Beverly La-Forte Hall ( Clare; July 7, 1946 – March 2, 2015) was a

Jamaican-American Jamaican Americans are an ethnic group of Caribbean Americans who have full or partial Jamaican ancestry. The largest proportions of Jamaican Americans live in South Florida and New York City, both of which have been home to large Jamaican comm ...

education administrator. She worked as the superintendent of schools in

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

;

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

; and

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

."Schools unseen, chief tapped Atlanta has apparently wooed Beverly Hall from Newark, N.J." Carter, Rochelle. ''The Atlanta Journal the Atlanta Constitution'' 20 Feb 1999: p. B.05.

Life and career

Hall was born Beverly La-Forte Clare in

Montego Bay Montego Bay () is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth most populous urban area in the country, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

and graduated from Saint Andrew High School for Girls in Saint Andrew Parish. She moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

for college and received her undergraduate degree from

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

in 1970. She then received a master's degree from the

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

. Hall received her Ed.D. from

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

in 1990.Hall, Beverly La-Forte (1990)
Leadership, the Black urban superintendency, and school reform in New York City
. ETD Collection for Fordham University. Paper AAI9109261. She began her education career in several Brooklyn public schools. She taught English at Junior High School 265, then served as coordinator of Satellite West Junior High School, principal of P.S. 282, and principal of J.H.S. 113 (now Ronald Edmonds Learning Center).Dillon, Sam (January 21, 1994)
In Consolidation, Cortines Gives New Aide Broad Powers
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''; accessed August 4, 2015. While working as a Queens district superintendent in 1994, Hall was given "control of the city's high schools, special education programs and all other centrally controlled instructional programs" by Chancellor Ramon C. Cortines. Hall served as superintendent of the

Newark Public Schools Newark Board of Education is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in the city of Newark in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The state took over the dis ...

from 1995 to 1999, being appointed after the state of New Jersey took over the school system. She was appointed superintendent of the

Atlanta Public Schools Atlanta Public Schools (APS) is a school district based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is run by the Atlanta Board of Education with Superintendent Dr. Bryan Johnson. The system has an active enrollment of 54,956 students, attending ...

from 1999 until her resignation in 2010. In 2009, the American Association of School Administrators named Hall as National Superintendent of the Year, mentioning Atlanta's "significant gains in student achievement over the past 10 years."Tofig, Dana (February 20, 2009)
Profile
archives.gadoe.org; accessed August 4, 2015.

Indictment

Hall was indicted on March 29, 2013 by a

Fulton County, Georgia Fulton County is a county in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,066,710, making it the state's most populous county. Its county seat and most ...

grand jury in relation to her role in the

Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal Several teachers and principals in the Atlanta Public Schools (APS) district cheated on state-administered standardized tests in 2009. The scandal was exposed and the subsequent trial in 2014–2015 saw national attention. Background In 2009, ''T ...

. She was charged with racketeering, making false statements, theft, influencing witnesses, and conspiracy. In the original report prior to the indictment, investigators accused Hall of creating "a culture of fear, intimidation and retaliation” that permitted "cheating — at all levels — to go unchecked for years”;"Verdict reached in Atlanta school testing trial
nytimes.com; accessed August 4, 2015. she died before trial.

Death

On March 2, 2015, Beverly Hall died of breast cancer, aged 68.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Beverly 2015 deaths 1946 births American academic administrators Brooklyn College alumni Deaths from breast cancer Fordham University alumni CUNY Graduate Center alumni Jamaican emigrants to the United States People from Montego Bay Women academic administrators Naturalized citizens of the United States