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| Exiled Imam Fethullah Mohammed Gulen's "Golden Generation" Compound in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania. Ironically, Gulen's wet dream is to operate schools worldwide and create a "Golden Generation" one which will be stewards of his neo Ottoman Empire. Where only the ruling class will be Turkish and the subjects will be Turkified and speak the same language as their masters.
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By Colin McEvoy
| The Express-Timeson February 28, 2013 at 8:50 PM, updated March 01, 2013 at 12:37 PM
For the fourth time in eight years, the Allentown School Board on Thursday
unanimously rejected an application to establish a new engineering charter school
in the city.
Board members previously expressed concerns about whether
the group is associated with a controversial movement led by Turkish
Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.
But Superintendent Russell Mayo recommended the
charter be rejected not because of any ties to that movement, but due to
concerns about its curriculum, budget and lack of community support.
Board member Julie Ambrose praised the charter
applicant's desire to create a individualized and safe school setting for its
students, but said the academic merits of the application fell short.
"The charter option for students is supposed to be based on
academics and provide a unique alternative academic experience that's not
otherwise available, but that is sustainable through community support, and
unfortunately this did not meet those requirements," she said.
Nobody from the charter application group or the public spoke
during the board meeting.
The Allentown Engineering Academy Charter School
sought to open at 265 Lehigh St. next year starting with 180 students from
grades six to eight, then later expand to all grade levels.
The school board has rejected three engineering school
applications since 2005 to establish the engineering charter school, in part
because of those applicants' affiliation with the Gülen movement.
The current applicants argued they were not affiliated with those
past applications even though all three were also called the Allentown
Engineering Academy Charter School.
While the Gülen movement was discussed during a public hearing in
December, it was not mentioned at all during Thursday's board meeting.
Mayo recommended rejecting the charter because the curriculum
failed to cover core academic topics, and because the proposed budget did not
cover necessary teacher training.
He also cited a perceived lack of community support, noting that
the district received only five letters of support from individuals or
organizations from the Allentown community.
"This application was weak in the area of community support,
which is one of the required areas of strength," Mayo said.
Board member Scott Armstrong said the board regrets rejecting any
charter, and encouraged the group to come back with a stronger application in
the future.
"I think there's a lot of good in this application that I
would encourage those advocating for it to pursue further," Armstrong
said.
Howard Kurtz, an education consultant who wrote the current
application, previously said "very offensive" and "obscene"
efforts have been made to falsely tie the application to the Gülen movement.
Kutz said of the 22 members of the current charter foundation
coalition, only two were involved in the three previous applications.
The Gülen movement describes itself as a nonpolitical civic
movement that preaches religious tolerance and the importance of science in
schools without advocating a specific religion. But critics call it a political
movement seeking to spread an Islamic dogma, according to a New York Times article.
Contact Allentown reporter Colin McEvoy at 484-894-2549 or cmcevoy@express-times.com.
