I received an email from Adell Cothorne, who was a central figure in bringing the DC cheating scandal to light. She is now running a cupcake shop in Ellicot City, Maryland. She told me she misses education and wants to get back into the schools. I asked her to write for the blog and hope that she will, though I understand that her lawyer may limit what she can say.
Adell took a huge risk when she worked in DC. She saw cheating and she reported it. She recognized that the children were being cheated so that administrators could falsely claim astonishing gains. She blew the whistle, and she paid the price.
For her integrity and courage, I am happy to name Adell Cothorne a hero of public education. She joins our honor roll.
She put students first.
She sacrificed her career to put students first.
She took a risk to put students first.
Adell left a good job in high-performing Montgomery County to work in DC. She took over Noyes school, which had seen a meteoric score increase. Her predecessor, Wayne Ryan, won $20,000 in bonuses and was promoted by Michelle Rhee to supervise other principals.
Adell quickly realized that the students at Noyes had not made miraculous gains. She began to suspect systematic cheating. She walked in on a group of teachers changing student answers on the DC tests. She reported her concerns to higher-up administrators but nothing was done.
She appeared on John Merrow’s Frontline program, repeating what happened. She had o leave the district and she now has sued the district as a whistleblower. Kaya Henderson, the chancellor, insists there was no cheating and that Cothorne is trying to benefit financially.
This is character assassination. It reflects badly on Henderson.
Cothorne took a stand. She saw cheating and she reported it. Why would she invent a story hat cost her her job?
One need only look at the astonishing rise and equally astonishing fall of Noyes’ test scores to know that there was chicanery. Where is Wayne Ryan, Rhee’s star principal? Why did he quietly resign and disappear? Why doesn’t he step up and explain why the scores went up so fast and tumbled down so fast?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Thank you for adding her to your honor roll. One thing that I’m not sure about though. All the reports that I’ve seen so far said she walked in on a group of staff members, which may or may not be teachers.
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Why doesn’t he step up and explain why the scores went up so fast and tumbled down so fast?
Because he can’t. There is no other plausible explanation other than widespread cheating. Adell Cothorne did what she knew was right not what was easy. She is a woman of integrity and should be held up as an example to our children.
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2old2tch put it well: she did “what she knew was right not what was easy.” In other words, she lived the reality of what the charterites/privatizers incessantly blare from almost every media forum: “No excuses.” For example, she could have kept quiet because she knew that “poverty might be my destiny” if she spoke up.
That’s when you know you are dealing with a person of integrity. When people stick to their principles when it hurts, that’s when you know they actually have principles.
Hari, can you claim the same for your stint in TFA and for your former boss?
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She is a hero human rights activist for standing up for the truth.
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I would be happy to have her as my principal out here! Please apply! We have a new Super. who sent out an email that retaliation would not be tolerated. Period.
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One of the most troubling aspects of this whole fiasco that many ignore is the more than $1 million dollars in bonus money was paid out. This money which was or may have been obtained under fraudulent pretense could certainly benefit the students and teachers of DCPS. $1 Million would sure buy lot of supplies, books, tutoring, teachers, classroom equipment, paint, etc. No outrage over this. I wonder why? It bothers me. It should bother others. Perhaps the testing/cheating argument needs to be reframed. Since no one is bothered about how the students have been short-changed, or the ethical lapses of adults then perhaps we should make it all about the money. Maybe then people will sit up and take notice.
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