ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) -
Atlanta school officials held their annual "State of the Schools" breakfast Tuesday morning.
It began at 7 a.m. at the Carter Center.
Superintendent Erroll Davis outlined the changes he's brought to the district since becoming superintendent one year ago and what the future holds for Atlanta Public Schools.
"Going forward we will focus on excellence, equity, ethics and engagement," said Davis.
As far as the changes being made, Davis said every middle school in the district will offer two foreign languages and every middle school will have four arts offerings. He also said students with disabilities will learn alongside their peers because "it's what's best for children."
Davis touched on the cheating scandal that plagued the school system.
"In the spirit of transparency you have the right to know shoes are still dropping," said Davis.
Davis warned parents, teachers and his staff that repercussions from the 2009 C-R-C-Tcheating scandal are not over.
The district attorney's office is still investigating it.
"Forpotential criminal charges. We don'tknow what or when it will happen, but we do expect something to happen, so youshould get ready for that shoe to drop," Davis said.
One hundred seventy-eight employees were implicated in the cheating scandal; 135 terminated, 13 reinstated, and approximately 25 are still waiting review and tribunal. Those awaiting tribunal are no longer on the payroll.
"The integrity of innocent children must never be called into question again. It wasn't, it was the integrity of adults. We have and will enforce a zero tolerance of unethical behavior," said Davis.
Davis talked about other controversial challenges the district faced like the redistricting plan that closed seven schools, budget pitfalls and disparities among students.
"As much as this school system has accomplished, it has not done enough to erase the disparitiesthat we have in student performance," said Davis.
Davis said despite those challenges, the district is making progress.
"The state of APS is simply this, we are poised. We are now poised to succeed. We certainly are not out of the woods yet."
He said APS is "now attracting stellar teachers" and said the Georgia Teacher of the Year is now employed with the school system.
"We are working to become a more transparent organization," said Davis.
Copyright 2012 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
State of Schools breakfast held in Atlanta
