{"product_id":"none-of-the-above-isbn-9780807039915","title":"None of the Above","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn insider’s account of the infamous Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal that scapegoated black employees for problems rooted in the education reform movement.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn March of 2013, 35 educators in the Atlanta Public Schools were charged with racketeering and conspiracy—the same charges used to bring down the American mafia—for allegedly changing students’ answers on standardized tests. All but one was black. The youngest of the accused, Shani Robinson, had taught for only 3 years and was a new mother when she was wrongfully convicted and faced up to 25 years in prison. She and her coauthor, journalist Anna Simonton, look back to show how black children in Atlanta were being deprived long before some teachers allegedly changed the answers on their students’ tests.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Stretching all the way back to \u003ci\u003eBrown v. Board of Education\u003c\/i\u003e, the landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling that outlawed segregation in public schools, to examining the corporate-led education reform movement, the policing of black and brown citizens, and widening racial and economic disparities in Atlanta, Robinson and Simonton reveal how real estate moguls and financiers were lining their pockets with the education dollars that should have been going to the classroom.\u003ci\u003ePrologue\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER ONE\u003cbr\u003e Hook, Line, and Sinker\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER TWO\u003cbr\u003eFinding My Way\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER THREE\u003cbr\u003eThe Pot Calling the Kettle Black\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER FOUR\u003cbr\u003ePushing the Envelope\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER FIVE\u003cbr\u003eThe Darker the Night\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER SIX\u003cbr\u003eBetween a Rock and a Hard Place\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER SEVEN\u003cbr\u003eGetting Cold \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER EIGHT\u003cbr\u003e Not the Brightest Bulb in the Box\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER NINE\u003cbr\u003e Speak of the Devil\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eEpilogue\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNotes\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eIndex\u003c\/i\u003e“A former teacher convicted in the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal makes a strong case that students have been cheated by corporate profiteers and racist policies that undermine public education. . . . Robinson claims she didn’t do it, and her book leaves no reason to doubt her.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This collaboration of former Atlanta public school teacher Robinson and journalist Simonton is powerful, offering a bird’s-eye view into the now notorious 2013 cheating scandal. . . . What grips the reader most is Robinson’s personal story, especially her other black teachers’ trial under the RICO act, ordinarily reserved for racketeers. A vivid and dramatic look at the consequences of the corporatization of public education.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Provides an in-depth look at how the cheating scandal unfolded, resulting in a modern-day witch hunt. . . .Robinson’s own experience is engaging. For readers interested in educational reform, urban development, or the impact of race and racism.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Sure to be an important and, I hope, influential book.”\u003cbr\u003e—Noam Chomsky, author of \u003ci\u003eWho Rules The World?\u003c\/i\u003e, political theorist and professor of linguistics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The publicity surrounding the Atlanta Public Schools cheating trial convicted Robinson in the court of public opinion. With this book, she has the opportunity to present her case in full. Her voice deserves to be heard.”\u003cbr\u003e—Diane Ravitch, author of \u003ci\u003eReign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools\u003c\/i\u003e, former National Education Secretary, founder of the Network for Public Education\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A blistering account written by a Black educator who has nothing to lose but fear. \u003ci\u003eNone of the Above\u003c\/i\u003e is a stunning indictment of the loveless neoliberal politics of public education ‘reform’ that plagues predominantly Black communities like Atlanta. And those who conspired to create the theatre that was the cheating scandal should be shaking in shame upon reading.”\u003cbr\u003e—Darnell L. Moore, author of \u003ci\u003eNo Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black and Free in America\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eNone of the Above\u003c\/i\u003e forces the reader to think about the high price of the commodification of public education in the United States as well as public policy issues surrounding issues of economic justice and political power. This book takes the reader inside the burning house that our public education system has become and seeks to show us a way out.”\u003cbr\u003e—W. Ralph Eubanks, author of \u003ci\u003eEver is A Long Time\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe House at the End of the Road\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Sobering and brilliant, \u003ci\u003eNone of the Above\u003c\/i\u003e is one of the best, most timely books I’ve read.”\u003cbr\u003e—Kiese Laymon, author of \u003ci\u003eHeavy: An American Memoir\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Robinson has stood her ground at immense personal cost. Now, in this book, she and Simonton represent the best of teaching as they challenge taken-for-granted assumptions and reveal the root causes of urban school struggle—historic state neglect, racism, and profiteering at the expense of black communities. Will we learn or continue to scapegoat black teachers for a crisis they did not create? This is the real test.”\u003cbr\u003e—Kristen Buras, professor of education policy at Georgia State University and author of \u003ci\u003eCharter Schools, Race, and Urban Space: Where the Market Meets Grassroots Resistance\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“In an affecting narrative with scrupulous reporting, Shani Robinson and Anna Simonton detail the hypocrisy and greed behind an ‘education reform movement’ that used the same test scores to award Georgia federal grant money while sending black teachers to prison. Providing facts lost amid the ensuing media circus and stoking resolve to serve those at the story’s true center—the children cheated of opportunity before they even make it to school—\u003ci\u003eNone of the Above\u003c\/i\u003e is essential reading for those fighting to preserve public education.”\u003cbr\u003e—Angela Ards, author of \u003ci\u003eWords of Witness: Black Women’s Autobiography in the Post-Brown Era\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eShani Robinson\u003c\/b\u003e, an alumna of Tennessee State University, is an advocate for troubled youth and their families. She taught in the Atlanta Public Schools system for three years.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAnna Simonton\u003c\/b\u003e is an independent journalist based in Atlanta and is an editor for \u003ci\u003eScalawag\u003c\/i\u003e magazine. Her work has been published by the \u003ci\u003eNation\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eIn These Times\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eAlterNet\u003c\/i\u003e, among others.","brand":"Beacon Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46302498980069,"sku":"NP9780807039915","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780807039915.jpg?v=1767733858","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/none-of-the-above-isbn-9780807039915","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}