"Gulen Charter Schools USA",a factual look at a worldwide movement to dominate education. Read about the "Gulen Charter Schools" in the USA as well as worldwide. Share our ride exploring the Gulen Movement tactics.
These postings are based on news articles, government documents such as H1-b Visa info, IRS information.
http://www.gulencharterschools.weebly.com http://www.charterschoolwatchdog.com
http://www.charterschoolscandals.blogspot.com
http://www.gulenschoolsworldwide.blogspot.com
Gulen's American Empire
Gulen Empire map from Turkish Newspaper. DISCLAIMER: If you find some videos are disabled this is the work of the Gulen censorship who have filed fake copyright infringement reports to UTUBE
Showing posts with label Gulen Charter School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gulen Charter School. Show all posts
Current principal of Hampden Charter School of Science, previously Principal with Central Jersey College Prep Charter School where he made the usual Gulenist claims "Top performing schools" "Blue Ribbon School" "waiting list" "US News and World Report Ranking" If you run Gulen operated charter schools like #DoveScienceAcademy #MagnoliaScienceAcademy #HorizonScienceAcademy et al they ALL make the same claims
https://nationalblueribbonschools.ed.gov/2016-bell-principal-tarkan-topcuoglu-central-jersey-college-prep-charter-school-somerset-nj/#.WyxdrKdKiM8
Priior to Central Jersey College Prep Charter School, Tarkan Topcuoglu worked at the now closed Gulen private school Putnam Science Academy, Putnam was sold to a private group and shortly thereafter Tarkan was named prinicipal of HCSS.
Just a few weeks after announcing a location was found for LEAD Academy, the Judge Rules in FAVOR of AEA that LEAD Academy approval process was illegal, and had concerns for out of town investor (Soner Tarim of the Gulen Movement former Superintendent of Harmony Science Academy)
Charlotte Meadows had the support of wealthy Alabama people and the Mayor of Montgomery. Charlotte has vowed to appeal but has she learned her lesson about partnering with the Gulen Movement aka Dr. Soner Tarim? Go Ahead Charlotte you appeal, and you will have the PEOPLE fighting you should you not shake lose your association with #GulenCrimeCartel #IslamicCult
resubmit a new application and WE THE PEOPLE may reconsider.
Montgomery's first-approved charter school has found its campus.
LEAD Academy announced Thursday it will operate out of the former Algernon Blair building, a 30,000-square-foot facility on a nearly 13-acre campus located at 2897 Eastern Blvd.
The property, which features two separate brick buildings and a lake, is owned by Montgomery businessman Rod Frazer who will lease the building to LEAD Academy. LEAD Chairperson Charlotte Meadows said the initial annual lease figure of the five-year deal looks to be in the $300,000 range and will escalate each subsequent year as LEAD adds students.
"Rod Frazer reached out to us and told us he knew how important education is to the city of Montgomery and that a charter school like LEAD Academy could be a catalyst for change that we've needed for so long. That's what we intend to be," Meadows said.
Montgomery judge rules charter school approval invalid
A Montgomery judge today ruled in favor of the Alabama Education Association in a lawsuit challenging the approval of the first charter school in Montgomery.
Circuit Judge J.R. Gaines ruled that the 5-1 vote by the Alabama Public Charter School Commission to approve the LEAD Education Foundation's application for a charter school fell short of the majority required in state law. Gaines wrote that the law required at least six votes for the approval to be valid. At full membership, the commission has 10 members, although it has only nine currently.
The AEA, joined by two Montgomery County public school employees, filed the lawsuit in March challenging the approval of the LEAD Academy application, which the commission voted on in February.
The AEA, which represents public education employees and is a longtime opponent of charter schools, applauded the decision.
"AEA will continue to be the strongest supporter of all students in all of Alabama's public schools," AEA President Sherry Tucker said in a press release.
Charlotte Meadows, chair of the LEAD board, said the board would appeal the ruling. The school had initially planned to open in August for the 2018-2019 school year.
"We're very disappointed," Meadows said. "It's kind of a sad day for children in Montgomery."
Charter schools, which receive public funding but aren't subject to many of the regulations of traditional public schools, are new to Alabama. The Legislature authorized charter schools and created the Alabama Public Charter School Commission in 2015.
An Alabama Education Association lawsuit filed Monday alleges that the state charter commission’s approval of Montgomery’s first-approved charter school is “invalid” or “arbitrary.”
The National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) recommended LEAD Academy be denied ahead of the state commission’s vote, because “the applicants failed to present a clear and comprehensive education program plan” and because a proposed loan from American Charter Development to cover costs of a new building raised financial concerns.
“This charter school is simply not a good charter school, “ AEA associate executive director Theron Stokes said. “An objective outside agency looked at it and said it doesn’t meet the standards that are necessary for it to be a charter school.”
The AEA sought an injunction to prevent public funds or lands from being exchanged with LEAD Academy. The school does not have a building yet, and the AEA said it has “information and belief” that LEAD Academy chairperson Charlotte Meadows has been discussing purchasing one of the three schools selected for closure by interim state superintendent Ed Richardson.
Meadows confirmed to the Montgomery Advertiser on Tuesday that LEAD had inquired about Dozier Elementary School.
The terms reached allow LEAD Academy to recruit staff and advertise to students as it prepares to open for the fall semester. However, LEAD is prevented from offering contracts to staff and and enrolling students.
The terms also prevent LEAD from acquiring any public funds or land between now and April 30. That includes any Montgomery Public Schools Properties and prevents LEAD Academy from receiving any funds from local governments. Meadows asked the Montgomery City Council for financial contributions Tuesday night.
Meadows told the Advertiser on Tuesday that there was a possibility of LEAD not being able to open in the fall if a building is not secured quickly. At Montgomery County Courthouse on Wednesday, Meadows sounded more confident.
“There’s no way the name Charlotte Meadows will be associated with anything but an excellent charter school,” Meadows said. “That’s what we will provide and we expect to have the school starting in August 2018.”
The contract has yet to be finalized between LEAD Academy and the state committee, which acts as the authorizer holding LEAD Academy accountable to benchmarks established in the contract.
The contract must be completed within 60 days of the approval date. LEAD Academy planned to open this fall and offer K-5 curriculum to 360 students.
The state commission is the authorizer for LEAD Academy because the Montgomery County Board of Education (MCBOE) did not become an authorizer until January, the month after LEAD applied to the state.
Charter schools that will be approved by the MCBOE — or interim state superintendent Ed Richardson as head of an intervention school district — have until March 16 to apply.
Originally Published 4:26 pm CST March 7, 2018
Updated 6:40 pm CST March 7, 2018
Creation of Montgomery's first charter school hits snag
A snag has developed in the plan to set up Montgomery's first charter school.
Monday, officials with Lead Academy confirmed they will not be purchasing the building that currently houses the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce's small business incubator, located at 600 South Court Street.
School leaders said the proposed deal with the Chamber of Commerce fell through but did not provide any details about the situation.
Leads Academy officials say the search is now on for a 'Plan B' to find another location.
The goal is to begin classes this fall, but delays in securing a location could delay that start.
WSFA 12 News has been unable to reach chamber leaders for their reaction.
A real estate holding company based in Syracuse cleared more than $300,000 in profit at the expense of a charter school in Greece earlier this year, according to real estate and financial records obtained by the Democrat and Chronicle.
Both the company, Terra Science and Education Inc., and Rochester Academy Charter School, which opened in 2008 as the first local charter high school, have evident connections with each other, and broadly with the nebulous network of Fethullah Gulen, the reclusive and controversial Turkish cleric living in exile in rural Pennsylvania.
Both the school and Terra deny there is a connection, but the D&C investigation has found numerous examples of overlapped personnel, lax invoicing, a lack of auditing and shared community affiliations.
Many Gulen-suspected schools across the country have entered into questionable real estate transactions with related parties, something critics label an attempt to siphon off the public money charter schools receive for their pupils. The importance for Monroe County residents, though, is the disbursal of hundreds of thousands of public dollars to a connected organization.
Such transactions, while not illegal, point to an oversight weakness in charter schools, which rely more heavily on contracted space and services than traditional public schools.
The Democrat and Chronicle has rebuilt the timeline of the deal that generated the substantial return for Terra.
May 2016: Terra Science and Education Inc. buys a shuttered school building on Latta Road from Our Mother of Sorrows Church for $700,000.
August 2016 to June 2017: Terra spends between $1.2 million and $1.5 million in renovations. Rochester Academy Charter School (RACS) leases the building from Terra in the meantime for $30,000 a month, paying a total of $300,000.
June 2017: RACS purchases the newly renovated building for $2.5 million — at least $300,000 more than Terra's costs for purchase and renovation, not including the lease payments.
The fat profit margin for Terra comes from public funding intended for the hundreds of students attending the school — about $5 million in 2016-17, and growing as the school adds grade levels each year.
Under normal circumstances, if a developer turned a $300,000 profit after owning a property less than one year and selling it to a public school, it would be evidence of ruthless commercial skill for the one party and hapless poor luck for the other.
When there is evidence the two parties are connected, it is a different story.
The charter school said it couldn't have purchased the property any other way, because its charter had not yet been renewed and banks were wary to lend. It pointed out that the current mortgage payments will save it $2.5 million in 15 years compared to the erstwhile lease payments.
It did, though, receive what it termed a reasonable mortgage offer several months before its charter re-authorization.
Rochester Academy Charter School insists it has no formal relationship with Terra, much less with Fethullah Gulen. The real story, its leaders say, is a graduation rate above 90 percent, one of the highest marks for schools serving mostly Rochester students.
"RACS is governed by seven independent board members; they make the decisions," the school's Executive Director Mehmet Demirtas said.
Demirtas and a number of other RACS leaders have connections with other Gulen-linked organizations. The RACS board president, Mahmut Gedemenli, was Terra's treasurer in 2010 and 2011, and two other leaders have been identified as representing Rochester's Turkish Cultural Center, an explicitly Gulenist organization.
"I may be a part of any social group, but that doesn’t make the school whatever you call it," Demirtas said.
Over the last 20 years, dozens of charter schools (a minority of the overall sector) have opened across the United States with a few things in common. They're run and partly staffed by Turkish-Americans with professional and personal ties to Gulenist organizations; they sign sizable contracts with Gulen-related entities; and they deny any Gulen affiliation.
Rochester Academy Charter School is one such school.
Allegations of a national or international Gulen network are based not on formal affiliations — RACS denies any connection whatsoever — but rather a well-established pattern of tactics in procurement, hiring and real estate.
One is reliance on Gulen-suspected contractors such as Apple Educational Services, with which RACS has a $15,000 no-bid annual contract for tablet computers. Likely Gulen schools elsewhere in New York have large contracts with the company as well.
A 2013 audit from the New York State Comptroller found RACS had issued split payments to four related companies in a bid to avoid seeking board approval.
Demirtas said this month he couldn't recall who the four vendors were. The Comptroller's office, though, identified them this month as four arms of a New Jersey business co-founded in 2009 by Murat Kaval, the CEO of the openly Gulenist Peace Islands Institute and a former public relations officer for Apple Educational Services.
Another recurring pattern is the widespread use of H1-B skilled worker visas to recruit employees from Turkey. RACS has applied for five H1-B skilled worker visas since 2013, more than every other Rochester-area K-12 school combined.
Former Gulen-suspected school employees elsewhere have alleged they were forced to give up part of their salary in exchange for the visa, a charge those schools have denied.
Demirtas said the school has used the H1-B visas simply to recruit for workforce needs it could not fill locally, including a science teacher and IT administrator.
More generally, he wrote in an email: "We routinely network with other local and regional charter schools, as well as social organizations. To imply that these professional and social intersections are inappropriate is irresponsible."
"Ercan Aydogdu, the Sonoran Science Academy principal who opened a school last year at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, now is principal at the Turkish-run Bay Area Technology School in Oakland, Calif."
From Turkey to Bay Area Technology School in Oakland, CA, to Sonoran Science Academy to Coral Academy of Science
http://gulencharterschools.weebly.com/principals-of-gulen-schools.html
Learn more here about BAY AREA TECHNOLOGY SCHOOL or BAY TECH
updated 10/26/2018 click here Click here
'Keep Out of McKinley Park!' Residents Voice Opposition to New Concept Charter School
John Kugler - May 08, 2013
Despite dozens of outsiders bused into the McKinley Park community to support a charter school that the Alderman had tried to foist on the community through the back door, residents of the McKinley Park community and the 12th Ward were clear in their opposition to charter school expansion during a heated meeting on May 7, 2013. The 12th Ward meeting was forced on the alderman by social media and Substance News investigations into the backdoor deal being worked out during a year when Chicago is not supposed to be expanding charter schools. Alderman George Cardenas, 12th Ward, has been maneuvering to open a "Concept Charter School" in the McKinley Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side of Chicago for several weeks. On May 7, residents voiced their opposition to the plans for the charter school in the face of busloads of outsiders brought in to support the alderman.
Part of the crowd at McKinley Park for the meeting on the proposal to put the Concept Charter School into the community. Actual community residents opposed the charter school, so the alderman and charter people tried to bus in outsiders. Substance photo by John Kugler.The school, which has been supported by Alderman George Cardenas of the 12th Ward, was supposed to be located across from McKinley Park at 2245 W. Pershing Rd in a vacant factory building. Substance has already reported that the proposed site, which would have to be re-zoned for the school to go there, has toxicity problems. Residents of another part of town have already rejected the proposed expansion of "Concept Charter Schools" in Chicago. The charter school operator currently operates the so-called "Chicago Math Science Academy" charter school in the 49th Ward on the other side of town.
In the packed gymnasium of the McKinley Park field house, residents and charter school supporters numbered at least 120. The crowd was subjected to listen to speakers for almost an hour explaining and trying to justify the need for a new charter school in the area.
There were about 30 residents from McKinley Park proper supported by various staff from neighborhood schools.
Then there were the bused in people numbering 90 from another Concept Charter School, the so-called "Chicago Math and Science Academy" which is located on the North Side of Chicago — a full 17.7 miles away from the proposed site of the new charter school. There were groups of charter staff standing behind McKinley Park residents as a show of force wearing matching t-shirts. There was even a former Alderman, Mark Fary, of the 12th ward in attendance to support Alderman George Cardenas. Cardenas is promoting the new charter school, supposedly to "relieve overcrowding" in the area. The residents of Cardenas's ward want real public schools, not more charters.
12th Ward alderman George Cardenas has long supported union-busting, going back nearly a decade when he appeared in support of Wal-Mart with a number of since indicated political leaders during the term of Mayor Richard M. Daley. Above, Cardenas tried to drum up support for the Concept Charter School being located into the McKinley Park community at the May 7, 2013 meeting. Substance photo by John Kugler.Alderman Cardenas who is whole-heartedly supporting this charter, started the evening by giving a rendition of his life story and struggles as a young Latino in Chicago. Despite widespread universal opposition to the plan, Cardenas declared that he knew what was best for the area and that this school was needed because of overcrowding in the neighborhood schools.
Boos and statics were called out to refute the Alderman’s claims. CPS statistics show the complete opposite of what Cardenas is telling the residents. All neighborhood schools in the McKinley Park area are running "efficiently" and could add capacity if needed.
Cardenas was unabashed in his conflicting versions of reality. On the one hand, Cardenas made sure to clearly state that he supports Rahm Emanuel’s policies and would go forward with his policies because he knew what was best for the community. In a slip of the tongue Cardenas said that Pershing/Western is one of most dangerous intersections in city. This is the exact location of where this charter school is going to be located.
"Then why put the school there?" was the reaction from the crowd.
Concept Charter Schools filled buses for the May 7 meeting at their "Chicago Math Science Academy," located in the 49th Ward more than seven miles from McKinley Park. During the McKinley Park meeting, they at first tried to pose as "community" residents, but were exposed by the actual residents. The alderman then passed the podium to Concept Schools spokesperson Salim Ucan who started by stating, "There are misconceptions about this process.” He then went on to try and explain to the crowd that all the proper procedures were followed. There were not too many specifics of the particular project that were explained. It was more about how this new school would provide what he called "choice" in this neighborhood.
To which teachers and residents in the audience yelled out that the schools were good in the area and this would take away much needed resources from the existing schools. One audience member made it clear that charter school movement had a direct negative affect on open enrollment public schools by taking away students from neighborhood schools.
“We do not need a new school, we need to keep the ones we have,” was shouted from the crowd. Another resident yelled out, “Outsiders do not have to tell us how to run our neighborhood.”
Mr. Ucan then passed the podium to Jeanne L. Nowaczewski, of the Illinois Charter School Commission. She went on to try to validate the "Concept" organization to the crowd. In one statement having nothing to do with the zoning issue at hand, she stated that the Concept charter school board of directors "has nothing to do with any movement, Gulen movement or any movement." To which the crowd gasped that a state official would openly take a position to argue against allegations of the alleged cult following from Turkey behind the Concept charter schools in the United States. Nowaczewski, like many other state and national charter school officials, got her start at the Chicago Board of Education, where for years she was in charge of what was known as the "Small Schools Office." After the "Small Schools" fad crashed and burned, her office was renamed the "Office of New Schools" and continued pushing charter schools for all of Chicago. Nowaczewski began her career with the powerful business group "Business and Professional People for the Public Interest."
When explaining the process by which the charter organization bypassed the rejection by the Chicago Public Schools of the schools application to open new schools, there was no clear explanation of the fact the the local school district would loose control of a school within the city limits. In fact Mrs. Nowaczewski made clear that in rejecting this charter that district 299 did not know what it was doing. She said, “CPS is wrong.”
Finally it was time for the audience to have their questions answered after sitting through a series of support speeches for the charter organization.
There was no detailed explanation of how a decision was made to locate a charter school at 2245 W. Pershing Rd. Audience members were told to write their questions in pieces of paper and they would be taken by Mr. Ucan to answer. This immediately started displeasure with the McKinley Park residents who stated this was their meeting and should be open for anyone to ask questions without writing then down. The first question read was about the fact that no environmental assessment was submitted to the zoning committee as part of the application to get this project approved through the committee.
Mr. Ucan started to talk about how his organization was committed to a safe school environment. Further he stated that in no terms would he as an educator himself send any child into a building that was unsafe. This reporter, John Kugler, held up an EPA Toxicology report and environmental assessment stating that the property was labeled as a toxic site.
There was yelling and an attempt to control the discussion, but residents did not allow Mr. Ucan to continue to state that the building was safe. When Mr. Ucan finally stated talking again another McKinley Park resident took to the front of the room stating that this was an undemocratic process. The speaker now was in front of the podium at which time police were deployed to take him away. The crowd booed and yelled their displeasure with this show of disrespect for democracy in a public forum. The gentleman was allowed to voice his concerns to which Alderman Cardenas stepped in and answered.
Then there was the topic of community of canvassing that Mr. Ucan was done door to door. To this there were shouts of "Liar!" and "Fraud!" from the audience. This is when I stood up and showed the audience the signature sheets purported to be from McKinley Park residents. The first sheet was signed by someone with an Indiana address. There was an uproar form the crowd. “Liar, fraud, you never been here!” were shouted at the podium.
At this point the Alderman and Mr. Ucan lost control of the room and discussion. Individuals started taking turns voicing their concerns and questions without waiting for the podium speakers to continue taking extra time to control the time of the meeting. Topics ranged from the lack of transparency to the union-busting record of this organization.
At this point Mr. Ucan tried to take control of the room with a narrative that all Concept Charter school employees were free to organize.
Teachers and administrators from Concept Charter Schools tried to look imposing in their charter school tee shirts during the meeting. Substance photo by John Kugler.CTU Staff Coordinator Jackson Potter quickly took control of the room by stating that the truth must be told. That in fact Concept Charter Schools has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting unionization in their charter school. This started an all-out refutation by many from the crowd against the charter school speakers and their union busting policies. To take back control of the room, the Charter speakers brought up students who were bused in from the North side to give testimonials about how their lives had changed by attending the charter school. The crowd quieted down in respect of the students’ right to speak even as they were used to control the room.
After the students spoke, some employees of the charter school started to speak about the union busting allegations again. This again riled up the crowd. After going back and fort for a bit while longer everyone agreed that there were strong positions on both sides. The Mc Kinley Park residents understood that the meeting was to be closed since no more progress was to be made during this session. It was clear that Alderman Cárdenas had used the meeting to try to reaffirm his position with support from the charter school so there was no more need to go back and forth.
After the meeting there was a document that showed the loading of the crowd with charter supporters by Alderman Cardenas in a clear conflict of interest as the representative of the 12th Ward constituency.
The only other news coverage of the event was by reporter Mariano Gielis of Univision, which aired the report of the meeting as its headline story on the ten o’clock news. The lead was “Molestos y enfurecidos padres de esa comunidad por la poca transparencia en la decisión de construir una escuela.” The translated headline:
“Upset and angry parents of the community for the lack of transparency in the decision to build a school.” Link to news report is here: http://univisionchicago.univision.com/videos/video/2013-05-07/escuela-charter-mckinley-park
Part of the crowd at McKinley Park for the meeting on the proposal to put the Concept Charter School into the community. Actual community residents opposed the charter school, so the alderman and charter people tried to bus in outsiders. Substance photo by John Kugler.The school, which has been supported by Alderman George Cardenas of the 12th Ward, was supposed to be located across from McKinley Park at 2245 W. Pershing Rd in a vacant factory building. Substance has already reported that the proposed site, which would have to be re-zoned for the school to go there, has toxicity problems. Residents of another part of town have already rejected the proposed expansion of "Concept Charter Schools" in Chicago. The charter school operator currently operates the so-called "Chicago Math Science Academy" charter school in the 49th Ward on the other side of town.
12th Ward alderman George Cardenas has long supported union-busting, going back nearly a decade when he appeared in support of Wal-Mart with a number of since indicated political leaders during the term of Mayor Richard M. Daley. Above, Cardenas tried to drum up support for the Concept Charter School being located into the McKinley Park community at the May 7, 2013 meeting. Substance photo by John Kugler.Alderman Cardenas who is whole-heartedly supporting this charter, started the evening by giving a rendition of his life story and struggles as a young Latino in Chicago. Despite widespread universal opposition to the plan, Cardenas declared that he knew what was best for the area and that this school was needed because of overcrowding in the neighborhood schools.
Concept Charter Schools filled buses for the May 7 meeting at their "Chicago Math Science Academy," located in the 49th Ward more than seven miles from McKinley Park. During the McKinley Park meeting, they at first tried to pose as "community" residents, but were exposed by the actual residents. The alderman then passed the podium to Concept Schools spokesperson Salim Ucan who started by stating, "There are misconceptions about this process.” He then went on to try and explain to the crowd that all the proper procedures were followed. There were not too many specifics of the particular project that were explained. It was more about how this new school would provide what he called "choice" in this neighborhood.
Teachers and administrators from Concept Charter Schools tried to look imposing in their charter school tee shirts during the meeting. Substance photo by John Kugler.CTU Staff Coordinator Jackson Potter quickly took control of the room by stating that the truth must be told. That in fact Concept Charter Schools has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting unionization in their charter school. This started an all-out refutation by many from the crowd against the charter school speakers and their union busting policies. To take back control of the room, the Charter speakers brought up students who were bused in from the North side to give testimonials about how their lives had changed by attending the charter school. The crowd quieted down in respect of the students’ right to speak even as they were used to control the room.