02/13/19 02/13/19 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! as the crisis in venezuela continues, a mysterious usair charter company based in north carolina has halted flights to venezuela after being accused of smuggling arms into the country. the airplane had made nearly 40 round-trip flights between miami and spots in venezuela and

11.mbia january the day after venezuelan president nicolas maduro was sworn in to a second term. we will speak to a mcclatchy reporter who broke the story. then we look at one of the largest public school scandals in u.s. history. it is chronicled in the new book "none of the above: the untold story of the atlanta public schools cheating scandal, corporate greed, and the criminalization of educators." >> as a teacher, wrongfully p public in the atlanta schools cheating scandal, it is clear my story was part of an eveven larger story about the intentional destruction of public education in the country. amy: shani robinson was one of 11 former educators in atlanta convicted of racketeering and other charges in 2015, but was she actually guilty? she and her co-author, journanalist anna simonton, join

us today. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. with two days left before the february 15 deadline to avert another government shutdown, president t trump told reporters tuesday he is not happy with the proposed deal that came out of congressional negotiations monday night, but did not say he would reject it. the deal currently includes nearly $1.4 billion to build 55 miles of new border barriers out of steel, far less than the $5.7 billion requested by president trump. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell said he hoped trump would sign the deal. meanwhile, politico is reporting the white house may redirect federal dollars from various government agencies to make up for the shortfall in trump's border wall funding demand, including tapping disaster relief funds intended for california and puerto rico.

trump would reportedly do so through executive order, circumumventing congress. it is still unclear whether he will declare a national emergency. as the political crisis in venezuela continues tens of , thousands of venezuelans took to the streets tuesday in dueling pro-government and pro-opposition protests. opposition leader juan guaido addressed his supporters and announced a deadline for allowing aid shipments to enter the country. thatday we announced february 23 is the day for humanitarian aid to enter venezuela. we stand by all sectors, delivery drivers, nurses, medics, to get ourselves organized. amy: military officers, who in large part have remained loyal to president nicolas maduro, have been blocking access to supplies at the venezuela-colombia border. criticics have blasted thehe u.. for using eight as a political

tool to undermine maduro's presidency while garnering support for guaido. the red cross and the united nations warned the u.s. to not send aid to venezuela without the approval of the sitting president. the u.n. said -- on monday, guaido tweeted a picture of himself surrounded by pill bottles, saying that some aid in the form of nutritional supplements made it into venezuela, although it's unclear where they came from. in an interview with an israeli newspaper tuesday, guaido -- who declared himself venezuela's interim president last month -- said he is in the process of restoring ties with israel. venezuela severed its relationship with israel a decade ago under the leadership of hugo chavez, who instead developed links with palestinians. guaido also suggested he was considering opening the new venezuelan embassy in jerusalem, following in the footsteps of the united states -- which last

year drew international condemnation after it moved its embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem, a city that palestinians want as part of a future state. meanwhile, president maduro continues to call out the u.s. for its role in attempting to oust him from power. in an interview with the bbc tuesday, maduro said that the u.s. is ruled by white susupremacists. > it is a p political war ofe american empire, of the interests of the extreme rigight that t today governs the ku klux klan that rules over the white house to take over venezuela. amy: in the philippines, authorities have arrested award-winning journalist maria ressa in connection with a cyber libel case. ressa is the founder of the independent news site rappler and a vocal critic of the filipino president. the charges stem from a story published by rappler in 2012, in which the paper detailed the alleged criminal ties of a businessman based on intelligence reports.

this is maria ressa speaking during her arrest earlier today. >> what i know is i have not gotten an official copy of the doj indictment. to file have the chance a motion for reconsideration. we should. the fact and arrest worn has been issued is really interesting. i will follow. i'm just shocked the rule of law has been broken to the point that i can't see it. amy: rappler and maria ressa hahave been repeatedly tarargety duterte's government. in november, authorities indicted ressa and the site on tax evasion charges, which are widely believed to be politically motivated. to see our november interview with maria ressa, go to our website at democracynow.org she came to this country to win a number of journalism awards. in spain, a trial kicked off tuesday for 12 leaders of the catalan separatist movement over their role in catalonia's bid for independence. in 2017, the central government

cracked down on separatists, arresting political leaders and charging them with rebellion following an independence referendum in october 2017 and the catalan parliament's declaration of independence. lawyers for the defendants have condemned legal proceedings, saying it's unlikely they will get a fair trial and that democracies should not have political prisoners. this is catalan president quim torra speaking about the trial. --we are before an act equally decided to decide, people that put their b bodies t risk to grant a better future, and it is precisely this that some have not tolerated and claimed d for event. they wanted to punish them. amy: the trial came two o days after tetens of thousands of protesters tooook to the streets ofof madrid sunday to denounce prime minister pedro sanchez's plan to hold talks with catalan politicians. the protest was called by conservative leaders in spain, including the far-right vox

party, which opposes any moves to negotiate with the pro-independence movement. in barcelona, thousands marched tuesday in a pro-independence rally in a show of support for the separatist leaders. turkey has issued over 1100 arrest warrants to people with suspected ties to exiled cleric fethullah h gulen, who thehe government blames for a failed coup in 2016. since then, at least 77,000 people have been arrested and around 130,000 fired from government and public sectors jobs such as teaching. in a purge by the turkish government. he lives in the united states. acting defense secretary patrick shanahan made a surprise visit to iraq tuesday, his first trip to the country. he said the u.s. is committed to iraqi sovereignty following backlash over trump's comments earlier this month that he would keep u.s. troops in iraq to watch iran.

following a meeting with shanahan, prime minister adel abdul-mahdi reiterated that the u.s. mission in iraq must be limited to helping combat terrorism. the senate has overwhelmingly passed a major new public lands bill, voting 92-8 to add over a million acres of protected wilderness, add four new national monuments, and expand eight existing national parks. a provision also prevents mining in over 370,000 acres of land around two national parks including montana's yellowstone. the bill, which now heads to the house for approval, would also permanently reauthorize the federal land and water conservation fund, which lapsed last year. in new york city, a federal jury rendered a guilty verdict on all 10 counts against notorious mexican drug kiningpin joaquin l chapo" g guzman after a three-montnth long trial. the counts include conspiracy to launder drug money,

international distribution of drugs, the use of firearms, and engaging in a criminal enterprise -- which carrrries a mandatory lilife sentence. during the more than 200 hours of testimony at the federal district court in brooklyn, 56 witnesses took to the stand with stories of murder, violence, spying, widespread corruption and even one tale of the drug lord escaping arrest in 2014 by climbing naked through a sewer alongside a former lover. this is u.s. attorney for the eastern district of new york, richard donogue. >> this conviction is a victory for the american people who have suffered so long and so much while guzman made billions pouring pores and over our southern -- poison over our southern border. this is a bigger for the mexican people have lost more than 100,000 lives in drug-related violence. amy: a new, sweeping investigation by the houston chronicle and the san antonio express-news reveals 20 years of

sexual abuse allegations within the southern baptist church, with over 700 victims, including many children -- some as young as three years old. 380 southern baptist leaders and volunteers have been accused of rape, abuse, and various forms of sexual misconduct. around 220 of those have been convicted of sex crimes or were given plea deals. the report also found that members of the church pressured some women to get abortions after becoming pregnant as a result of assault or threatened to shun them from the church. the church is the largest protestant denomination in the country. the report has prompted calls for investigations into the church and their role in covering up and enabling the abuse. eight families are suing the trump administration for the trauma and inexplicable cruelty of trump's "zero tolerance"

lawyers for the families say the policy has left the children with lasting emotional scars and altered behaviors, including not being able to sleep or eat. the suit is seeking $6 million in damages for each family. the u.s. government has admitted to separating 2700 children from their families, but a recent health and human services report suggests there could be thousands more. the nonprofit annunciation house in el paso, texas, recently told the guardian they still receive calls every week about new cases of family separations. in health news, the centers for disease control has confirmed over 100 cases of measles in the u.s. since the start of 2019. in washington state, where at least 55 cases were identified so far this year, governor jay inslee declared a public health emergency last month and lawmakers are considering changes to vaccination laws. asles is a highly contagious disease that kills over 100,0,00 childrdren worldwide each year. public health officials saththe recent rise in measles cases in the pacific northwest is d due o lawsws in washinington and orern

that allow parents to easily opt out of vaccinating their children. one quarter of kindergarten stududents in clarark county, wh is a at the heart ofof the recet outbreak, did not receive all their recommended vaccinations. in the state of new york, reports estimate at leas20200 cases of msles sin september ofof last year, with theututbrek mostly cononfined tohehe orthodx jewish comommunity, which h has partrticularly lowow vaccination rates. last month, the world alalth organization said that people who choose not to get themselves oror theirir children vaccinated constitute a global health threat. in vallejo, california, the family of rapper willie mccoy is demanding answers after six police officers shot and killed the 20-year-old after they found him sleeping in his car outside a taco bell. officers say they were called to the scene by a taco bell employee. although he was apparently asleep when police arrived, all six of them shot at mccoy when

he made a sudden move according to the official statement. mccoy, who was known by his stage name willie bo, belonged to the rap group called fbg. and the black revolutionary and activist nehanda abiodun has died at the age of 68 in havana, cuba. abiodun was a founding member of the new afrikan people's organization and an organizer with the malcolm x grassroots movement. after she was charged with helping us on a sugar escape from prison in 1979 and for her role in the 1981 armored truck robbery in which officers were killed, she escaped to cuba where she received political asylum. she went on to become known as the "godmother of cuban hip-hop" and helped connect artists through the havana chapter of the black august hip-hop project. a memorial service for abiodun will be held saturday in new york city. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!,

democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. juan: and i'm juan gonzalez. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. we turn now to venezuela. a north carolina-based air freight company has halted flights to that country following a report by mcclatchy linking it to possible arms smuggling. lalast week venezuelan authorits , claimed they had uncovered 19 assault weapons, 118 ammunition cartridges, and 90 military-grade radio antennas on board a u.s.-owned plane that had flown from miami into valencia, venezuela's third-largest city. the boeing 767 is owned by a company called 21 air based in greensboro, north carolina. the plane had made nearly 40 round-trip flights between miami and spots in venezuela and colombia since january 11, the day after venezuelan president nicolas maduro was sworn in to a

second term. the flights ended after mcclatchy first reported on them. venezuela accused the u.s. government of sending arms as part of its attempt to topple the maduro government. bolivarian national guard general endes palencia ortiz said -- "this materiel was destined for criminal groups and terrorist actions in the country, financed by the fascist extreme right and the government of the united states." amy: 21 air has denied knowledge of the arms shipment saying the flight had been chartered by another company called gps-air which also denied sending arms. while no definitive links between 21 air and the u.s. government have been established, mcclatchy reports the chairman of 21 air, adolfo moreno, as well as another employee at the company have ties to gemini air cargo, which was involved in the cia's rendition program during the administration of george w. bush. in 2006, amnesty international

identified gemini as a front company that had authorization to land on u.s. military bases worldwide. the cia has a long history of running front companies for covert actions. most famously, the cia ran front airline called air america which operated from 1950 to 1976. in the 1980's, a front cia front company called southern air transport was used to send arms to the u.s.-backed contras in nicaragua. we are joined now by tim johnson, who has been reporting on the story for mcclatchy. joining us from pennsylvania. welcome to democracy now! lay out what you found. mentioned, this air charter company, 21 air, repeatedly went to places in venezuela and colombia starting january 11. prior to that, it had largely

operated domestically. suddenly, he began to change its patterns. often, there would be even to flight today between miami and places in columbia or venezuela. i actually learned about this from somebody who tweeted about it. a gentleman in canada who follows ship and airplane movements noticed this and we started looking into the history of the chairman of 21 air and saw he has a number of businesses. two of those businesses used an address in northwest miami that were previously used by a subsidiary of gemini air cargo -- which, as you mentioned, was listed in the amneststy international report as having participated in renditions. juan: tim johnson, a boeing 767 is a pretty big plane. the cachet of weapons the

venezuelan government claims they found while -- nearly lethal weapons, is not a huge shipment. i'm wondering, do you have any way of being able to tell with the manifest of this flight as well as the other 39 or so flights that this airline engaged in, what they were claiming to hold? >> i actually don't know. we have tried to get that and we have not been able to get the manifests yet. what was aboard the other flights going to south america, we don't know. this is a very puzzling case. if you look on social media and dig into the backgrounds of employees of 21 air and associated companies, you see there are many accounts of employees who follow the venezuelan opposition and opposition to counts that follow them as well. there is some sympathy from

employees within the company to the opposition to maduro in venezuela. amy: talk more about the leadership of the company that you investigated based in north carolina and explain what you mean when you talk about the links to rendition under president george w. bush. well, but awful marino is 75% owner of 21 air and yes many other companies, but he is been involved out of miami. while the company is registered in north carolina, the operations really are out of miami as far as i can tell. that is were many of the flights have been operated. they've a huge operation center at miami international airport. secondary aspect of this story is that the company that consigned the cargo also has tangential links to this

historical -- the iran-contra affair. the head of gps air is a man jose manuel calvo. the partner that he used to create this company is a company called heavy lift air. and that company has a subsidiary out of the uae controlled by in iranian-american who also had a role in iran-contra. they're all of the circumstantial things, but there's really no smoking gun i could tell. this may just be circumstantial. amy: are you reporting this new now on iran-contra, what you're saying? explain to people who are not familiar with the iran-contra scandal, this happening under the reagan-bush years, the selling of weapons to iran to take that money to support the

contras in nicaragua, which violated u.s. law. >> yes. so that scandal involved southern air transport, which is also a cia-front company. that really exploded into the news back in 1986 because this in an east army shot down -- sandinista army shut down a twin plane that was run by southern air transport that was taking armaments to the contra rebels fighting in nicaragua. so southern air transport was actually heavily involved in the armed shipments to iran and from the middle east to the contra rebels in nicaragua. juan: i want to ask you about eugene hasenfus.

he was the only passenger to survive. i want to turn to a document made by wisconsin public television called the "the eugene hasenfus story." it featured an excerpt from the station's initial coverage of what happened him in 1980 six. >> a wisconsin man has been the focus of international news this week. eugene hasenfus. he said his mission was directed by the cia, but u.s. officials say the flights were privately directed. his wife joined him this week. onhas binge else and maybe trial in july. juan: the documentary also featured an interview with eugene hasenfus's wife sally. > the next morning g i triedo call p president reagan. i thought, well, it is the only place i'm going to get answers.

i should be able to trust him. he is ththe president. .nd i knew he knew he put me in touch with a man named elliot abrams. he said, i don't know who you are and i don't know what you're talking about. i got angry. before i hung up, he did admit he knew what i was talking about adding caps on warning me to be careful of the press and be careful what you say, because what you do. juan: interestingly or coincidentally, elliott abrams is now the special envoy of the white house to venezuela. of wondering your assessment this affair back then, the impact it had on what was going on at the time in terms of the work going on at the contras? >> i'm not sure i can really speak to historical impact, but i think it helped lead to a negotiated settlement leading to the elections in nicaragua in

1990 because it was, you know, clearly a major impact on that. but i really could not speak further to that. amy: but this whole issue of eugene hasenfus, this former marine, a mercenary, shotgun over nicaragua then held by nicaragua and eventually released, and his contact with the u.s. government at t the tie and now you raising this issue in your current peace around the arms shipment that was found notg into venezuela -- clear exactly if there's a connection to the u.s. government, but clearly the u.s. government is very overtly supporting the attempted ,verthrow of maduro,o, explicity and these flights starting a day after maduro's inauguration on january 10. yes, there's a lot of

these coincidental links. it is worth paying close attention to. again, i use coincidental only .ecause we don't really know other people point out to me that -- many people could have a vested interest whether the arms were really aboard that plane or is it possible that this was up toing that was genned really support for maduro. i don't know. we have not been able to determine for a fact that those weapons were loaded aboard that 767 in miami, that somehow they pass through the normally rigorous screening by tsa for air cargo. these are things that are just yet to be investigated. juan: has the company answered in terms of, as you mentioned, they normally were not traveling to venezuela and colombia.

the 40 flights, what they were actually in what they have said other than denying they knew what the cargo was. generally, an air charter company would trust the consignee of the freight to handle any declarations, i believe, for its part gps said it does not know what was in the cargo. amy: finally, back to the issue of rendition. you don't know exactly who this company was working for, that you do have a record of is the company being involved with the u.s. government during the president george w. bush years, being involved with rendition and having clearance landing on any base in the world -- american base in the world.

renditions,what the so-called kidnappings, were about? >> basically, the renditions were to take terrorist suspects following 9/11 for interrogation and black site jails scheduled around the world. there were a number of them in eastern europe. i know there was one in thailand , elsewhere, and these were used to, you know, forcefully ,nterrogate, waterboard, even suspects in the war against terror. so these rendition flights were commonly used in the period after 9/11. amy: i want to thank you so much for joining us. tim johnson, a mcclatchy reporter who has been covering national security and technology issues since 2016. his recent article headlined "venezuela says plane from miami delivered weapons for use by enemies of maduro." tim johnson was part of a team that shared a 2017 pulitzer prize fofor its investigation of

the panama papers. earlier in his career, he spent two decades as a foreign correspondent in asia and latin america. we will link to your piece at democracynow.org. when we come back, "none of the above: the untold story of the atlanta public schools cheating scandal, corporate greed, and the criminalization of educators." stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gogonzalez.. we turn now to the fight for public education, as the teachers strike in denver heads into its third day. district and union negotiators worked late into the night tuesday on a potential agreement, including a base salary of $45,800 a year for educators. $2500 booste a

from their expected pay for the 2019-2020 school year. but the denver classroom teachers association is still demanding the district rely less on bonuses and instead focus on incentives for teachers. the walkout comes just weeks after in his stork six-day teachers strike in los angeles ended with victory for educators demanding smaller class sizes and higher wages. the actions are the latest in a wave of teachers' strikes that began last year in republican-controlled states like west virginia, oklahoma, and arizona. the strikes have brought renewed attention to the plight of the american public school system, which teachers say is under attack. amy: are now joined by a former educator who says the teachers strike can help shed light on one of the largest public school scandals in u.s. history. is a formeron

first-grade teacher in atlanta, georgia, who is convicted for what prosecutors say was her role in a massive cheating scandal that jury national 2015.ion in robinson was one of 11 former educators convicted of racketeering and other charges. prosecutors say teachers were forced to modify incorrect answers, and students were even allowed to fix their responses during exams. this is judge jerry baxter speaking after the verdict was handed down. he ordered most of the educators immediately behind bars, an unusual move for first-time offenders. >> i make myself plane from early on, and they have made this decision and they have not fared well. i don't l like this in anybody o jail. it is not one of the things i get a kick out of, but they have made their bed and they're going to have to lie and it. it starts today.

juan: two of the forormer convicted turn themselves in. nine were sentenced to jail but rejected sentencing agreements in order to appeal. 21 other defendants avoided trial with plea deals. the case fueled criticism of the education system's reliance on standardized tesesting and elicited calls of racism. 34 of the 35 educators indicted in the scacandal were african-american. amy: shani robinson has written a new book with anna simonton called "none of the above: the untold story of the atlanta public schools cheating scandal, corporate greed, and the criminalization of educators." in the book, shani robinson writes -- "the dominant narrative that developed about the scandal rarely acknowledged the bigger picture -- federal policies that encouraged school systems to reward and punish educators based on student test scores, a growing movement driven by corporate interests to privatize education by demonizing public

schools, and land speculation -- correlated to new charter schools springing up -- that was gentrifying black and brown neighborhoods across the country." we are joined in studio by shani robinson, who is still awaiting an appeal in the case. also with us is anna simonton, independent journalist, editor for scalawag magazine, and graduate of atlanta public schools. she is co-author with shani robinson of "none of the above." welcome to democracy now! you are appealing these charges. you basically were charged u unr laws to get the mafia. >> correct. i was facing 25 years in prison. i was charged with racketeering and false statements in writing. amy: lay out the story. go back to 2013. tell us what happened. --so the cheating scandal atlanta public schools cheating scandal was a period of time in which educators were accused of

changing their students answers from wrong to write on standardized test. so i was actually the teacher for three years in atlanta public schools. my second year teaching, i was a first-grade teacher in that later becomes the year in question. in 2009. as a first-grade teacher, my test scores did not count toward the district target, which were benchmarks and posed by the aps school board and a administration or the federal standards, which was adequate yearly progress. in october 2010, i get a phone call from a georgia bureau of investigation agent. to a malle to come in parking lot, strangely. he tells me there has been an ration analysis stuff for the entire state of georgia. 20% of the schools over the entire state of georgia were flagged for you ray sures. amy: explain.

>> how many times a s student wt from wrong to right. amy: erases their answer. folks after certain amount, it is like statistically probable outside of human intervention. so the agent 20 in my class specifically, there were high levels. he asked me if i could explain it. i say, no, i can't. then he said, welded in the administrators or their principal ever place any have my on me to students cheat? i said no. then h he brings out a voluntary statement, prewritten, basically anyng you don't have knowledge about cheating, you did not cheat. he asked me to sign this form. the thing about this form is later it is used against many educators who signed the form. there were charged with false statements in writing, which is

a felony. teachers were put between a rock and a hard place because you are agent -- my two, there were no attorneys present. when they went into the schools, teachers were pulled from their plat -- classrooms and interrogated so there were no attorneys president. you have this agent asking you to sign a you did if you don't, not want to become a target, you know, but if you did sign the form, you could boot potential he become a felon -- particular become a felon. juan: this was touched off right feeling of constitution of began questioning the percentage of insures there are covering their investigation. what impact did that series have on the general atlanta community and it obviously touched on the law enforcement officials. >> right. at that time i believe there were -- it was -- there were about five schools, five districts. so that prompted the governor to

do a statewide investigation. as the even go as far widespread cheating is concerned , over 40 states in this country have had evidence of cheating allegations. 14 of those states, it was considered to be widespread. and washington, d.c., there were 103 schools flagged for suspiciously high erasures or test scores. so this was actually something that was happening across the country. what we can figure out is why teachers in atlanta were slapped with felony charges -- some of my codefendant's were facing prison sentences of up to 40 years. juan: anna simonton, in terms of their broader picture -- now, these indictments come down in the middle of the obama administration, president obama and arne duncan, his education

secretary were very much into performance-based measures of teachers and standardized testing as a way -- as a key way to measure whether a student is doing a good job. could you talk about the pressures put on educators. not only the educators, but the susupervisors and superintendens during this period of time. >> this was a long-running trend beginning in early 1990's when high-stakes testing began to be utilized by school districts like houston. it was codified in federal law in 2001 with no, signed by george w. bush. obama continued the policies of show -- no child left behind. one interesting piece to this story is however governor at the time the sonny perdue, used the same 2009 test scores to apply for $400 million race to the top grant. it was a great under the obama

administration for states that could show they were doing education reforms the federal government was pushing. so expanding charters, increasing high-stakes testing, that they could get federal funding. at the same time sonny perdue sins gbi agents to the schools of atlanta because he suspects the tetest scores of 2009 are fraudulent, he is using the same amy: why did you get involved with shani and writing this

book? q went to atlanta public schools. why was this so interesting to you? >> i had a take these tests and they were age rein on the actual education that i felt students should be getting in the classrooms. in my view, they are a waste of time. more important is my middle school counselor was convicted in this case. i, like many people, watched the convictions handed down, not really having followed the trial. it was eight months, the longest criminal trial in georgia history. it was hard for people to understand what was happening as a dragged out. but when the convictions were handed down, it was her breaking to see someone i remembered being this begin and my own childhood, along with these other teachers. when shani reached out to me, it was a wonderful opportunity to do something about this and try to tell another side of the story. amy: we're going to go to break and come back to this discussion. our guests are anna simonton is an independent journalist, editor for scalawag and shani robinson, the youngest of the teachers cononvicted in the atlanta cheating scandal. she is appealing her conviction. two teachers just recently went to jail. this is democracy now! their book is called "nonene of the above." we will talk about it in a minute. ♪ [music break]

philippines, authorities have arrested the award-winning journalist maria ressa in connection with a cyber libel case. she is the founder of independent news site rappler and believes president duterte is going after human rights groups. to see our full interview, you can go to democracynow.org. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. discussionnuing our with the authors of the brand-new book "none of the above: the untold story of the atlanta public schools cheating scandal, corporate greed, and the criminalization of educators." journalist anna simonton is with us as well as co-author shani robinson, the youngest of 35 teachers and staff charged in this scandal. juan: i want to ask shani robinson about the issue of high-stakes testing, the impact it has had on teachers, not only

in atlanta but across the nation, as we now know there was a huge parent movement had developed to opt out. in many states, huge percentages of appearance refuse to have their kids be tested constantly anymore. what was the impact on educators as authorities and state legislatures insisted on raising these test scores and constantly testing the kids? >> i think was devastating because teachers were constantly having to teach toward the test. that can stifle your creativity in the classroom. yeah, that is the main thing. i look at other countries that do not have high-stakes testing who continue to outshine other countries with academics. just this push an over emphasis of high-stakes testing and even how it has led to racketeering charges, a you know, i just think it was blown way out of proportion. amy: i want to go --

juan: in terms of some of the key figures, for instance, the atlanta superintendent of schools was also chaharged andnd eventually ended up passing away before she could be brought to trial. could you talk about the impact on the individuals in this case? - --really did not know you're referring to dr. beverly hall. i never met her. pretty much who i was in contact for principals. as far as that aspect, i really cannot speak to beverly hall. but i will say as a first grade teacher, i would not say i experienced as much as as maybe a third grade teacher or a great teacher because my test scores did not count, but there was definitely pressure will stoto just from the educational policies and the overemphasis of high-stakes testing. amy: let's go to beverly hall, the former superintendent, among those charged was painted by

some as the one who orchestrated the test cheating. you write in your book -- john "from the moment hall was elected, she was under a microscope." "everyone is watching her," wrote the atlanta journal-constitution. "from governor roy barnes -- who is hammering out his statewide school reform effort -- to corporate leaders, college presidents, and parents considering whether to entrust their children to the urban public schools." hall faced up to 45 years in prison, but died from breast cancer in before going to trial. 2015 she maintained her innocence. i then want to go to dana evans. dana evans is the former principal at dobbs elementary school, who was convicted in the test-cheating trial. this is evans on "pbs newshour" in 2017 responding to allegations ththat educators participated in cheating for financial gain. >> i got bonuses one year out of the four years that i was a

principal. it was $1000. i gave more than $1000 to dobbs. i paid for kids uniforms and paid peoples rent and their gas bills. that i-fensive would cheat for $1000. amy: that was dana evans. you both write in the book also about donald bullock, an ededucator who accepted a pleaea deal in 2015. in order to receive a reduced sentence, he apologized for his role. herebyonald bullolock, dodo sincerely apologize to students, , as well staff members as the greater metropolitan elena community fermata involvement in the 2009

resorting in cheating or other dysfunctional ask. amy: you both write in the book that bullock "endured the shame of reading an apology after maintaining his innocence for so long, only for baxter to slap him with five years of probation, six months of weekend jail, a $5000 fine, and 1500 hours of community service." anna simonton, tell us what happened with the different people involved from apologies, plea agreements, to appeals. >> 35 educators were originally indicted. many of them took plea agreement and many of those folks, it required them to testify in this trial. 11 folks went to trial. the trial itself was nonsensical. there were witnesses who recanted on the stand and said,

actually, i just so what i said in order to get this plea agreement will stop i never was under the kind of pressure that i am now supposed to testify against. former colleagues. additionally, witnesses were contradicting each other to the extent the judge jerry baxter said perjury is being committed here daily, yet he did not strike the testimonies from the record. he did not allow for a mistrial. everything was slated for the prosecution. six months of prosecution witnesses compared to weeks of defense witnesses. jerry baxter had become emotionally volatile, patronizing. and that is where we see him demanding apologies, not only that, but demanding folks give up their right to appeal -- which is really why many of the defendants did not want to apologize and network for trade in the media -- we heard the word provocative, as if they were flaunting somehow their

moral obligation. in fact, they would've had to give up their constitutional right to appeal. those are just some of the things that made this trial incredibly unfair. one for what about the sentences judge baxter handed out? will cut of message to that center educators across the country come everywhere? >> in incredibly chilling message. his emotional volatility was at times at first he was suggesting the school reform team directors , administrators, with 20 years in prison, would -- excuse me, 20 years to serve a fewer number of years and the rest of probation. that was beyond what the prosecution was actually asking for. slamming down the gavel on educators. amy: can you talk about the racial this aries in this case? 34 of the 35 people charged, inclcluding shani, african-american. >> no white teachers were

charged, even though white teachers were implicated in the original investigation report. another example is how the sasa was investigating atlanta public schools, they didn't equally and up investigation into doherty schools. it was flagged in the statewide look at the erasure analysis. doherty county had cheating on par with atlanta public schools according to the gbi, yet the local district attorney did not bring any charges. one of the big differences was the superintendent was a white woman, whereas beverly hall is a black woman who was a rising star in the field of urban education. juan: has anything changed in atlanta public schools in terms of student achievement, in terms are administered, in terms of their sense of modernizing enterprirising publc education? >> if anything, this has

reinforced the kind of corporate education reforms that we feel contributed to the conditions that created the cheating scandal. the narrative was constructed in a way to say, look how terrible public schools are. they are rife with corruption. they are failing. we need charters schools as an alternative, data-driven education instruction as an alternative. that is going to be the answer. time nathan of the deal introduced legislation on the day the prosecution rested to the media was full of recaps ,f how horrible teachers were he introduced legislation to agree something called an opportunity school district that was modeled on louisiana's recovery school district, which would enable the state to take over so-called failing schools and turn them into charters. as a result of amazing grassroots organizing, that was turned down. similar reforms have been put forward to continue those attempts. amy: you both document in the book the history of the suit -- destruction of the black community's of alanna because of

gentrification, poverty, the war on drugs. how does this lead to the cheating scandal? >> who is really cheating these children? if we think about cheating in terms of a lack of opportunity. some of the same people who were involved in blowing the so-called cheating scandal out of proportion have contributed to the heart of black communities historically. george's attorney general for many years mike bowers was the lead investigator looking into alanna public schools as attorney general, one of the main people pushing for tough on crime laws that vastly desolate to generational trauma the students are now ringing to hi schools. he called children super predators. then he is one of the most vocal people saying, although, these work children have been cheated by teachers. juan: what about the local elected officials.

alanna's been seen as a progressive city with considerable african-american progressive leaders. where were they when all of this was happening? >> that is a good question. atlanta has always been known as the city about image. historically, black and white elite have worked together to decrease any racial tension. why werethe question, so many black teachers, educators charged? if you can make a situation look like it is more black on black crime, you decrease the level of racial tension. in our book, we detail atlanta's history of displacement and destruction. we feel the criminalization of black teachers was just the next chapter in that legacy. whatshani, talk about happened you, how this impacted you. you were pregnant at the time? >> i was pregnant during the entire eight-month trial. it was emotionally and mentally

draining. was also financially draining. we were in court monday through thursday 9:00 to 5:00. the most disheartening thing to me, the weight was per trade in the media was educators cheated on their children's tests to get a payout. the talk about how we achieved of the children. the -- the lead investigator testified bonus money provided little incentive to actually cheat. so my bond was about $200,000, one of the lowest. amy: $200,000? >>

the media was making it seem like we had gotten all of this money. my school, we did not meet our target so i have never received one penny of bonus money ever. i test scores did not even count. and i did not cheat. amy: on what grounds are you appealing? >> the first step -- and my attorneys have been working diligently on getting the judge to recuse himself. during the trial, right before the verdict was released, he told the jury whatever your verdict is, i will defend it until i die. based on his own words, we already know where he stands on this case. he also had a private conversation with the district attorney. when that came to light, our attorneys asked for a mistrial but he denied it. there's a situation were even try to assist one of my -- one of the state witnesses identify one of my codefendants. there was a woman who was asked to identify one of my codefendants. she started walking around the courtroom and the judge called up to her and said, you're getting cold. the woman turned around and started walking the opposite direction. she never recognized my codefendants and eventually returned to the witness stand. it is hard to believe a judge can be in partial after doing so many things like that. reassignedand they

our case to another judge, but somehow this same judge, jury baxter, has been allowed to continue to preside over our case. amy: we began the segment by talking about the denver strike. anna, how do you see this leading to the bigger teachers strike? deeplyink it is connected. some of the same condition sparking teachers to take to the streets and protest and of the halls of the capital statehouses, issues of privatization, draining resources from the classroom -- these are all things that were driving forces of the cheating scandal and the way the narrative was constructed to demonize public schools in order to further privatization of public schools. in the sort of resurgence of education justice movement, a focus on black educators in particular within psycho black lives matter school

week of action. folks are really looking at racial injustice in the education system in a way that i ththink this case is sort of the academy of. juan: and the impact of charter schools in atlanta? have they grown? >> each year there has been an increase, although the overall number has not gone up a whole live because often new ones open and others close. that is part of the problem with charters, a fly-by-night situation. amy: i know you're both presenting none of the above at cuny tonight. what message do you have for educators? >> just to stay strong. i want people to know the aps cheating scandal was a manufactured crisis that scapegoated black educators and distracted everyone from the publicoblems underlying education. amy: we thank you for being with us. again, their book is "none of the above: the untold story of

the atlanta public schools cheating scandal, corporate greed, and the criminalization