Turkish Olympiad-A Gulen "show": Gulen Turkish Olympiad concludes finals in the USA...

Turkish Olympiad-A Gulen "show": Gulen Turkish Olympiad concludes finals in the USA...:  A national competition was held on Monday in Washington, D.C. to determine finalists for the International Turkish Olympiads that wil...

Gulen Charter Schools, State Amendment in Tennessee to protect American teachers

http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20120327/NEWS/120327004

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A conservative group that has warned of the growing influence of Islam is promoting a bill that would limit how many legal immigrants charter schools can hire, drawing opposition from charter school and immigrant groups.

The Tennessee Eagle Forum, an organization that has criticized U.S. immigration policy and last year pushed for passage of the so-called “Shariah bill,” is pressing Tennessee lawmakers to pass legislation that would cap the number of foreign workers charter schools can hire.

The bill has drawn bipartisan support but has raised the concerns of charter school advocacy and immigrant rights organizations, which say it would place unfair and unnecessary limits on who can be hired or volunteer with charter schools.

The Putting Tennessee First Act, which is scheduled to be heard in two committees this week, makes no reference to religion. But it comes amid worries from some groups about the involvement of Islamic organizations in running charter schools elsewhere in the country, although there are no such schools in Tennessee.

The measure, Senate Bill 3345, says chartering authorities may not approve schools that plan to have more than 3.5 percent of their staff made up of legal immigrants with visa work permits. The bill also calls on authorities to revoke schools’ charters later if they exceed the cap, and it requires schools to disclose the source of all donations from overseas.

There is no record of any schools in Tennessee exceeding that limit, in part because records aren’t maintained on employees’ nationality.

The Tennessee Eagle Forum, which drafted the bill, is affiliated with the Eagle Forum, a national organization that wants to reduce the number of visas available to foreign-born workers and opposes the use of textbooks that it sees as favorable to Islam.

Last year, the Tennessee Eagle Forum urged lawmakers to pass the Material Support to Designated Entities Act, which would have declared some followers of Shariah to be terrorists. Muslim groups vigorously opposed the bill, arguing that Shariah covers a broad set of Islamic traditions, many of which have nothing to do with warfare or secular law.

Legislators later stripped out references to religion.

Like the Material Support to Designated Entities Act, this latest bill is sponsored by House Speaker Pro Tempore Judd Matheny, R-Tullahoma, and Senate Republican Caucus Chairman Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro.

Supporters say the measure is meant to encourage the hiring of Tennessee and American-born teachers by charter schools.

“The state of Tennessee is stating a preference that charter schools look to hire U.S. and Tennessee workers as a priority,” said Joanne Bregman, an attorney for the Tennessee Eagle Forum.

But charter school advocates fear the bill’s broad provisions could limit the ability of schools to hire the best instructors. Immigrant groups, meanwhile, fear it could limit participation in charter schools by people living in immigrant communities.

“The intent of this bill is really to put up barriers for anyone with a foreign background to be involved with working at charter schools,” said Remziya Suleyman, director of policy and administration for the American Center for Outreach, a Nashville-based group that lobbies on behalf of Muslims. “The tendency already is that it’s very difficult to get immigrants and refugees to participate.”

Concerns over Islam
The effort comes amid concerns about the involvement of Islamic organizations in charter schools. The Gulen movement, which is affiliated with the moderate Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, operates 120 charter schools in 25 states.

Some critics say the group improperly mixes religion and state government. A New York Times investigation last year questioned whether businesses tied to the movement had profited from the charter schools.

Ketron said ties between charter schools and the Gulen movement or other Islamic groups were not among his reasons for bringing the bill.

“Not at this point, no,” he said.

But Sen. Jim Summerville, R-Dickson, said after discussing the measure with Ketron, he believes worries that Islamist groups might infiltrate charter schools do appear to be among its backers’ motivations.

“I said I’ll help him bring it to the floor,” he said. “I’m not sure whether I’ll vote for it.”

The bill is scheduled to come up for discussion today in the House Education Committee and Wednesday in the Senate Education Committee, which decided to bring the measure back up for discussion after initially rejecting it last week.

Opposition has come from some Republican members of the Senate, who argue the measure unnecessarily hampers charter schools and might violate federal education and immigration laws.

They also have raised philosophical objections to the bill.

“If people are here legally and legally qualified for a job, I have no problem with them,” said Sen. Stacey Campfield, R-Knoxville. “That’s what America is all about.”

Democrats have expressed little opposition to the bill. Senate Democratic Caucus Chairman Lowe Finney, D-Jackson, and House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh, D-Ripley, have filed a bill that is similar to the measure filed by Ketron and Matheny.

But any proposal to limit foreign-born workers is opposed by the Tennessee Charter School Association. The group says its members would have to trace the source of every donation it receives to satisfy the bill’s reporting requirement, and they would have little recourse if they were accused of not doing so.

The group also questioned the need for the legislation.

Of the state’s 52 charter schools, none is backed by an overseas government or entity, said Matt Throckmorton, the group’s executive director. He urged the Senate Education Committee to study the matter further.

Gulen Charter Schools in Oklahoma to face amendment by Rep Cannaday an HONEST politician

http://www.okdemocrats.org/cannaday-amendment-attempts-to-shine-light-on-charter-school-practices

Cannaday Amendment Attempts to Shine Light on Charter School Practices

State of Oklahoma

House of Representatives

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 14, 2012

Representative Ed Cannaday
State Capitol Building Rm. 539B
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105
Contact: Eric Russell
405-962-7819

Cannaday Amendment Attempts to Shine Light on Charter School Practices

OKLAHOMA CITY (March 14, 2012) In response to the conduct and execution of taxpayer-funded charter schools, such as bypassing Oklahoma teachers to hire teachers from overseas, Representative Ed Cannaday has filed an amendment to HB 3130 to address these concerns.

The Democrat from Porum has filed an amendment that all charter schools that hire teachers on a H-1B temporary worker visa must file a report with the Oklahoma Department of Education showing proof of recruitment efforts to first hire qualified Oklahoma or U.S. residents.

“I find it hard to believe that given all the Oklahomans with bachelor’s degrees in education, and with the loss of public education jobs due to budget cuts, that any charter school is unable to scout out a teacher in our state and must therefore recruit teachers from the country of Turkey to fill these positions,” said Rep. Cannaday.

These comments reference the four Oklahoma charter schools that employ about 15 percent of their teachers from overseas using temporary nonimmigrant work visas. These schools are privately run by the Sky Foundation, but funded with state tax dollars.

Of the 149 teachers employed at these four charter schools in Oklahoma, 22 are here on H-1B visas.

Federal law allows employers unable to find qualified American employees to fill positions with foreign labor through a visa application process.

Two of the schools are in Oklahoma City: Dove Science Academy, grades six to 12, and Dove Science Academy Elementary, grades kindergarten to fifth. The other two schools are in Tulsa: Dove Science Academy, grades six to 12, and Discovery School of Tulsa, grades kindergarten to eighth.

The superintendent of the four Sky Foundation schools in Oklahoma, Kaan Camuz, said of 35 teachers at Dove Science Academy, 11 are from Turkey, Russia, Turkmenistan or Azerbaijan.

“I know these schools claim that there is a shortage of math and science teachers, so they allege that their only option is to recruit from overseas. Of interest is that the majority of these teachers come from Turkey, the home country of the founders of these charter schools,” said Rep. Cannaday.

More than 120 charter schools nationwide, including the four Sky Foundation schools, were founded by Turkish nationals.

“Turkish teachers are displacing Oklahoman and American teachers, and on the taxpayers’ dime, to boot! I don’t believe they are really making efforts to bring on board local teachers, and as a former educator I am insulted that they make claims when applying for the federal visas that they were unable to find a single qualified candidates from not just our state but in our entire nation!”

According to the US Department of Labor, secondary school teachers were the 5th highest occupation for H-1B visas granted in Oklahoma in 2010.

Rep. Cannaday’s amendment further requires charter schools on the needs improvement list for three consecutive years to have their contract terminated or denied renewal.

“Charter schools receive state funding the same way public schools do. One charter middle school in particular has been on the needs improvement list for three years now, and given that by definition charter schools do not have to adhere to many of the mandates that public schools do, I find it unacceptable that any taxpayer dollars are being funneled to charter schools that can’t meet the bare minimum.”

Unlike public schools, charter schools do not have to require that teachers have valid teaching licenses or certificates, that teacher assistants have a high school diploma, or that students are enrolled in a minimum of six periods of rigorous instruction. Neither do they have to require that the high school offer the mandated 38 units of credit, or have a graduation policy that requires the minimum 23 units or sets of competencies.

Of the 22 charter schools in Oklahoma, 3 were on the Needs Improvement List in 2011: the Justice Alma Wilson SeeWorth Academy in OKC, the Santa Fe South Elementary School and the Santa Fe South Middle School.

The Santa Fe South Middle School has been on the Needs Improvement List every year since 2008, which is considered consistently low performing.

For Fiscal Year 2011 the total state allocations for charter schools was $32,183,444.

“I hope to shed some light on those charter schools that receive public dollars but have very little accountability or oversight in areas that I deem important to me as an educator, a lawmaker, and a father and grandfather. We too often praise charter schools while demonizing public schools, and unfortunately, many people just don’t know what we’ve allowed charter schools to get away with, all on the taxpayer dole.”

Gulen Schools How to become a CULT LEADER with Fethullah Gulen

Harmony Science Academy student in El Paso, TX makes final for Turkish Olympaid

Hispanic Student to Represent U.S. in Turkish Song Contest

EL PASO, Texas – Jacqueline Mata, a 14-year-old Latino girl from El Paso, has been chosen to represent the United States in the Turkish Language Olympiad to be held May 23-June 14 in Istanbul.

The teen, who was chosen last month at the Olympiad U.S. finals in Houston, will compete against 179 students from other countries in a contest where all the songs will be sung in Turkish.

But for Mata that won’t be a problem since she has been taking Turkish classes since 2009 and believes she has developed a really respectable grasp of the language.

“I’m immensely happy because I will not only represent my city but the whole country. I hope to do a good job and make my artistic mark with a foreign audience,” the singer told Efe.

Mata attends Harmony Science Academy El Paso, a charter school.

“I’ve always been particularly fascinated by Turkey, and that’s why I wanted to learn the language. Then I learned several songs and here comes this beautiful opportunity,” Jacqueline said.

The student also said that the school board has behaved like her own family and that teachers and classmates meet with her all the time to encourage her in this new facet of her future artistic career.

The organizing body of the U.S. Finals is Raindrop Turkish House, a non-profit foundation present in eight states around the country and whose mission is to teach Turkish culture in the United States.

The organization is also sponsoring Mata and will pay all the expenses of her artistic adventure.

Jacqueline was invited to Turkey last year to attend the Turkish Language Olympiad but this is the first time she will compete.

“I already know something about Istanbul, but now I want to find out more about its culture and its people so I can make a lot of friends,” she said.

Mata has her musical repertoire ready and has included such songs as “Arkadas” (Amigos), “Soyle Buldun mu” (Que Crees que Dicen, or What Do You Think They’re Saying), and “Gurbet” (Nostalgia).

She spends every afternoon practicing the lyrics, knowing full well that besides her intonation, the juries will be paying keen attention to her pronunciation.

One factor in Jacqueline’s favor is the wholehearted support of her mother, who has also learned to speak Turkish for the sole purpose of helping her daughter.

“I thought it was vital to learn the new language that my daughter speaks, so I’ll know what she’s talking about,” laughed Norma Longoria, who is doing all the necessary so she can accompany her Jaqueline to the land of the Turks. EFE

http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=480986&CategoryId=13003

Gulen Charter Schools in the USA: Proposed Gulen Charter School in Louisana DENIED, ...

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