of the schools were cheating and terrible,” he said. “They had already made up their mind.”

John G. Rice, a vice chairman of G.E. and a member of the commission, defended the investigation’s thoroughness. “The last thing we would want to do is participate in an activity which didn’t disclose real issues around cheating or other wrongdoing,” he said, noting that the G.E. Foundation has given $22 million to the school district. “We would want to know now so that we could be sure to get a real return on our investment.”

Other supporters of Dr. Hall went so far as to accuse the state, which has historically been hostile to Atlanta’s public institutions, of deliberately discrediting the Atlanta school system. “Anyone could see the politics in this, and they’re on a witch hunt,” said the Rev. Timothy McDonald, an influential pastor. “They wish they could take control of Atlanta Public Schools.”

Kathleen Mathers, the director of the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, said the state’s only motivation was to protect children. “If you promote children to the next grade unprepared, they have a very tough climb ahead of them to be successful in school,” she said.

Dr. Hall is not a stranger to tough situations. In 1995, when she was second-in-command at the New York school system, New Jersey chose her to lead its hostile takeover of Newark schools. Residents marched in protest with placards that read “New York sent us a rotten apple.”
When she came to Atlanta in 1999, she wrestled with a dysfunctional board, closed more than 20 schools and replaced 90 percent of the principals — proof, she said, that she is not afraid to clean house. She has offered blistering criticism to teacher-training schools for failing to keep up with the most effective techniques.

“She’s widely liked, but not for the reason some people are liked,” said Kati Haycock, the president of Education Trust, an advocacy group focused on closing the gaps in opportunity and achievement. “She’s not fuzzy-wuzzy, right — she is a tough lady.”

Dr. Hall shrugs at the notion that she has failed to take responsibility for the cheating problems. She has strengthened test security and requested future screenings for suspicious erasures. But she also wants to get on with recruiting better math teachers and designing personalized 12-week courses for students who did not pass the achievement test.

“We’ve got to get back in the classroom,” she said. “We’ve got too much to do.”

posted by: Threefifths on August 9, 2010 1:50pm

posted by: FIX THE SCHOOLS on August 9, 2010 12:03pm
3/5,

On your Anti-Charter School Governance Manifesto, believe it or not lots of those rules/laws that you copied and pasted from some pro-union, anti-child website actually exist in law and/or policy.

But the thing you don’t seem to get is that charters were invented to cut out the very kind of compliance-based administrative protocols that govern today’s public schools.

Show me the existing in law and or policy, of the follwing.

ACCOUNTABILITY & TRANSPARENCY – Charter school board members and employees MUST be held to rigorous financial disclosure requirements and conflict of interest prohibitions as all other organizations receiving public money. There MUST be more oversight of Founding Boards. Board members MUST NOT be allowed to be permanent trustees. All employees (principals, directors, staff) MUST not be allowed to serve on the board. All schools must be audited by the State Comptroller.

What is the problem with Charter Schools being audited by the State Comptroller.Do they have somthing to keep from the taxpayers?

. STUDENT RIGHTS – Charter schools MUST be required to retain Special Ed and ELL students. No longer push out, counsel out or expel them out of the school

Public schools have to keep them.Why not the same for Charter schools.Why is this a problem.

. TEACHER RIGHTS & PROTECTIONS – Teachers in charter schools MUST be provided with whistleblower and job protections when exposing corruption, financial mismanagement and corporate chicanery in charters. No teacher should be fired for standing up for their students.

I met some teachers who at one time work at Amistad and they told that they went back to the public system beacuse of the working condtions for teachers.I also met some parents who took there children out of Amistad.They told me that they make the children wear some type of shirt if the are acting up.Also I check see to who runs Amistad and it is run by Achievement First.I check there Board of Directors.Load with corporate vampires.Most of these corporate vampires on the Board of Directors live in Greenwich.Greenwich has a lot of castle
homes and we know that vampires live in castle’s.We also know that some of the hedge fund vampires also live in Greenwich. Also some friends in new york told me that the ownner of Achievement First is good friends with Joel Klein your main man who now is trying to cover up test scores.

Kids are big losers in Mayor Bloomberg, Joel Klein’s school test scores game
Juan Gonzalez - News

Friday, July 30th 2010, 4:00 AM

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/07/30/2010-07-30_ed_scores_dont_pass_smell_test_kids_losers_in_mike_and_joels_game.html

Again fix you are showing that mind set again.
Banker,yale skull or lawyer.Which one fix.I think the banker. I like you fix,But I pray your not a banker!!!

posted by: FIX THE SCHOOLS on August 9, 2010 2:18pm

3/5, You know who I am and where to find me. I’d be happy to break bread with you anytime.

posted by: Willy D. Greene on August 9, 2010 3:58pm

Brain as always its good to hear from you I appreciate your constructive criticism because along with it you do offer some alternatives.

I have the greatest respect for your opinion. But there is so much more here that meets the eye that you are not aware of. Being in Atlanta you are not here see full picture first hand.

Its not a desire to lead and I have no problem in being a soldier. However in order for me to follow and support someone I also have to believe in that individual.

As for the Board of Aldermen its not about getting rid of what is there. Running some good people will not implement the kind of change that the residents of this city truly need and deserve.

The change on the BOA will have to come through Charter Revision reducing the membership to perhaps 10 with the Board President running city-wide.

This will allow the residents of New Haven to choose the Board President therefore making him/her accountable to the people of the city and not just the membership and the City Administration.

Again I thank you for your advice.

posted by: Threefifths on August 9, 2010 4:28pm

posted by: FIX THE SCHOOLS on August 9, 2010 2:18pm
3/5, You know who I am and where to find me. I’d be happy to break bread with you anytime.

I don’t know you.Should I bring a food tester for the bread.

posted by: Brian L. Jenkins on August 9, 2010 5:59pm

Willie,
I can appreciate your comments and you know I love you dearly, my Brother. The political structure you just outlined actually exist where I live, and works quite find I might add. You are needed much more in my opinion, in the community, and not in Hartford. We lack more political education than any other ethnic group and there in lies my reason for saying such things. Your a brilliant Brother, that continually educates the voters by doing your homework on issues germane to To the Black Community. Moreover, you have absolutely no trepidation in going after the DeStefano Political Disservice Machine. By the way, I just left New Haven 2 weeks ago, after being there for a week.
Stay strong my Brother and never stop being there for your lovely mother.

To the person who feels that you have to live in the city in order to comment on issues. To make such a statement denotes the emptiness of your thinking capacity. My home is not where I live, but where I was born. I’ll put my knowledge, sweat, tears, help rendered, service, talent, and love up against yours any day.

posted by: Willy D. Greene on August 9, 2010 7:16pm

Brother Brian there may be some weight in your assessment. The Board of Aldermen? NO. Been there done that. Again I appreciate your comments and they are well received. Thanks for asking about my mother she turned 90 this past April and while the body is moving a bit slower the mind is still sharp. However as I said before there’s so much more involved than you know.

posted by: Threefifths on August 9, 2010 7:50pm

posted by: Brian L. Jenkins on August 9, 2010 5:59pm

To the person who feels that you have to live in the city in order to comment on issues.

Why not.We who live here know what is the real deal than those who don’t.Plus we need people who live here to fight,Not people that just make comment’s.

To make such a statement denotes the emptiness of your thinking capacity.

For real my thinking capacity tells me that the person who said that,There thinking capacity sounds like a carpetbagger.
Carpetbaggers” was coined from the carpet bags used as inexpensive luggage. It was originally a derogatory term, suggesting a penniless exploiter who brings no new resources and probably does not plan to stay. The term is now standard and is used without derogatory intent by historians and reference works.

My home is not where I live, but where I was born.

Now that statement sounds like some one who has
emptiness thinking capacity.

I’ll put my knowledge, sweat, tears, help rendered, service, talent, and love up against yours any day.

Next time you are in New Haven look me up.
...

posted by: Threefifths on August 9, 2010 7:58pm

posted by: Brian L. Jenkins on August 9, 2010 5:17pm
Minister Donald is to be commended for his tireless work, as a promoter of such an event for the last 14 years. An event that has brought people together under the umbrella of Jesus Christ. The City of New Haven is blessed to have people such as Donald, that try and bring people together positively.
However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t share where in I think Minister Donald has dropped the proverbial ball. I have heard, and watched Donald for years, organize people to march and take their communities back from drug dealers and violence. But I am yet to hear the Brother talk about marching and taking back their city from the MAYOR. Not to make it personal Brother Donald, this applies to almost all of the Black Clergy in the city.
Keep up the good work my brother and always know, that God sits high and looks low.

Wow what a hypocrite.It is alright for you to make this statement.

But I am yet to hear the Brother talk about marching and taking back their city from the MAYOR. Not to make it personal Brother Donald, this applies to almost all of the Black Clergy in the city.

posted by: Brian L. Jenkins on August 9, 2010 11:29pm

Mr.or Ms.Threefifths,
Because I have no idea as to who you are. What I do know ,however, is that I never heard of you when I was living there, nor do I hear of anything that you’re doing currently in the city that would help assist in bringing about positive change to anyone’s life. I have had personal dealings with both Willie and Donald. Thus it affords me the right to say what ever I want, based solely on my relationships. And I view both men as friends and valuable to the community that you claim to represent, but do nothing physically. Please tell the audience what you have done to bring about positive change in the city within the last 10 years? Don’t obfuscate by calling me names or being critical. JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!! Just what I thought, you couldn’t. You know my background Bro’, so what’s yours?
Stay positive Bro’ and go help someone!!

posted by: Bill Saunders on August 10, 2010 12:01am

3/5’s

The Carpetbagger term is, historically, derogatory.
Despite modern usage by historians, that implied derision will always be there. That’s what makes it such an awesome word—a real hackle raiser, especially when being used by people other than historians in reference work.

posted by: Threefifths on August 10, 2010 2:39pm

posted by: Bill Saunders on August 10, 2010 12:01am
3/5’s

posted by: Brian L. Jenkins on August 9, 2010 11:29pm

Because I have no idea as to who you are. What I do know ,however, is that I never heard of you when I was living there,

Must be your emptiness of your thinking capacity.You do know me.When the firebirds under Ron Benson had a protest march on city hall,I was there protesting with them,You was there. You also talk with my Radio host partner
Leroy williams from wpkn who you Chanllege to a game of golf,Beacause you play golf. I know more about you than you think. How is you landscaping business in Atlanta.

nor do I hear of anything that you’re doing currently in the city that would help assist in bringing about positive change to anyone’s life. I have had personal dealings with both Willie and Donald. Thus it affords me the right to say what ever I want, based solely on my relationships. And I view both men as friends and valuable to the community that you claim to represent, but do nothing physically. Please tell the audience what you have done to bring about positive change in the city within the last 10 years? Don’t obfuscate by calling me names or being critical. JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!! Just what I thought, you couldn’t. You know my background Bro’, so what’s yours?
Stay positive Bro’ and go help someone!!

Again must your emptiness of your thinking capacity. You don’t live in this state any more
so how could you say that you don’t hear of anything that you’re doing currently in the city that would help assist in bringing about positive change to anyone’s life. And By the way just beacuse you don’t hear or see someone not working to bringing about positive change to anyone’s life doesn’t mean that then are not doing anything at all.But I will tell you what I do. I run a employment program out of my home.I get Adults and the young people who sre in high school to get Civil Service jobs. I have got people Civil Service jobs in New york, Delaware ,New Jersey and other states. I charter a bus and most of the time pay for the bus out of my pocket so they can go to these states and take the test for these Civil Service jobs. I also help produce a show call BLACK INTROSPECTIVES on WPKN for Eric Ford.So move back here and you will see what I am doing.My question to you is what are you doing currently in the city that you live in that would help assist in bringing about positive change to anyone’s life.

You know my background Bro’, so what’s yours?
Stay positive Bro’ and go help someone!!
I know you back ground very well.Look at this statement you said.

But I am yet to hear the Brother talk about marching and taking back their city from the MAYOR. Not to make it personal Brother Donald, this applies to almost all of the Black Clergy in the city.

But in this statement you surport the mayor.

Brian L. Jenkins wrote on Feb 22, 2010 2:09 PM:

” The Mayor is finally focusing on the non-profits, which is a good thing. My concern, however, is exactly who the Mayor plans to give the “Lion Share” of the money too?
New Haven is experiencing a Multi Million Dollar problem as it relates to economic development in the uptown section of New Haven, as oppose to the vast majority of the resources being invested in the downtown area of New Haven.
Community Based Policing from a preventative standpoint has gone awry. In spite of statistics that indicate crime on a downturn. All neighborhood schools should be made available for afternoon/evening tutorial and indoor recreational programs for young people. The problem isn’t the lack of money, the problem is, where you choose to invest the money that you have. I’m a major proponent of smaller government and as a Democrat, we must begin to practice this style of governing.

So I commend the Mayor for having the foresight to invest in the plethora of non-profits that work arduously to address some of the social ills that continually occlude the city. “

Must be your emptiness of your thinking capacity? My Brother.

posted by: Brian L. Jenkins on August 10, 2010 4:59pm

...

In regards to supporting the mayor: I, have, never, voted for John DeStefano, but will always give him credit for the positive things he does, in spite of my personal feelings towards his politics. Unlike you, my Brother.
In reference to the protest on the steps of city hall, I was the only Alderman that supported the Black Firefighters, because they were correct in their protest. Had I been in New Haven when the police officers were fighting the administration for the discrimination that was laid upon them, I too would have been on the steps, supporting their protest. BECAUSE THEY WERE RIGHT!!! You however, would not have supported them, BECAUSE THEY WERE WHITE!!
It is my hope, that from this point on my Brother, we can engage in a more positive dialogue, so as not to sound as though, were enemies.
I’m the wrong one for you to be going back and forth with, and you know that! So calm down Brother and stop being so combative.
Love ya’

posted by: Bill Saunders on August 10, 2010 5:22pm

3/5th’s,

If you wanted to prove your point, a better answer would have been,“I am a historian, and here are my published reference works.”

Frankly, your definition of carpetbagger sounds suspiciously cribbed from Wikipedia.

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