My child was a student at the Gulen Harmony Science Academy School in Texas, we served on the Parent Association and were involved with many fundraisers. Gulen Charter School- We were very dedicated to this group until we realized there was more to these schools than just "education". Our posts are from actual news sources and government data such as IRS tax returns, H1-B Visa information and other documentation.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Harmony Science Academies, A Gulen charter school under INVESTIGATION
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| New Harmony School of Polticial Science for Austin, TX, the Gulen Movement is going to teach American students about politics? Notice the obvious Turkish design of the American school. |
http://libertylinked.com/posts/7620/breaking-gulen-turkish/View.aspx
http://www.texasinsider.org/?p=49197
http://educationviews.org/2011/06/28/breaking-gulen-turkish-charter-schools-to-be-investigated-in-texas/
http://www.texasinsider.org/?p=49197
http://educationviews.org/2011/06/28/breaking-gulen-turkish-charter-schools-to-be-investigated-in-texas/
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Harmony Science Academy A Gulen Charter School to be investigated- Who's Sorry Now?
By Mike Ward | Tuesday, June 28, 2011, 06:57 PM
Amid concerns over curriculum and construction financing of publicly funded charter schools, the House General Investigating Committee will look into the state’s growing network of the privately run public schools, officials confirmed this evening.
Earlier this afternoon, legislative leaders said those concerns had played a role in an initial defeat of Senate Bill 1, a key budget-balancing bill, over provisions that provided state guarantees for charter school bonds among others.
When the House on a second vote approved SB 1, there was brief mention by state Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, that the House panel would look into the operations of Harmony Schools, one of the largest charter school operators.
Its connections with a Turkish group and its use of teachers from Turkey were among the issues raised in a recent New York Times story about Harmony Schools, an article that piqued lawmakers’ interest, as well.
House General Investigating Committee Chairman Chuck Hopson, R-Jacksonville, said his committee has started a preliminary look-see into Harmony “and all the other charter school operators in the state.
“It’s nothing criminal. We just want to see whether they are spending our (state) money wisely,” he said. “There have been some concerns about (Harmony) building schools without competitive bidding, and about other issues, but we are going to looking at every one of the charters.”
He said the inquiry remained in the preliminary stages.
“There are a lot of people, including some members of the House, who have children in (Harmony Schools) and are very satisfied with them,” Hopson said.
House Education Committee Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, said from what he knows, many charter schools including the Harmony Schools are successful. “There are a lot of people who think highly of them,” he said.
Earlier today, representatives from the Eagle Forum, a conservative group, were lobbying Capitol offices over their concerns about Harmony Schools, among other issues, several lawmakers said.
Before the second House vote on SB 1, several lawmakers said during floor debate that the concerns raised by the Eagle Forum had figured in the initial ‘no’ vote, but it was not clear just which concerns were involved.
Representatives from the Eagle Forum and Harmony Schools could not immediately be reached for comment.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Gulen Charter Schools-Harmony Science Academy Turkey ranked lowest in college graduates
Can someone explain how the Gulen Movement has conned local school districts in the USA that Turkey has some sort of superior education? BALONEY!!!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304066504576341353566196300.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
JUNE 27, 2011
In Search of a New Course
Germany's once-lauded education system is under fire. But fixing it hasn't been easy.
Germany, the birthplace of kindergarten and the modern university, has long been admired for its commitment to education and for good reason: For generations its specialized schools produced more than their share of Nobel Prize winners, as well as the highest skilled tradesmen—high-octane fuel for Europe's economic powerhouse.
Journal Report
Today, however, Germany is coming to grips with a much different report card—that of an academic underachiever. Almost one-fifth of Germany's 15-year-olds can't read proficiently, and just 29.8% of young adults have a higher-education degree, below the European Union average of 33.6%. Many students who attend the country's lower-tier high schools don't leave with the skills they need to get additional training in a trade, according to the government's 2010 education report.
For a country whose primary asset is brain power, Germany can hardly afford to lag behind in education. Fearing that large swaths of the future work force may soon be too uneducated to maintain Germany's export-driven economy, much less support its fast-aging population, policy makers have wrestled with a range of reforms in recent years despite deep support within society for the current educational system.
"Being just OK is not good enough for a country with high living standards, wages and technology," says Jörg Dräger, board member responsible for education programs at the Bertelsmann Foundation, a German think tank.
Many policy makers believe Germany's early-selection school system—one of the few in Europe that splits children up at around age 10—is at the heart of the problem. After four years of primary school in most German regions, the smartest go on to Gymnasien, top-level high schools for university-bound students, while average students are directed to Realschulen, a path usually to white-collar or technical trades. Those with the lowest grades go to Hauptschulen, schools traditionally meant to prepare students for mid-to lower-level vocational training but that over time have become reservoirs for immigrant children and others who have fallen through the cracks.
More than in most other developed countries, however, the biggest determinant of a German child's educational track appears to be his or her family's socioeconomic status. Even with similar grades, children with college-educated parents are at least three times more likely to go on to Gymnasien than those from working-class families, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
That's of particular concern as Germany's poorly assimilated immigrant population swells—some 20% of Germany's school children come from Turkish or other immigrant families. While the rest of the system scores average or better in many education standards, "the 20% or so that gets lost is a catastrophe," says Mr. Dräger.
Nevertheless, the three-track system continues to have deep support within society, partly because of Germany's past education and economic success. Most prized—and staunchly defended—are Germany's academically rigorous Gymnasien.
"The idea is that homogenous learning groups are better at helping children perform," says Katharina Spiess, education and family research director at the German Institute for Economic Research, of the early-selection system.
But Germany received a rude shock nearly a decade ago, when its teens unexpectedly scored in the bottom third of a widely watched OECD study, well behind many European peers.
German states, which control the education system, have made modest changes, and academic improvement, since then. In some regions, Hauptschulen arebeing combined with Realschulen, and in most cases, students at the combined secondary schools still have the option of pursuing a course toward a diploma that would allow them to attend a university.
But the collapse of a plan to reform schools in the port city-state of Hamburg last year underscores the difficulty of pushing through bolder reform. There, the city's conservative-Green ruling coalition pitched a plan to extend primary school by two years, waiting until after the sixth grade to divide children into different schools. The idea was to give children more time to determine the best education path, and let poorer and slower learners benefit from mixing longer with faster ones.
The result was a fierce backlash, especially among university-educated parents who feared their children's education would suffer by shortening the Gymnasium phase of it. Voters decisively rejected the plan in a referendum last July, leading to the resignation of Hamburg's mayor.
The defeat has discouraged political leaders in other German states from broaching more radical school reform. North-Rhine Westphalia sought to sidestep a similar battle by allowing individual municipalities to decide whether to form schools that kept children together until up to the 10th grade as part of a pilot project.
That didn't stop protests among some parents and teachers. In April, a judge blocked one of the first moves to form a so-called community school, putting the effort in legal limbo.
Still, many Germans argue its education system needs to become less rigid to adapt to an ever more global economy and give its people more opportunities to broaden their skills.
Sabine Lochner-Zerbe, a 51-year-old mother of two in Berlin, learned firsthand the difficulties of changing education course when as a youth she was sent to Realschule.
"I had the grades, but my father didn't think it was so necessary for girls to go to Gymnasium," she says. After training to become a florist, she realized she wanted to go to college. To do so, however, she had to go back for three years of high school to get the necessary diploma. At age 25, she began her university studies, eventually receiving a physics degree in Scotland.
But her tenacious efforts to pursue a higher degree haven't always been looked upon favorably. "People just view it as indecision," she says.
In Berlin, children already wait until after the sixth grade to take a specific school path. Ms. Lochner-Zerbe's 10-year-old daughter will learn next year whether her primary school recommends her for Gymnasium—"a lot of stress," she adds. "But I think it's better that they have more time than I did."
Ms. Fuhrmans is a reporter for The Wall Street Journal in Berlin. She can be reached at vanessa.fuhrmans@wsj.com.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Gulen Charter Schools, the TRUTH behind the Newsweek ratings
Harmony Schools Named as Miracle Schools by Newsweek.
Two Harmony Science Academy High Schools (Dallas, and Austin) were ranked among the top public high schools in the nation, according to a recent analysis by the Newsweek.
Newsweek announced Best High Schools in America list yesterday. The magazine has been ranking the nation’s top 500 public high schools for more than a decade. The rankings are based on graduation rates, college enrollments upon graduation, the percentage of students who take tests for advanced placement courses, and the average college entrance exam scores, among other criteria.
This year, Newsweek studied more than 1,000 top schools to determine the best of the best: the ones producing kids ready for college—and life. Harmony Public Schools is proud to have two schools among the top 500 schools in the nation!
In addition to the Best High Schools in America list, Newsweek created an additional list of high-performing schools, labeling them as the "TOP TEN MIRACLE SCHOOLS". And two of those six are Harmony Schools!
The Austin-American Statesman is proudly sharing the success of these Texas schools with their readers as well. The Harmony Science Academy – North Austin came in at 144 and the Harmony Science Academy – Dallas landed at 165 on the list of 500 schools.
We are so proud of our students, parents, teachers and administrators who dedicate themselves to a standard of excellence each day. Thank you for your continue support of education and educators in Texas.
Newsweek announced Best High Schools in America list yesterday. The magazine has been ranking the nation’s top 500 public high schools for more than a decade. The rankings are based on graduation rates, college enrollments upon graduation, the percentage of students who take tests for advanced placement courses, and the average college entrance exam scores, among other criteria.
This year, Newsweek studied more than 1,000 top schools to determine the best of the best: the ones producing kids ready for college—and life. Harmony Public Schools is proud to have two schools among the top 500 schools in the nation!
In addition to the Best High Schools in America list, Newsweek created an additional list of high-performing schools, labeling them as the "TOP TEN MIRACLE SCHOOLS". And two of those six are Harmony Schools!
The Austin-American Statesman is proudly sharing the success of these Texas schools with their readers as well. The Harmony Science Academy – North Austin came in at 144 and the Harmony Science Academy – Dallas landed at 165 on the list of 500 schools.
We are so proud of our students, parents, teachers and administrators who dedicate themselves to a standard of excellence each day. Thank you for your continue support of education and educators in Texas.
Plain and simple folks, this Newsweek rating is slamming of online and other types of voting by Gulen followers. There is nothing to this award. Other Gulenist managed schools : Sonoran Science Academy and Horizon Science Academy try the same nonsense of loading the online votes.
So who is Newsweek Magazine anyway? They have NOTHING to do with education.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Harmony Science Academy, Turkish education system lacks in many aspects
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| Only 1 percent of Turkish students were found to be at the required level for their age group in science and literature. Perhaps the Gulen Movement should invest some of their Gulen Education investments $$$ into their own country before they profess knowing what is best in 100 other countries. Dear Gulen Movement cleanup your own backyard. |
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Children are not only suffering from the current exam system, but also from an inefficient learning process, as nearly half of students under 15 years old are unable to solve basic math problems, according to an annual education report.
Entitled “Monitoring education system report 2010,” the report released Tuesday said that despite some new policies implemented by the Ministry of Education, imbalanced conditions remain in every aspect of the system and the university exams, language of the education, as well training programs for teachers.
The exams are the most obvious problem, but there are deeper issues in the education system disabling students from reaching information and their potential, said Batuhan Aydagül, a coordinator at the Education Reform Enterprise, or ERG, that prepared the report.
“According to International OECD Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, Turkey is ranked 32nd in scientific literacy among 34 countries,” said the report.
Only 1 percent of Turkish students were found to be at the required level for their age group in science and literature, the PISA report said, adding that 30 percent of the students are unable to use their skills to answer basic questions in these subjects.
Calling on the authorities to escape temporary solutions on the issue, the report emphasized that one of the problems of the Turkish education system is to find sufficient teachers. Teachers need to be provided with more extensive and improved training and need to be supported regularly in order to reach the most efficient results, the report said.
Experts, while targeting policies of the Ministry of Education, said that despite spending billions of Turkish Liras on education technologies, new policies did not help to improve the main philosophy to develop the structure. “Between 1.5 million and 3 million liras were spent on the project called ‘The Increasing Opportunities and Improvement of Technology Movement,’ or Fatih, however as they settled the technology without researching how these projects could merge with the current education programs,” said Aytuğ Şaşmaz one of the project specialist, during the conference.
Professor Üstün Ergüder, the director of the ERG said education in mother tongue should be allowed as their report indicated some students quit secondary school education due to the language problem.
“Many students cannot be trained in Turkish as they speak Kurdish at home causing these people to quit their education,” said Ergüder.
According to Aydagül, the school administrations should be decentralized to help problems be solved in the easiest way. “Ankara is trying to solve a heating problem in one of the schools dwelling the Eastern province of Elazığ, which is absurd,” said Aydagül.
Professor Ergüder said the central administration straitjackets school administrations by not giving freedom to the school managers or teachers to develop solutions against the problems that they face with.
Urging the Ministry of Education to be transparent on the developments, Ergüder said these reports will improve the structure of the education system.
© 2011 Hurriyet Daily News
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=turkish-education-system-lacks-in-many-aspects-report-says-2011-06-21
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=turkish-education-system-lacks-in-many-aspects-report-says-2011-06-21
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Gulen Business Monopoly surrounding Texas Gulen Charter Schools
Get the picture America....Gulen Monopoly
If you are in the construction business, send your bids in and have all your Non-Turkish, Non-Gulen / American friends do the same.
ANNOUNCEMENT:
Texas Foreclosures and Public Notices
Cosmos Foundation Inc., dba Harmony Science Academy- Garland will receive sealed proposals at the Central Office at 9321 W Sam Houston Pkwy S, 2nd floor, Houston, TX 77099 until Monday, June 27, 2011 at 4:00 p.m. for construction of a school remodeling project in Garland, TX. The construction documents, called "Harmony Science Academy - Garland remodeling, will be available as of Monday, June 13, 2011 and may be obtained from Thomas Reprographics located in 982 N Garden Ridge Blvd Ste 150 Lewisville, TX 75077 Phone: (972) 353-0059 david.wall@thomasrepro.com. The work comprises interior building construction, limited site development, including general construction, structural, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical work. For further information regarding the project, contact project manager Emrah Demircan at (713) 343-3333 Ext.259 or edemircan@harmonytx.org. The Owner reserves the right to reject any or all bids, to waive any informality in a bid, and to make awards in the best interest of the Owner. All proposals must be delivered by U.S. Postal mail, courier, or hand delivery to the Cosmos Foundation Central Office Secretary at the above address on or before the date and time set to receive proposals.
Location: | Publication date: 06/21/11
Monday, June 20, 2011
Gulen Movement Schools- Lawmakers starting to shun Turkey trips by local Gulen NGOs
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Turkey Chase It seems politicians and local lawmakers are having second thoughts on accepting any further Turkey junkets given to them by the numerous Gulen NGOs in the USA. The word is out...."you sell us out, we will vote you out" You touch it, you get burned. Bloggers Note: The travel agency, hotels, etc., are all Gulenist owned businesses. |
Some lawmakers have second thoughts about Turkey trips
By Laylan Copelin and Mike Ward
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Updated: 7:26 a.m. Sunday, June 19, 2011
Published: 10:32 p.m. Saturday, June 18, 2011
For Texas legislators, one of the most coveted activities in recent years has been 10-day trips to Turkey, paid for in full or in part by various Turkish American organizations.
A dozen or so state officials, including several Central Texas legislators, have taken the trips in the past several years, and more have been invited this year.
Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, said he has taken many fact-finding trips, including to almost every country in Europe, but Turkey stands out.
He said last fall's trip to Turkey was "the best I've taken" because of the high level of government officials and business leaders he was able to meet.
"They are trying to improve relations," Fraser said. "It was a trade mission."
The Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians, an umbrella group for Turkish Americans, said the trips are about good will, not lobbying.
"These trips serve to further the business, commercial and cultural relations between Texas and Turkey," said Kemal Oksuz, the council's president-elect.
However, some legislators say they're having second thoughts about going this year, in part because of a recent New York Times article that suggested connections between the Harmony Schools, which operate 33 charter schools in Texas, and several Turkish American businesses and organizations, including the Houston-based Turquoise Council.
The Times questioned whether those connections favor Turkish American companies in bids to build the schools or provide education services.
Additionally, conservative bloggers have implied that the Harmony Schools promote Islam.
Harmony officials deny that their schools teach religion, They also have said they have no connection to the Turquoise Council and its trips.
Despite the denials, Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, said he believes there are connections between the Turquoise Council, the Harmony Schools and the promotion of Islam.
"After I researched it, I'm not interested," he said of the council's invitation to visit Turkey.
As for the Harmony Schools, Miller said, "Apparently it's (involved in) indoctrination of Islam."
Although Turkey is a moderate Muslim nation, Miller said: "That just means they're nonviolent. They won't cut off your head."
Rep. Wayne Christian, R-Center, said, "It's a tempting trip." But he said he worried about "political overtones" because of reports about Muslim connections.
"If it's true — and I don't know that it is — if they're teaching Islam, that's a problem," said Christian, a supporter of charter schools.
Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, visited Turkey a few years ago to observe its education system, among other things.
"I don't remember that anyone talked about the Harmony Schools or anything that anyone in Turkey was doing in Texas," she said. "They didn't make a big deal out of religion. It really wasn't brought up. They wanted people to understand their country."
Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, traveled to Turkey five years ago but said he hasn't decided whether to return this year.
"It was the single most educational trip I've taken," he said. "You have in-depth conversations with the people there, the officials in government, in business, different groups, different ethnicities. You meet and talk with real people."
Rep. Ken Legler, R-Pasadena, said he is tempted to go because his district includes part of the Houston Ship Channel and he is interested in encouraging more Turkish trade through the port.
But he said he hesitated to accept an offer for an all-expenses-paid trip for him and his wife.
"It would look like a junket," Legler said. "I'm just worried about how it looks."
Lawmakers who have taken the trips have reported their value at between $3,200 and $3,800.
The itinerary includes visits with government and business leaders, journalists and everyday citizens, as well as sightseeing at tourist attractions and religious sites.
There's also time for fun, including a yacht trip on the Bosporus strait, a balloon flight and shopping in the city's famous bazaars.
Twenty years ago, the Legislature ostensibly outlawed pleasure trips paid for by lobbyists after news reports about lawmakers taking ski trips and golf junkets to exotic locales. But state law still allows lawmakers to travel at someone else's expense for fact-finding trips or if the lawmaker gives a speech or performs some other service that is "more than perfunctory."
That allowed the Association of General Contractors, for example, to pay $72,000 to take a dozen lawmakers to Maui for its annual conference in 2010. The Jewish Federation of Greater Houston typically takes 15 or 20 state and local officials to Israel every other year, according to that group's lobbyist.
Over the years, lawmakers have visited a variety of places, from Taiwan to Cuba to Europe. Opportunities to visit Turkey — a U.S. ally and trading partner — have increased dramatically in the past two years with the creation of the Turquoise Council.
The council, which operates in seven states and the nation's capital, raised its profile at the Texas Capitol this year, with a congressional delegation from Turkey visiting Gov. Rick Perry, Education Commissioner Robert Scott and Comptroller Susan Combs, as well as hosting a "Texan-Turkic Friendship Reception" for state officials on Jan. 25.
Oksuz, of the Turquoise Council, said Texas is Turkey's largest business and trading partner among the 50 states and that Houston and Austin are sister cities to Istanbul and Antalya, respectively.
The trips are not limited to legislators. Judges, congressional staffers and other officials are invited.
Travis County Constable Bruce Elfant and his wife went to Turkey in June 2008 with state Reps. Donna Howard, Valinda Bolton and Elliott Naishtat, all Austin Democrats, as guests of the Institute of Interfaith Dialog, a Turkish American foundation associated with the Turquoise Council. The officials paid part of their expenses.
"It was amazing," Elfant said. "We talked about our cultures and what we don't understand about one another."
Several Texas lawmakers considering traveling to Turkey later this year are weighing whether the public's perception will be that the trips are more junkets than jaunts associated with their jobs.
Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, attended the general contractors Maui conference last year and traveled to Cuba to study how that country prepares for hurricanes. But he said he won't accept the Turquoise Council invitation.
"I was looking for the good government purpose for the trip," Whitmire said. "But I haven't found it."
Scott, who oversees charter schools, won't be going to Turkey.
"He just didn't feel comfortable with the perception," said Debbie Ratcliffe, the education agency's communications director.
Scott has allowed the state's more successful charter schools, including Harmony, to expand without obtaining a new charter for each campus.
Rep. Charlie Howard, R-Sugar Land, said he doesn't take trips paid for by someone else.
"As an elected official, I don't think I need to be taking anything of that value," he said. "It could be tied to a future vote."
During this summer's special session, for example, the Legislature is considering whether to have the state back construction bonds for charter schools.
The sponsor of that measure, Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, said she's been invited to Turkey but hasn't gone.
"I generally don't go on trips like that unless there's some legislative issue," she said. "But I can't imagine what it would be in Turkey. It sounds like a cultural affairs tour or something like that."
Oksuz said there is no connection between the trips and the legislation, although his private construction company has built schools for Harmony.
In January, after Fraser and four other senators returned from Turkey, they co-authored Senate Resolution 85 honoring Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish Muslim preacher who lives in Pennsylvania but has a large worldwide following, including the Gulen Institute at the University of Houston.
The Senate approved the resolution on the day the Turkish congressional delegation was making the rounds at the Capitol.
State Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, who made the trip with Fraser, said he prepared the resolution in response to his Turkey hosts and his admiration for the people.
"Their attitude — we call it nice Christian values. Of course, it's not Christian," Lucio said. "Humanitarian is the word I'm looking for."
Lucio said he is planning a return visit, courtesy of the Turquoise Council, later this year: "I'd like to see more of the country."
lcopelin@statesman.com; 445-3617; mward@statesman.com
Find this article at:
Friday, June 17, 2011
Gulen Charter Schools- "Monkey See Monkey Do"
It seems the Gulen Movement Harmony Science Academies in order to sound more a part of the American mainstream traditional schools are now calling themselves "Harmony Public Schools"
Then their Gulen Charter sister school in California Magnolia Science Academy is now dubbing themselves "Magnolia Public Schools"
Here are more "Monkey See Monkey Do" The Gulen Movement doesn't have a creative brain in their head.
Alas the Harmony Science Academy, Magnolia Science Academy, Horizon Science Academy, Sonoran Science Academy..........ALL sing the same tune of denial. Can you be any more obvious?
1. The discovery that the Gulen movement-operated Horizon Science Academy schools (operated by the 25-school, Ohio-based Concept Schools) had copied KIPP’s famous Five Pillars was first made by C.A.S.I.L.I.P.S. However, this is not the only case where the showcase elements of KIPP's educational philosophy have been used without attribution. St. HOPE Public Schools, the three-school CMO founded by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson (Michelle Rhee's fiancé) also has Five Pillars which are near-identical to KIPP’s. Click on the images at the very bottom to see for yourself.
Q: In this world where business model-like competition is the whole point, don't these people copyright their intellectual material?
Q: In this world where business model-like competition is the whole point, don't these people copyright their intellectual material?
2. The Horizon Science Academy – Cleveland High School has been highly acclaimed, even winning a U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award in 2009. In addition to containing the KIPP-originated Five Essentials which were noted above, the school’s Annual Report 2008-2009 contains more phrasing which has been copied from other schools, and/or from which other charter schools have copied. For instance,
==> A phrase in Our Guiding Principals (“belief that each child has an inherent curiosity and love of learning; and that each child has a unique intelligence, level of capability, and learning style”) is used by
- Elko Charter School (non-Gulenist school in NV)
- Coral Science Academy (Gulen charter school in NV)
- Chesapeake Math and IT Academy (proposed Gulen charter school for MD)
- Wisconsin Career Academy (Gulen charter school)
==> A phrase in Our Mission (“construct a program, which engages and motivates students to invest their talents, energy, and enthusiasm in completing their schoolwork in an exemplary manner”) is also used for at least seven other Gulen charter schools
- Riverside Science Academy, AKA Broward Math and Science Schools (a new charter school opening Fall 2011; approved by Broward County Public Schools
More complete info here:
Cut, paste and fill in the blank
Friday, June 10, 2011
NY Times and The Gulen Charter Schools of America, investigates Gulenist managed Harmony Science Academy
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| Comical photo taken by proud Texan of the Harmony School of Political Science construction site..........it appears the Gulenists don't know how to operate Forklifts and this one got stuck in the sand while another Gulenist retrieved him out of the sand with a Petty Bone. Anyone wonder about the building code? Who was the building inspector? Is it up to code? |
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| Gulen Hierarchy chart in Texas linked to Harmony Science Academy a Gulen Charter School. All roads lead back to Fethullah Muhammed Gulen the exiled Islamic Imam from Turkey who currently resides on 25 acres in Saylorsburg, PA hidden like a rat and never leaving his compound. |
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| Harmony Science class researching a hovercraft: Note, many high schools do this in America |
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| Obvious Turkish design to the buildings |
Forward by Donna Garner
ACTION STEP: All patriotic American taxpayers should be alarmed over the spread of the Islamist Gulen charter schools. Texans in particular need to contact all their Legislators and alert them to the safeguards (listed below) that must be placed in the charter school bills now making their way through the legislative process. The free trips to Turkey and the campaign contributions given to our Texas Legislators by the Gulenists are highly troubling and leave taxpayers wondering how objective can our Legislators actually be about their votes on these charter school bills that financially enable the spread of Gulen charter schools. Is this yet another example of “pay for votes”? -- Donna Garner
6.7.11 -- BREAKING NEWS:
MAJOR INVESTIGATION OF GULEN CHARTER SCHOOLS BY NEW YORK TIMES
When the New York Times decides to do investigative journalism, they have the resources and staff to find things out that few others can discover. I am sure you will want to go to this NYT link to view the photos and other graphics which will give you more of an understanding about the Gulen charter schools:
The NYT, however, also has shortcomings because of its left-leaning political bias that has kept their reporters from including very important aspects of the dangers of Fethullah Gulen and his Gulen charter schools.
Below the NYT article, I have posted links to other articles that explain the many dangers of Fethullah Gulen and his indoctrination of our nation’s youth into Islam, Sharia law, and anti-Americanism.
Fethullah Gulen is an Islamist imam who has been behind the successful efforts in Turkey to turn that country into an armed camp that is now anti-American. Its security police force has been almost totally infiltrated by Gulenists, and Turkey is on the verge of joining up with the rest of the Muslim world against the United States and Israel.
As we speak, our Texas Legislature is in Special Session and is moving toward providing even more funding for Gulen charter schools. A faithful few, such as Peyton Wolcott, are trying to convince Legislators to look more deeply into the financial “payoffs” that Gulen has given to elected officials.
Please go to this link to see who has taken free trips to Turkey and/or reaped huge campaign contributions from Gulen-controlled entities. Is it any wonder that these Texas Legislators are promoting the establishment of more Gulen schools in our state?
http://www.peytonwolcott.com/TX_TCSA_Delisi_Cash_2011Lege.html
Peyton Wolcott is presently leading an effort to force the Texas Legislature to include in its pro-charter-school bills three safeguards to protect the Permanent School Fund which by law in Texas is supposed to be used for students’ textbooks. The Legislature is trying to take some of the PSF funds and make those dollars available for charter school bonds, including more Gulen charter schools.
Wolcott has made the case that all charter schools should (1) have to show proof of U. S. citizenship for board members (e.g., ISD trustees) and top administrators; (2) post online the names, titles, and bios of board and top administrators, and (3) post their checkbook registers online so that taxpayers will know how their tax dollars are being spent.
ACTION STEP: If you are a fellow Texan, you must contact your legislators and alert them to the alarming content of this NYT article, to the links posted under the article, and to the safeguards that Wolcott and others are trying to get the Legislators to include in the charter school bills.
Donna Garner
Wgarner1@hot.rr.com
Please go to this link to read the entire article in the New York Times:
6.6.11 - “Charter Schools Tied to Turkey Grow in Texas” by Stephanie Saul --
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/07/education/07charter.html?_r=1&emc=eta1&pagewanted=all
Here are important excerpts from the article. I have placed my own comments within the article in brackets:
The secret lay in the meteoric rise and financial clout of the Cosmos Foundation, a charter school operator founded a decade ago by a group of professors and businessmen from Turkey. Operating under the name Harmony Schools, Cosmos has moved quickly to become the largest charter school operator in Texas, with 33 schools receiving more than $100 million a year in taxpayer funds…
[Fethullah Gulen is actually an Islam imam who believes in Sharia law and wants to establish a universal caliphate. -- Donna Garner]
…But an examination by The New York Times of the Harmony Schools in Texas casts light on a different area: the way they spend public money. And it raises questions about whether, ultimately, the schools are using taxpayer dollars to benefit the Gulen movement — by giving business to Gulen followers, or through financial arrangements with local foundations that promote Gulen teachings and Turkish culture…
“It’s basically a mission of our organization,” said Soner Tarim, the superintendent of the 33 Texas schools.
…Even so, records show that virtually all recent construction and renovation work has been done by Turkish-owned contractors. Several established local companies said they had lost out even after bidding several hundred thousand dollars lower.
…Harmony’s history underscores the vast latitude that many charter school systems have been granted to spend public funds.
…Last year, the inspector general’s office in the federal Education Department cited these complaints in a memo alerting the agency of “our concern about vulnerabilities in the oversight of charter schools.”
The Texas Education Agency has a total of nine people overseeing more than 500 charter school campuses. “They don’t have the capacity at the state level to do the job,” said Greg Richmond, president of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. Even so, the state’s education commissioner, Robert Scott, last year took the unusual step of granting Harmony permission to open new schools outside the normal approval process.
Officials at the education agency said staffing was sufficient to oversee charter schools. They would not discuss Harmony’s contracts, but a check of the agency’s past audits — largely desk reviews of financial statements submitted by the schools — did not find any alarms raised about Harmony contracting.
In April, however, the agency notified Harmony of an unreleased preliminary audit questioning more than $540,000 in inadequately documented expenses, the vast majority involving federal grant money. Neither the agency nor Harmony would disclose details of the findings.
…David Bradley, a member of the Texas Board of Education, served on the panel that reviewed the early charter proposals. “The only requirement was that you expressed an interest,” he said, adding, “The first time Harmony came forth, they had a great application, and they were great people.”
One of those people was Yetkin Yildirim, who had arrived from Turkey in 1996 to attend the University of Texas in Austin. He also worked as a volunteer tutor in local high schools. The idea for the Harmony schools was born, he said, when he and friends — including Dr. Tarim — saw how much less rigorous the American high schools were in teaching science and math.
…The schools represented the expansion of a mission that had already created hundreds of schools — and a number of universities — in Turkey and around the world. According to social scientists who have studied them, these schools have been the primary vehicle for the aspirations of the Gulen movement, a loose network of several million followers of Mr. Gulen, who preaches the need to embrace modernity in a peace-loving, ecumenical version of Islam. At the center of his philosophy is the concept of “hizmet” — public service.
…Mr. Gulen, 70, considers his teachings a bulwark against Islamic extremism. Yet he and the movement that bears his name have been surrounded by controversy in Turkey. He came to this country in 1999 while under pressure from secular Turkish authorities who accused him of promoting an Islamic state. He was charged, though the case was thrown out. More recently, the arrests of Turkish journalists critical of the Gulen movement have led to accusations of retaliation by followers in the current government, which has a more religious leaning.
Mr. Gulen now lives in a Pennsylvania retreat owned by a foundation.
…The creation story has been enacted across the country — Turkish immigrants, often scientists or professors, founding charter schools run by boards of mostly Turkish-born men. Today the United States has more Gulen-inspired schools than any country but Turkey, according to a presentation by Joshua Hendrick, a professor at Loyola University Maryland whose 2009 dissertation explored the movement.
In Texas, Harmony now educates more than 16,000 children. Eight schools have opened in the last year alone.
…At first, Harmony Schools used a mix of local American and Turkish immigrant contractors. But as it has grown, especially in the rush of new schools, Harmony has increasingly relied on its Turkish network.
…But a review of contracts since January 2009 — 35 contracts and $82 million worth of work — found that all but 3 jobs totaling about $1.5 million went to Turkish-owned businesses.
…Since Texas charter schools do not get separate public money for facilities, Harmony’s construction program is financed by bonds that will be paid off over time using regular public payments to the schools, bond documents show. The group has issued more than $200 million in bonds since 2007, making it the state’s largest charter school bond issuer.
[The Texas Legislature is presently considering charter school legislation that would allow the Permanent School Funds to be used to pay for charter school bonds, including Gulen charter schools. -- Donna Garner]
…The job went to Atlas Texas Construction and Trading, even though its bid was several hundred thousand dollars higher. Atlas, with offices in Texas and Turkey, shows up on a list of Gulen-affiliated companies in a 2006 cable from the American Consul General in Istanbul, Deborah K. Jones, that was released by WikiLeaks.
…Harmony Schools asked two architects to analyze the disputed Austin jobs. Both architects had previously worked for Harmony Schools; both concluded that the jobs should have been awarded to Atlas.
Atlas has an eclectic business portfolio: for several years, it has also supplied breakfast and lunch at many Harmony schools. The contract is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
…And while the schools’ combined math and English SAT scores — an average of 1026 — were 37 points above the statewide average last year, they fell short of the 1100 on those two parts that the state regards as predicting “college readiness.”
[In other words, Harmony students do well at mastering how to “play the game” on the state-mandated TAKS tests but fall short on actual college readiness. Other troubling aspects to consider regarding Harmony students’ supposed academic “success” is
(1) nobody monitors these Harmony Schools during the administration of tests. What is to prevent these H-1 visa teachers who are from Turkey and who have no commitment to the American value system to give their students the answers?
(2) The Wikileaks cable from the U. S. Ambassador several years ago revealed that the Gulenists are taking over the Turkish Security Forces by giving applicants the answers to the tests. If this is their mode of operation in Turkey, it very well could be the way they operate here.
(3) Dr. Ed Fuller’s research showed that over half of the students who start at Harmony leave. This would certainly be a major factor in raising their TAKS scores -- weed out the weak students. -- Donna Garner]
…but most of its foreign teachers are Turkish men, and all but a handful of the 33 principals are men from Turkey. In addition to the standard foreign languages, the schools offer instruction in Turkish. They encourage students and teachers, even parents, to join subsidized trips to Turkey.
… “I’m not a follower of anybody,” Dr. Tarim said in an interview. Records show, however, that when applying to the State of Texas to form Harmony schools, he was a consultant to Virginia International University in Fairfax, one of the private universities that lawyers for Mr. Gulen say were originally inspired by his teachings.
…“The main purpose right now is to show the positive side of Islam and to make Americans sympathize with Islam,” Dr. Yavuz said.
Teachers and Visas
Around the country, the most persistent controversy involving the schools — and the one most covered in the news — centers on the hundreds of Turkish teachers and administrators working on special visas.
The schools say they bring in foreign teachers because of a shortage of Americans qualified to teach math and science. Of the 1,500 employees at the Texas Harmony schools this year, Dr. Tarim said, 292 were on the special “H-1B” visas, meant for highly skilled foreign workers who fill a need unmet by the American workforce.
…The American jobs, often offered to educators at Gulen schools around the world or graduates of Gulen universities, also provide a way for the movement to expand its ranks in this country, Dr. Yavuz said.
American consular employees reviewing visas have questioned the credentials of some teachers as they sought to enter the country. “Most applicants had no prior teaching experience, and the schools were listed as related to” Mr. Gulen, a consular employee wrote in a 2009 cable. It did not say which schools had hired the teachers. Some with dubious credentials were denied visas.
…The heart of the movement’s Texas operations is the Turquoise Center, a Houston complex that houses several foundations established by Gulen followers. Their activities show how the movement has integrated itself into life in Texas, often by dint of the foundations’ connections to the Harmony Schools.
The Turquoise Center opened in 2008, financed partly through donations from Gulen followers, who on average tithe 10 percent of their income, experts say. The money, Dr. Hendrick wrote in his dissertation, goes “to pay for a student’s scholarship, to provide start-up capital for a new school, to send a group of influential Americans on a two-week trip to Turkey or to sponsor an academic conference devoted to Fethullah Gulen.”
Dozens of Texans — from state lawmakers to congressional staff members to university professors — have taken trips to Turkey partly financed by the foundations.
One group, the Raindrop Foundation, helped pay for State Senator Leticia Van de Putte’s travel to Istanbul last year, according to a recent campaign report. In January, she co-sponsored a Senate resolution commending Mr. Gulen for “his ongoing and inspirational contributions to promoting global peace and understanding.”
…Another group at the Turquoise Center, the Institute of Interfaith Dialog, sponsors lectures on interfaith relations and finances the Gulen Institute at the University of Houston, which sponsors graduate scholarships in social work and pays for graduate students to study in Turkey.
The Institute of Interfaith Dialog — founded by Mr. Gulen himself, according to court documents — does not appear to have business dealings with Harmony. But its president, Yuksel Alp Aslandogan, does. Indeed, in 2002, he purchased the former Austin church that became Harmony’s second school.
SUBSTANTIVE RESOURCES ON GULEN SCHOOLS
5.28.11 -- “Return of Islamic College Raises New Questions” by David Lepeska --
http://libertylinked.com/posts/7445/return-of-islam-college---/View.aspx
5.20.11 -- “Feds Question Schools' Visa Use: Federal Funds Used To Pay for Teachers' Families” by Jennifer Smith Richards --
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/05/20/feds-question-schools-visa-use.html?sid=101
5.2011 - “Harmony Science Academy, Cosmos Foundation: Evidence of Affiliation with the Gulen Movement” --
http://gulencharterschools.weebly.com/harmony-science-academy-cosmos-foundation.html
5.1.11 “Frog in the Water” by Donna Garner --
http://www.educationnews.org/commentaries/insights_on_education/155212.html
4.19.11 -- “Flood of Turkish Teachers Prompts Investigation: Witness Says Feds Looking into Islam-Influenced Network” World Net Daily --
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=289153
4.11.11 -- “H-1B + K-12 = ? A First Look at the Implications of Foreign Teacher Recruitment” by David North --
http://www.cis.org/h-1b-teacher-recruitment
4.9.11 -- “Harmony Charter” by Dr. Ed Fuller --
http://fullerlook.wordpress.com/2011/04/09/harmony-charters/
4.5.11 - “Turkish Authorities Launch Raids To Censor Book before Publication”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/05/turkey-censorship-ahmet-sik-perrier
4.5.11 -- “Texas: Land of Charters and Economic Opportunity” by Peyton Wolcott --
http://www.peytonwolcott.com/
http://www.kurdishaspect.com/doc043011AM.html
3.30.11 -- “Is Fethullah Gulen Working for the CIA?” by Dr. Aland Mizell --
3.26.11 -- “Gulen Is Indeed a Dangerous Man” by Donna Garner --
http://www.educationnews.org/political/152367.html
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/34766
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3.24.11 -- “Re: FBI Investigation of Gulen Schools (a.k.a., Harmony Science Academies in Texas) by Donna Garner, EducationNews.org --
http://www.educationnews.org/commentaries/insights_on_education/152233.html
Here is a YouTube (Parts 1 and 2) by a TV news station in Pennsylvania that tells of the FBI investigation of the Gulen schools in Pennsylvania and across the country:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN04cOqLc9g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZtg9jfVZbo
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3.22.11 -- “Young Scholars Charter School Faces Scrutiny over Ties with Islamic Leader” --
http://www.centredaily.com/2011/03/22/2597590/charter-school-faces-scrutiny.html#ixzz1HJbliDXz
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2.10.11 -- “Texas Senate Honors Islamist Imam, Fethullah Gulen” by Donna Garner --
The Texas Senate passed SR 85 on Jan. 25, 2011. Guess who was honored: Fethullah Gulen. “WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is pleased to recognize Fethullah G?len for his ongoing and inspirational contributions to the promotion of global peace and
Understanding...”
Here is the link:
http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/82R/billtext/pdf/SR00085F.pdf#navpanes=0
The authors of SR 85 are Senators Lucio, Fraser, Huffman, Nelson, and Van de Putte: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/history.aspx?LegSess=82R&Bill=SR85
Now look at how this action by the Texas Senate was viewed by the people in Turkey http://www.todayszaman.com/news-233740-texas-senate-passes-resolution-commending-fethullah-gulen.html .
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3.3.11 -- “7 More Journalists Detained in Turkey” by Sebnem Arsu --
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/world/europe/04turkey.html?_r=1
10.17.10 -- “TIZA, an Islamic Public School, Threatens and Intimidates Witnesses in ACLU Lawsuit” --
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2010/10/tiza-an-islamic-public-school-threatens-and-intimidates-witnesses-in-aclu-lawsuit.html
8.16.10 -- “Fethullah Gulen: Infiltrating the U.S. Through Our Charter Schools?” by Guy Rodgers of Act! for America --
http://www.actforamerica.org/index.php/learn/email-archives/1069-fethulla-gulen-infiltrating-us-through-our-charter-schools/
3.29.10 -- “Islamist Gülen Movement Runs U.S. Charter Schools” by Stephen Schwartz --
http://www.americanthinker.com/printpage/?url=http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/03/islamist_guelen_movement_runs.html
3.24.11 -- “FBI Launches Investigation of Gulen and His Movement” by Paul L. Williams --
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/07/education/07charter.html?_r=1&emc=eta1&pagewanted=all
Until you can stand proud and admit you are obvious followers of Fethullah Gulen and are in the Gulen Movement and have been for years--We will continue to refer to you as a Gulen Charter School with STRONG ties to the movement.
IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, WE SUGGEST YOU TRY AND SUE US. GO AHEAD SEE WHAT HAPPENS IN THE DISCOVERY PHASE. ALL YOUR DOCUMENTS WOULD BE UNDER SUBPEONA. WE WELCOME THE OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO SHOW YOUR TRUE FACE.
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