Gulen's American Empire

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

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

May 30th West Springfield, Film and Discussion of Gulen Movement Ties to Hampden Charter School of Science Tarkan Topcuoglu

West Springfield screening film on Gulen charter schools as city's new charter school denies ties to Muslim cleric

The issue of charter schools with possible ties to a controversial Muslim cleric will be explored during a panel discussion and screening of the film "Killing Ed" at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 30, at West Springfield High School, 425 Piper Road.
The issue of charter schools with possible ties to a controversial Muslim cleric will be explored during a panel discussion and screening of the film "Killing Ed" at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 30, at West Springfield High School, 425 Piper Road.(Facebook / The Republican File Photo)
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WEST SPRINGFIELD -- The issue of charter schools with possible ties to a controversial Muslim cleric will be explored during a panel discussion and screening of the film "Killing Ed" at 6 p.m. Wednesday at West Springfield High School, 425 Piper Road.
The issue is of particular concern to Mayor Will Reichelt, school Superintendent Michael J. Richard, and local state lawmakers, all of whom have raised concerns about the publicly financed charter school that's set to open in West Springfield in the fall.
The Hampden Charter School of Science in Chicopee is expanding to West Side, where HCSS-West is scheduled to open in September at the former Immaculate Conception-St. Frances Xavier Cabrini property on Main Street in the city's Merrick neighborhood.
The new charter school is modeled after its successful Chicopee flagship, which will now be known as HCSS-East, and is expected to draw up to 588 students in grades 6-12 from West Springfield, Agawam, Holyoke and Westfield. 
West Springfield charter school denies ties to controversial Turkish cleric; Mayor Will Reichelt says allegations 'deeply concerning'
But critics worry it will siphon students and funding from the city's eight public schools. Besides the financial impact of a competitor taking a bite of the public education apple, Reichelt and others are concerned about the political impact of HCSS-West opening in town.
The school's Chicopee forerunner has business ties to organizations that have been linked to Fethullah Gulen, a self-exiled Turkish imam who lives in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains. Gulen is the inspiration for a growing international charter school movement that's already well-entrenched in the U.S., particularly in Texas.
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There's nothing wrong with that at face value, particularly since Gulen is viewed by U.S. officials as a "moderate Muslim" who preaches peace throughout the Islamic world. But here's the downside: His followers have been labeled terrorists by the Republic of Turkey, a U.S. ally, which blames the so-called Gulen movement for a 2016 coup attempt.
Investigations into how Gulen-inspired charter schools spend their public dollars is also a concern for some public officials, including Sen. Jim Welch and Rep. Mike Finn, a pair of state lawmakers from West Springfield. The officials have called for an audit of HCSS and question the process the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education used when permitting the charter school to open in West Springfield.
West Springfield planning discussion about charter school network with ties to controversial Muslim cleric
State officials initially approved a site in Westfield for the new charter school, but after that location fell through they allowed the school to switch sites to 475-485 Main St. in West Springfield.
No public hearings were held in West Side, according to Welch and Finn, who believe state officials had made up their minds about the site transfer before visiting the former Catholic church compound in Merrick. 
"The process by which this decision was made did not take into account the voice of West Springfield's public school officials, parents or teachers, the majority of whom opposed this move," Welch and Finn wrote in an April letter to Gov. Charlie Baker, asking him to intervene.
During deliberations over whether to approve HCSS-West, Massachusetts Board of Elementary & Secondary Education members raised concerns about Gulen allegations, but the board still voted to OK the new charter school.
Acting Massachusetts Education Commissioner Jeff Wulfson said the Education Department found no evidence to support allegations of "ambiguous financial practices" by Hampden Charter School of Science, according to February 2017 minutes of the state Board of Education.
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"The Commissioner noted that HCSS-West anticipates opening for the 2018-2019 school year and the school will be watched very closely between now and then. He said if the Department receives information about a nefarious situation involving the school, we would take action based on that evidence," the minutes say.
In general, state officials say HCSS has an "outstanding track record" and stand by their decision to grant a charter to HCSS-West. Tarkan Topcuoglu, the school's CEO, has denied any ties between his school and charter schools or organizations connected to the controversial Muslim cleric.
"We are an independent public school. We are not a religious school at all," Topcuoglu said.
Dominic Slowey, a public relations specialist in Boston who represents the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, took a swipe at Reichelt, West Side's mayor and perhaps the most vociferous critic of HCC-West coming to town.
"We're not a terrorist organization or a cult, or whatever the mayor is insinuating," Slowey said in an email to The Republican.
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In addition to siphoning students and funding from city public schools, Reichelt believes there are too many unanswered questions about the Gulen movement to allow HCSS-West to open.
"These kinds of allegations seem far-fetched," he said, "but the public record on this matter is deeply concerning."
Wednesday evening's free event at West Springfield High School will feature a panel discussion with Mark S. Hall, the director of "Killing Ed," a film that examines the reach and expansion of Gulen-inspired charter schools in America.
Other panelists include educators, members of the local Turkish community, state and local officials, and attorney John Martin, a partner with the international law firm hired by the Turkish government to investigate the Gulen movement. Massachusetts is currently home to three Gulen-affiliated schools, with critics saying HCSS-West will mark the fourth such school when it opens in September.
West Springfield Mayor Will Reichelt says city will 'absolutely lose funding' if Chicopee charter school expands to West Side
The event is cosponsored by the West Springfield Education Association and the Turkish American Society of Western Massachusetts.
"We're going to fight this until we can revoke this charter," said Bill Garvey, a member of the West Sprignfield School Committee involved in planning the discussion at the high school.
Hall said the main message of his documentary, which focuses on the heavy concentration of Gulen charter schools in his native Texas, is that funding practices, pay and gender discrimination, and the use of special visas to bring Turkish teachers to the U.S. are issues that have been linked to Gulen-affiliated institutions across the country. 
Both the federal Department of Labor and FBI have investigated certain schools with ties to Gulen, including whether his followers have skimmed money from these schools to help fund his movement in Turkey.
"I'd tell the people that this is an organization that you don't want operating any school," said Hall, noting that the issue doesn't split along partisan lines in the U.S., with lawmakers from both parties embracing Gulen as a moderate voice in the Islamic world. 
Superintendent Michael Richard says West Springfield Public Schools will 'work our tails off' to retain students after state OKs charter school for town
"I think it's nonpartisan. A lot of politicians who are involved in this are from both sides of the aisle," he said. "It's really about money when it comes to the purchase of political influence."
Gulen charter school backers are influence peddlers, according to Hall, whose film shows how the publicly funded, privately managed schools deftly navigate the corridors of power.
"This film has struck a lot of nerves," said Hall, an attorney who financed and directed the movie himself. "These guys have really found a very comfortable place to do their work."
Hall followed the Columbia Journalism School's rules for investigative journalists when filming the documentary, which was vetted by three different law firms and deemed "air tight," he said.
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"I'm a filmmaker," he said. "People can choose whether they believe it or don't believe it."
Hall will introduce the film, which is scheduled to be shown at the start of Wednesday's program, followed by a panel discussion from 7:45-8:30 p.m.
"My hope is the screening will give us the momentum and assistance we need to move ahead," said Garvey, the school board member involved in bringing the event to West Side.
"My ultimate goal is to have the expansion and original charter of HCSS revoked," Garvey said.
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/05/west_springfield_screening_fil.html

May 30th West Springfield, MA Town Hall film & discussion of Hampden Charter School of Science ties to Gulen Movement and Tarkan Topcuoglu

West Springfield planning discussion about charter school network with ties to controversial Muslim cleric

With a pair of Massachusetts lawmakers calling for an audit of a charter school slated to open in West Springfield, city officials are organizing a panel discussion and screening a film about a charter school network associated with Fethullah Gulen, a controversial Turkish imam behind a growing social, political and educational movement in the U.S. and Turkey.
With a pair of Massachusetts lawmakers calling for an audit of a charter school slated to open in West Springfield, city officials are organizing a panel discussion and screening a film about a charter school network associated with Fethullah Gulen, a controversial Turkish imam behind a growing social, political and educational movement in the U.S. and Turkey.(Facebook)
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WEST SPRINGFIELD -- With state lawmakers calling for an audit of a charter school slated to open in September in West Springfield, city officials are organizing a panel discussion and screening of "Killing Ed," a documentary about a charter school network affiliated with Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish imam who is the inspiration for a growing social, political and educational movement in the U.S. and Turkey.
The event is tentatively scheduled for next month, with details expected to be finalized soon, according to a West Springfield School Committee member who is involved in the planning process.
Ties between a network of Turkish-run charter schools in the U.S. and the "Gulen movement," identified by the Republic of Turkey as a terrorist organization, continue to fuel concerns in West Springfield, where the Chicopee-based Hampden Charter School of Science plans to open a new facility in about four months.
HCSS, as the school is commonly known, has alleged links to organizations with ties to the Gulen charter school movement, according to critics of HCSS, including Mayor William C. Reichelt and an international law firm hired by the Turkish government to expose Gulen's "suspicious activities."
West Springfield charter school denies ties to controversial Turkish cleric; Mayor Will Reichelt says allegations 'deeply concerning'

Tarkan Topcuoglu, a Turkish national and chief executive officer of HCSS, has denied any connections to Gulen, his followers, or charter schools connected to the controversial Muslim cleric. But that hasn't stopped local officials from raising the alarm about HCSS-West, as the new school in West Springfield's Merrick neighborhood will be called.
The most vocal local critic so far has been Reichelt, the city's popular young mayor and a lawyer, who says a new charter school in his city could lead to higher taxes and siphon students and funding from West Springfield Public Schools, which recently achieved its highest graduation and lowest dropout rates ever.
The mayor is also concerned about the Gulen narrative associated with some of these Turkish schools in the U.S., many of which have taken advantage of a special visa program to import staff members from Turkey. By the year 2034, according to Reichelt, HCSS will have paid over $8.5 million to its Chicopee landlord, Johnson Road Properties, which is owned by Apple Education Services -- a firm with purported ties to Gulen. 
"How can we be assured that the same practices wouldn't take place here?" Reichelt asked earlier this month. "To many parents, these kinds of allegations seem far-fetched, but the public record on this matter is deeply concerning." 
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"There are no financial ties to any movement," Topcugolo said in a recent interview with The Republican / MassLive.com. "We are an independent public school. We are not a religious school at all. It's not the purpose of this school. We are a college prep school."
Mark S. Hall, a Texas attorney and director of "Killing Ed," is expected to attend next month's panel discussion in West Springfield, according William Garvey, a School Committee member who is involved in organizing the event.
"This was just kind of completed today," Garvey said at the School Committee meeting on Tuesday, "so you'll be seeing some flyers and pamphlets and whatnot coming out shortly."
Garvey said the event is tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. May 30 at West Springfield High School, 425 Piper Road.
Also expected to attend are members of the Turkish-American Society of Western Massachusetts and attorney John Martin, senior counsel with Amsterdam & Partners LLP, the international law firm retained by the Republic of Turkey to pursue a global investigation of Gulen. 
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Before joining the firm, Martin spent a dozen years as a senior enforcement attorney with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He has an extensive legal background in both criminal and civil matters, including investigating and prosecuting cases involving insider trading, accounting fraud, and many other white-collar crimes.
Gulen, a cleric from the Sufism tradition -- a mystical Islamic belief and practice whereby Muslims seek to find the truth of divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience with God -- has been accused of trying to destabilize Turkey, a parliamentary representative democracy with a tradition of secularism.
Turkey has specifically blamed Gulen for trying to overthrow the nation's democratically elected government from the safety of his 26-acre compound in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains, where he has lived in exile for almost 20 years. Gulen has denied any part in a July 2016 coup attempt, which the Turkish government has blamed on followers of the Gulen movement.
Superintendent Michael Richard says West Springfield Public Schools will 'work our tails off' to retain students after state OKs charter school for town

Members of the movement operate the largest network of taxpayer-funded charter schools in the U.S. Some of these charter schools have come under scrutiny by the FBI, which has investigated institutions in several states. Nationwide, there are an estimated 150 Gulen-related charter schools that receive roughly a half-billion dollars in public funding annually.
Publicly funded, privately managed charter schools are generally staffed by non-unionized teachers and personnel and tend to outperform some urban public schools.
In West Springfield, the primary concern of state lawmakers who represent the city on Beacon Hill has less to do with any purported ties to Gulen -- a moderate Muslim who's viewed by many as a bridge between Islam and the West -- and more to do with the process used by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to allow HCSS to open a branch in West Side.
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"This process is completely broken and something needs to be done to fix it," Sen. James T. Welch told The Republican.
No face-to-face meetings were held with West Side residents, according to Welch, who characterized the approval process as "the shadiest type of deal I've seen."
Welch and his colleague, Rep. Michael J. Finn, have reached out to Gov. Charlie Baker and state education officials, asking them to reconsider the decision to approve the charter school. They have also called for the state to audit HCSS to learn how the taxpayer-funded school spends its money.
"They've shoved this down our throats and all we're getting from Boston is crickets," said Finn. "It's so infuriating. It's so outrageous."
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