Expose The Gulen Charter Schools

Fulton Science Academy part of the Gulen Charter Schools

Fulton Science Academy DENIED renewal of county charter

Gulen Politicians - aka "Useful tools of Gulen": Gulen Tools in Georgia, Senator John Albers and Ma...

Gulen Politicians - aka "Useful tools of Gulen": Gulen Tools in Georgia, Senator John Albers and Ma...: Georgia Senator John Albers asks for resolution of Fulton Science Academy scandal  http://johnscreek.patch.com/articles/state-senators-...

Fulton Science Academy, A Gulen Charter School and it's lack of financial transparency

Note that Principal Kenan Sener who draws a salary of $93,863 under the Fulton Science Educational Foundation was on the Gulen Grace institute of Education (Alpharetta, GA)
In addition, the paperwork c/o for Grace institute for educational research and resources is to be sent to
Selim Ozdemir who is on the Fulton Science Academy board above as the executive director receiving $116,321 in Salary .
GRACE INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH & RESOURCES INC
Also Known As:
Physical Address:
5755 N Point Pkwy Ste 1% Selim OzdemirAlpharetta , GA 30022
Grace Institute for Educational Research & Resources INC
Physical address: 5755 N Point Pkwy ste1
c/o Selim Ozdemir
Alpharetta, GA 30022

Isn’t this a conflict of interest? Mingling educational funds with a “religious foundation”
source 990 tax returns filed with IRS @ http://www.guidestar.com/


Financial Mismanagement of Charter Schools – mentions Fulton Science Academy Article by Maureen Downey
http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2011/12/14/charter-schools-is-financial-mismanagement-the-issue-to-watch/?cxntfid=blogs_get_schooled_blog
part of excerpt here:
Avossa said past “issues” with the school bring a need for more checks and balances by district staff over its operations. Fulton Science, in its 10th year, serves more than 500 students and receives $3.9 million in state and local funding.
The charter campus paid more than $150,000 to a nonprofit without first putting the contract out for bid, creating an apparent conflict of interest. The school’s executive director and principal served on the board of the Grace Institute for Educational Research and Resources, which contracts with schools to provide technical support, professional development and purchasing services.
School district staff has advised Fulton Science that it could amend its application and reapply for a three-year contract. The shorter term would bring the middle school under the same renewal schedule as its affiliate campuses, Fulton Science Academy High School and Fulton Sunshine Academy. The schools joined together to borrow $18 million in revenue bonds from the city of Alpharetta’s Development Authority to help pay for a new campus, which opens in the fall. It will eventually house all three schools.


Fulton Science Academy middle School could lose it’s charter
http://roswell.patch.com/articles/fulton-science-academy-middle-school-could-lose-its-charter
Excerpt of article:
Fulton Science Academy Middle School, Fulton Science Academy High School (formerly known as TEACH), and Fulton Sunshine Academy have jointly solicited an $18.9 million bond to fund building a new campus to house all three schools. The three schools are liable for repayment of the bond. It's the Fulton School System's position that a three-year renewal would place all three schools in the same renewal cycle, ensuring adequate monitoring of the financial liabilities.
The Fulton County School System is no obligated to repay the bonds, board attorney Glenn Cook said.
The charter school's governing board said it needs the 10-year charter to ensure financial stability and enrollment, and to save millions in interest on its bonds. A shorter term for the charter would increase interest rates on the payback. Lassiter said the charter school offered a compromise of eight years to put all three schools on the same renewal schedule.

Evidence of Affilation to Gulen Movement.

http://gulencharterschools.weebly.com/fulton-science-academy.html

Fulton Science Academy / TEACH /
Fulton Sunshine Academy:Evidence of affiliation with Gulen Movement

by C.A.S.I.L.I.P.S. - Citizens Against Special Interest Lobbying in Public Schools
Page created July 21, 2010   Last updated Dec 2, 2011
These publicly-funded charter schools in the Atlanta, Georgia area are run by the Grace Institute for Educational Research and Resources, Inc.  The name of TEACH ("Technology Enriched Accelerated Charter High") has been changed to Fulton Science Academy High School.
The original name of Fulton Science Academy was "Cosmos Science Academy."  The name "Cosmos" has significance for the Gulen Movement; the Cosmos Foundation in Texas as well as the Cosmos Foundation of Georgia are Gulenist organizations.
In the comments section of this Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, Hakan Berberoglu, using the name "Gitano Bandolero," attacks other commenters for noting the connection between Fulton Sunshine Academy and the Gulen Movement; Berberoglu is assistant director of the Chicago-based Niagara Foundation, which has Fethullah Gulen as honorary president.  (The comment in which Berberoglu was identified has apparently been removed by the newspaper.)  
A 2010 document from River City Science Academy in Florida giving a tentative itinerary for the spring break trip to Turkey shows a stop at "Coskun College, sister school of FSA."  The document's metadata shows its title as "Fulton Science Academy."  Coskun College is known to be a Gulen school.  
Additional evidence can be found on this page, which explains the financial connection between Fulton TEACH High School and the Gulenist company Sema Education and Health Development Co, Inc, and on this page, showing how a group of Fulton students attended a summer program at an overtly Gulenist religious school in Turkey.  On this page, translated from a Turkish newspaper, an FSA board member is quoted as saying he is a follower of Fethullah Gulen. See also: letter from Fulton parent; and for information on academics, see an analysis of college prep at FSA compared to other Fulton County schools.  
The multiple affiliations of the following individuals, both past and present, give further evidence of FSA's connection to the Gulen Movement:
Isa Afacan  

• Fulton TEACH High School   
• Istanbul Center   (Gulenist organization)    

Emre Akbaba (a.k.a. David Condor) 

• Principal, Orlando Science Middle School  (2009-10)  (Gulen charter school)
• Teacher, Fulton Science Academy (2005-06) 

Cevdet Akbay

• Fulton Science Academy board member
• petitioner for Cape Fear STEM School, a proposed Gulen charter in North Carolina
• Quoted in Turkish newspaper article as saying he is a follower of Fethullah Gulen  

Baybars Bakay

• Fulton Science Academy computer science teacher
• Istanbul Center
• Turkish Olympiad of the Southeast
• Nile Foundation
• Turkish American Islamic Center of Florida
• Domain registrant for gulenschools.org  [N.B.: subsequent to the posting of this page, the domain registrant name was changed; however, screenshots have been saved as evidence that Baybars Bakay of Alpharetta GA was the original registrant.  Historical domain name registration information can be accessed by anyone who wishes to verify this, but generally a fee is required.]

Note: The Istanbul Center, Turkish Olympiad of the Southeast, Nile Foundation in Florida and Turkish American Islamic Center of Florida are all Gulenist organizations.
Mustafa Basgun

• Fulton Science Academy board member
• Global Spectrum Foundation

Note: Global Spectrum Foundation is a Gulenist umbrella organization running the Istanbul Center. 
Dr. Levent Bulut

• Fulton Science Academy board member
• Former Treasurer of the Cosmos Foundation

Note: The Houston-based Cosmos Foundation is affiliated with the Gulen Movement.  The Harmony Science Academy schools, Dove Science Academy schools in Oklahoma, the Pelican Foundation which in turn runs charter schools in Louisiana, and the science fair ISWEEEP are all under the auspices of Cosmos.

 Ahmet Dastan a.k.a. Ahmed Dastan, Matt Dastan

• Fulton Science Academy, science teacher
• Cosmos Foundation of Georgia
• BAKIAD, Turkey-based partner of the Niagara Foundation
• guide/leader of Turkey trips organized by the Gulen Movement

Note: The Cosmos Foundation, the main branch of which is in Texas, is a major non-profit of the Gulen Movement.  The Niagara Foundation in Chicago is also a prominent Gulenist organization.  BAKIAD subsidizes numerous Turkey trips for Americans; some are "interfaith" and some are organized through schools.
Mustafa Deniz

• Former employee, Fulton Science Academy
• Principal, Sonoran Science Academy, Phoenix
• Former IT/IS Administrator, Sonoran Science Academy, Phoenix

Note: Sonoran Science Academy is affiliated with the Gulen Movement.  See Arizona Daily Star articles: SSA, Gulen Movement, and several of reporter Tim Steller's blog posts from April, May 2010.
Tahir Duzyol

• Graduate of Yamanlar Science High School
• Fulton Science Academy
• Outreach director, Istanbul Center, Atlanta,GA 
• Involved with Peace Valley Foundation, Alabama

Note: The Istanbul Center and the Peace Valley Foundation are Gulenist organizations.  Yamanlar Science High School is located in Turkey and is part of the Gulen Movement.  
Ismail Fidan  

• Fulton Science Academy governing board
• Coral Academy of Science (Gulen charter school in Nevada) grant writing and fundraising  
• Board Member, Nashville Charter Middle School (proposed Gulen charter school in Tennessee that never materialized)

Fethi Goktepe (a.k.a. Timothy Bluehill)

• Fulton Science Academy teacher
• Principal, Sweetwater Branch Academy charter school, Florida

Note: Sweetwater Branch Academy is a Gulen charter school.
Tuba Aktaran-Kalayci

•  Wife of Altan Kalayci
• Participated in Istanbul Center events such as Annual Dialogue Dinners

Note: The Istanbul Center is affiliated with the Gulen Movement.
Altan Kalayci

•  Istanbul Cultural Center
• Global Spectrum Foundation
• Judge at Turkish Olympics which Fulton Science Academy students participate in
• Participated in interfaith meeting with pope: “He came to the memorial Mass with his colleague Altan Kalayci; they strive to promote cultural understanding and interfaith dialogue through the Istanbul Cultural Center in Atlanta.  He said the Vatican ambassador in Turkey has a very good relationship with Muslim leaders there and one of their leading scholars, Fethullah Gulen, visited the Vatican in 1998.”

Note: Global Spectrum Foundation is a Gulenist umbrella organization running the Istanbul Center.  The Turkish Olympics, a.k.a. Turkish Olympiad, is run by the Gulen Movement.
Mustafa Kececi

• Fulton Science Academy Board Member
•  Vice President & Treasurer, Member, Board of Directors, TACC Southeast (Turkish American Chamber of Commerce of the Southeast United States)

Note: TACC Southeast is a Gulenist organization, as evidenced by the following statement on the Istanbul Center website: “The purpose of the meeting was to brief Governor Perdue about Istanbul Center, telling him about its events and programs, as well as those for the Turkish American Chamber of Commerce of the Southeast (TACC Southeast), a sister organization.”

  Ayhan Korucu

• President Of Fulton Science Academy Middle School Governing Board
• Founding Member of Fulton Science Academy, Inc.
• Istanbul Center, Development Member and Volunteer
• Judge, Turkish Olympiad of the Southeast US
• Global Spectrum Foundation
• President, Board of Directors, : TACC Southeast (Turkish American Chamber of Commerce of the Southeast United States)

Note: The Global Spectrum Foundation runs the Istanbul Center.  The Istanbul Center, TACC Southeast and the Turkish Olympiads are part of the Gulen Movement.

  Tuncay Kucuktas

• Board member and CFO, Fulton Science Academy
• Board of Directors, TACC Southeast

Note: TACC Southeast is a Gulenist organization.
Ebru Oncul

• Teacher, Fulton Science Academy
• Istanbul Center
• Wife of Fatih Oncul, who has multiple connections with the Gulen Movement (see below)

Note: The Istanbul Center is affiliated with the Gulen Movement.
 
Fatih Oncul

• Husband of teacher Ebru Oncul, Fulton Science Academy
•  Board Member, Paterson Charter School of Science and Technology
• Judge, Turkish Olympiads of the Southeast US
• Director, Snowdrop Education Services; founder of Snowdrop Science Academy
• Volunteered to organize public seminars through Interfaith Dialog Center, New Jersey
• Advisor for Pioneer Academy of Science
• Volunteered for Bosphorous Education Corporation

Note: Paterson Charter School is a publicly-funded Gulen school.  Pioneer Academy of Science is a private Gulen school in New Jersey.  Snowdrop Science Academy was a private Gulen school in Pennsylvania, which has ceased operations.  Bosphorous Education Corporation/Center is a tutoring and ESL business run by the Gulen Movement.
Bekir Ozcan (a.k.a. Bekir Ozchan)

• Fulton Science Academy lead petitioner
• Cosmos Foundation of Georgia

Note: The Cosmos Foundation of Georgia is affiliated with the Gulen Movement.
Ali Ozer

• Fulton Educational Services, Inc.
• Grace Institute for Educational Research and Resources, Inc (IRS Form 990 Grace)
• Board President of the Fulton Sunshine Academy
• Assistant Principal, TEACH (Technology Enriched Accelerated Charter High School)
• Outreach Committee Member, Istanbul Center for Culture and Dialogue
• Chairman of the planning committee for the proposed Greenville Science Charter School  http://www.swampfox.ws/trustees-deny-charter-for-new-science-school
• Participated in Interfaith Dialog Dinner at the Intercultural Dialogue Association, Alabama
• Wife Mirkena Ozer wrote article for Fountain Magazine about Ali Ozer

Note: The Istanbul Center is run by the Gulen Movement.  Greenville Science Charter School was a proposed Gulen charter school.   The Intercultural Dialogue Association in Alabama is a Gulenist organization.  Fountain Magazine is a major publication of the Gulen Movement; Fethullah Gulen writes the lead article for each issue.

  Kenan Sener

• Principal, Fulton Science Academy
• Wrote article for Fountain Magazine
• Led group of students attending summer program at Gulenist religious school in Turkey

Note: Fountain Magazine is a major publication of the Gulen Movement; Fethullah Gulen writes the lead article for each issue.
Namik Sercan

• Board President of the Fulton Sunshine Academy
• Grace Institute for Educational Research and Resources, Inc
• Assistant Principal, TEACH
• Author, Fountain Magazine

Note: Fountain Magazine is a major publication of the Gulen Movement; Fethullah Gulen writes the lead article for each issue.
 
Alper Tekten

• Assistant Principal  of Triad Math and Science Academy, North Carolina
• Board Member, proposed Wake Math and Science Academy, North Carolina
• Fulton Science Academy/teacher (“internship”) and “assisted the governing board of the school with the renewal process of the charter which was approved for another five years…During his internship, he helped and consulted several other charter school applications in Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina including Triad Math and Science Academy. He also helped two charter schools in Florida to be established and recruit students.”

Note: Triad Math and Science Academy and the proposed Wake Math and Science Academy are Gulen charter schools.  The schools referred to in other states are also all Gulen charter schools. 

LETTER FROM FULTON SCIENCE ACADEMY PARENT

http://gulencharterschools.weebly.com/fulton-science-academy---letter-from-parent.html

Fulton Science Academy - letter from parent

In May 2011, this website received a communication from a Fulton Science Academy parent.  It is reproduced verbatim below.  It refers to a January 2011 compliance report by Fulton County Schools (the government agency charged with regulating Fulton Science Academy).

_______________________________________________________________________________

Here is a link to the Fulton Science Academy Middle School Compliance Report,http://fsamiddle.org/images/stories/interimcompliance.pdf.  I think you will find
this report very interesting in light of the recent news articles questioning the
business practices of Gulen inspired schools.

You will note that FSA performs well on an academic level and that is not the issue
facing these schools.

The document highlights many common concerns:

• Staff Qualifications
• Financial Practices
• Transparency
• Accountability
• Parent Involvement

Highlight:
The county has required that all FSA schools cease and desist business with The Grace Institute on March 4, 2011.  The Grace Institute was created by former leaders of FSA schools and Board Members, a clear conflict of interest.  Taxpayer money was going to a company formed by the school administration.  And the school did not follow the proper bidding process violating the school district policy.  I appreciate your approach to researching the schools. You have stuck to the facts.  Unfortunately, the schools have a deeper agenda.  I agree that there are some very nice teachers at the FSA schools but they are not telling the truth.

The Fulton County Department of Education is committed to the success of charter schools.  They have done everything possible to make sure that charter schools are following the rules IF the parents and community understand the responsibilities and influence they have over the Board.

The success of the schools are in the hands of the board, parents & community.

I hope that parents will:

• find out who is on the Board
• attend Board Meetings
• understand they share responsibility for hiring

Next, parents need to educate themselves and their kids on the Gulen movement.  Find out what the Gulen movement stands for beyond the marketing.  Do you believe in Gulen's vision for Turkey, treatment of women and the fact his followers are not direct about their intentions?  If not, ask questions.

_______________________________________________________________________________
 For readers' convenience, a copy of the report is also available for download below.

Gulen Charter School-Are the Gulen Movement inspired Charter Schools operating in Oklahoma?

Senator James Halligan with Dove Science Academy staff and students.  The ever present photo opportunity and gifts to local politicans, academia or media.

http://ztruth.typepad.com/ztruth/2011/05/are-gulen-islamic-movement-charter-schools-operating-in-oklahoma.html

Are Gulen Movement inspired charter schools operating in Oklahoma?

This is another charter school operated under the Cosmos Foundation in Oklahoma.

Fethullah Gulen is a Turkish Islamic scholar who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania. Followers are generally referred to as the Gulen Movement.  There's growing concern about his movement and possible connections to Gulen-inspired charter schools in America.  There may be four in Oklahoma. 

On March 11th, a story appeared in the Hurriyet Daily News titled FBI investigating Gülen schools in US:

The FBI and other U.S. federal agencies have been investigating whether a Turkish religious community operating hundreds of schools worldwide is involved in visa fraud to bring teachers from Turkey to the United States.

The claim was made in a broad analysis by the Philadelphia Enquirer on religious leader Fethullah Gülen, who the paper describes as “a major Islamic political figure in Turkey,” and the more than 120 charter schools in the United States that are are linked to his movement..."

Based on a "broad analysis" the paper claimed there may be a connection to the Gulen movement and a good number of charter schools across America.  In an April 4, 2011 article at Philly.com, WikiLeaks files detail U.S. unease over Turks and charter schools there's more eye-opening information:

Classified documents recently released by WikiLeaks recount U.S. officials' growing concern over large numbers of Turkish men seeking visas to work at American charter schools founded by followers of Fethullah Gulen, a powerful Turkish Muslim political figure who lives in the Poconos.

"Gulen supporters account for an increasing proportion of [the] . . . nonimmigrant visa applicant pool," a consular official in Istanbul, Turkey, wrote in 2006, according to one of the documents posted by WikiLeaks two weeks ago.

...Gulen, who is in his early 70s, lives in self-imposed exile in an enclave in Saylorsburg, Pa. A federal judge in Philadelphia granted Gulen a green card in 2008 after Gulen appealed a Department of Homeland Security ruling that he did not meet the criteria to qualify as an "alien of extraordinary ability."

...Many scholars consider Gulen's movement a peaceable, moderate strain of Islam, and the federal inquiries have nothing to do with terrorism.

...In Turkey, however, Gulen's followers have been accused of pushing for an authoritarian Islamic state.

...A disaffected former Turkish teacher who had worked at one of Gulen's charter schools told federal authorities that the movement had divided the United States into five regions. A general manager in each coordinates the activities of the schools and related foundations and cultural centers.

The former teacher also provided a document called a tuzuk, which resembles a contract and prescribes how much money teachers employed on H1-B visas are supposed to return to Hizmet.

According to a website which I have no way of knowing is providing accurate information, at this point, the List of Gulen linked-U.S. Schools includes four in Oklahoma operated by the Sky Foundation which is located in Oklahoma City:

Organization: Sky Foundation

• Discovery School of Tulsa  http://www.discoveryok.org/
• Dove Science Academy- Oklahoma City http://www.dsaokc.org/
• Dove Science Academy Elementary School  http://www.dsaelementary.org/
• Dove Science Academy-Tulsa   http://dsatulsa.org/  

The president of the board of education for these schools is listed on one of the school's websites to be Dr. Bilal Erturk who also appears to be an OSU professor who has the exact same name. Erturk participated in a Tulsa Interfaith panel discussion called Clash of Civilizations in March of 2010 where he praised Gulen influenced schools as a solution to ignorance:

"...Erturk focused on the need to start with the youth of the world to navigate away from conflict. He gave examples of Gulen inspired schools in the Philippines and Bosnia where children of different cultures, religions and ethnicity learn and grow together. He believes examples such as these will serve an an antidote to the ignorance and misunderstanding that Dr. Randle highlighted..."

Hummm...

Erturk is also listed as the president of Sky Foundation in a 2009 letter of intent to apply for an open-enrollment charter school in Arkansas that was denied a few months later.

A 2006 Fethullah Gulen Conference was held at the University of Oklahoma to promote his movement!

An unfortunate and tragic crime took place at the Dove Academy in Tulsa in 2008 when an 11 year-old student was raped by a 17 year old who plead guilty to the crime last year.  In October of 2009 the Tulsa School Board voted to end their sponsorship of Dove Science Academy in Tulsa over deficiencies but approved it for a one year period in Jan 2010. Today, the school is sponsored by Langston University.

And for some reason, Carla Hinton, the religious editor for the Oklahoman was interviewed in 2008 by the Gulen Movement which is on the Gulen Movement's YouTube page and titled it as if she was talking about the movement.

Today, NewsOK posted a story, Schools' backers say Islamic ties pose no threat, about these schools in Oklahoma.  The Sky Foundation, it turns out,was started in 2000 by five Turkish graduate students. These schools apparently receive tax-payer money to operate, folks.  So, it's possible many foreign teachers could be brought into Oklahoma on the tax payer dime:

"...Those teachers, along with many others on the school's four campuses, came to America on H-1B visas. Federal law allows employers unable to find qualified American employees to fill positions with foreign labor through a visa application process.

"...Last year, according to U.S. Department of Labor records, Sky and its charter schools had 53 H-1B visa applications, of which eight were withdrawn or denied and 45 were certified. The certified applications were sent to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Department of State for further approval. Some were approved, others not..."

Defenders of the charter schools in question claim it's just the far-right freaks who are making up allegations.

-----

Also see:

Gulen Charter School Investigated by the FBI WJIAC TV (PA)

"...local teachers were let go to bring in foreign teachers...

Gulen Charter School Investigated by FBI PT 2

Second International Conference on Islam in the Contemporary World: The Fethullah Gülen Movement in Thought and Practice from Fethullah Gülen Dr. Sheryl L. Santos Texas Tech University (conference held at the University of Oklahoma 2006)

A Guide to the Gulen Movement's Activities in the US

Gülen movement an enigmatic mix of Turkish nationalism, religion, education

Oklahoma Charter School Program