Milwaukee Schools tied to Turkish Imam, Gulen Charter Schools

CBS' 60 Minutes on Sunday aired a segment about a network of charter schools in the United States that are linked to Fethullah Gulen, a powerful and reclusive Turkish imam who lives in Pennsylvania.

There are about 130 of these charter schools in 26 states, according to the report. And two of them are in Milwaukee, according to this list: the Milwaukee Math and Science Academy, at 110 W. Burleigh St., and Wisconsin Career Academy, 480 S. 2nd St., which has been chartered by Milwaukee Public Schools.

The Milwaukee School Board voted this school year to end its charter agreement with Wisconsin Career Academy, so the school is changing its name to Wisconsin College Preparatory Academy and entering the private Milwaukee Parental Choice Program for the 2012-'13 year, leaders there said recently.

The 60 Minutes segment points out that many of these schools linked to Gulen are high-achieving, and focus on math and science. But it also suggests the operation lacks transparency, and questions why Turkish immigrants linked to a powerful religious leader are building so many schools in the U.S.

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/151363985.html#!page=1&pageSize=10&sort=newestfirst

UPDATE ON MILWAUKEE GULEN OPERATED SCHOOLS,
1 TO BECOME PRIVATE
Deny, Deny, Deny-  So what else is new?

 Wisconsin Career Academy leaders deny any official connection to a reclusive Turkish Islamic cleric living in Pennsylvania, and they say they're not sure how their school became associated with the Fethullah Gulen movement.

The denial was in response to a School Zone post that highlighted a recent 60 Minutes segment on publicly funded charter schools connected to Gulen, a charismatic Islamic cleric from Turkey. 

Ali Yalmiz, executive director and principal of Wisconsin Career Academy, 4801 S. 2nd St., did not deny that some of the WCA leaders and staff are from Turkey. The school is ending its charter with Milwaukee Public Schools and will become a private school next school year with the new name Wisconsin College Preparatory Academy.

Charter schools connected to the Gulen movement have received complaints not for their quality - the schools run by Turkish immigrants tend to be high-performing - but for their lack of transparency and for importing hundreds of teachers and administrators from Turkey, according to the New York Times.

Also, the Times investigation questioned whether the schools are using taxpayer dollars to benefit the Gulen movement, "by giving business to Gulen followers or through making financial arrangements with local foundations that promote Gulen teachings and Turkish culture."

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/152292985.html#!page=1&pageSize=10&sort=newestfirst

 why are they "ending" their charter with the public schools?