''For the mansion in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, see Beverly Hall.'' Beverly La-Forte Hall (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 commu ...

education administrator. She worked as the superintendent of schools in

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...

;

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

."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-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Por ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

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

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

for college and received her undergraduate degree from

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

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

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) 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 Upper divis ...

. Hall received her Ed.D. from

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, 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. Hall 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 Ronald R. Edmonds (May 24, 1935 – July 15, 1983) was an American educator, author, and pioneer of effective schools research. Early life and career Edmonds was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He received a B.A. in American history from the Univer ...

Learning Center).Dillon, Sam (January 21, 1994)
In Consolidation, Cortines Gives New Aide Broad Powers
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''; 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 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. Lisa Herring. The system has an active enrollment of 54,956 students, attending a t ...

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 Fulton County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. Most are named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the first practical steamboat: *Fulton County, Arkansas, named after Governor William Savin Fulton *Fulton County, Georgia *F ...

grand jury in relation to her role in the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal.Staff report (March 29, 2013
"Ex-APS Superintendent Beverly Hall, others indicted"
wsbtv.com; accessed August 4, 2015. She was charged with racketeering, making false statements, theft, influencing witnesses, and conspiracy. In the original report prior to the indictment, investigators accused Dr. Hall of creating "a culture of fear, intimidation and retaliation” that permitted "cheating — at all levels — to go unchecked for years.”
nytimes.com; accessed August 4, 2015. Hall 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 Graduate Center, CUNY alumni Jamaican emigrants to the United States People from Montego Bay Women academic administrators