“Mediocre Rankings for Turkish Gulen Harmony Charter Schools”
by Donna Garner
4.25.13
[After the newspaper article below, I have posted the individual rankings for the Turkish Gulen Harmony Charter Schools in the Houston area. From what I can see, the Harmony Charters are definitely a “mixed bag” with a number of them scoring below average. This stands in stark contrast to the marketing campaign that Harmony conducts in which they try to make the public think they are far superior charter schools.
I believe that because so many of the Harmony teachers are fresh from Turkey that they do not have the English proficiency skills that are needed to be excellent teachers. I am also very concerned about the type of Muslim indoctrination which may be occurring in the Harmony Charters. – Donna Garner]
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“Harmony Charter Schools Receive Mixed Grades in Latest Rankings”
April 25, 2013
by: Laura Isensee
April 25, 2013
by: Laura Isensee
http://app1.kuhf.org/articles/
We’ve reported this week about the latest school rankings from Children at Risk, including how charter schools fared. One charter school network got mixed grades.
We’ve reported this week about the latest school rankings from Children at Risk, including how charter schools fared. One charter school network got mixed grades.
More than 9,000 students in Greater Houston attend a Harmony Public School.
It’s known as a flagship charter school network in Texas.
It focuses on math, science and technology and recently won nearly $30 million dollars from the federal government.
But not all Harmony charter schools got the same grade in the latest rankings from Children at Risk.
Bob Sanborn is president and CEO of the advocacy group.
“When you look at those top Harmony schools, the data is very clear. Those are pretty good schools. But when you look at the whole thing, you get sort of a mixed bag.”
Children at Risk gave A’s and B’s to half of the Harmony schools. The other half got a C or lower. Three Harmony campuses got an F.
“We’re not really focusing on the reputation. Reputation has built itself in recent years.”
That’s Ozgur Ozer, the chief academic officer at Harmony Public Schools.
“Our aim is progress, continuous progress, so whenever we see we are not doing as well, we just want to focus on there and to improve our programs.”
To improve, Ozer says Harmony will analyze school data and share best practices among all its campuses.
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Children at Risk – Greater Houston School Rankings 2013 -- http://childrenatrisk.org/
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Greater Houston High School Ratings 2013 -- http://childrenatrisk.org/wp-
The number to the right is the state ranking out of 1171 high schools:
Harmony Science School – Harris County – 38
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Greater Houston Middle School Ratings 2013 -- http://childrenatrisk.org/wp-
The number to the right is the state ranking out of 1840 middle schools:
Harmony School of Science – Harris Co. – 5
Harmony School of Excellence – Harris Co. – 51
Harmony School of Innovation – Harris Co. – 63
Harmony Science Academy – Harris Co. – 193
Harmony School of Discovery – Harris Co. – 206
Harmony Science Academy – Harris Co. – 360
Harmony School of Excellence -- Harris Co. – 730Harmony School of Fine Arts – Harris Co. – 924
Harmony Science Academy – Houston -- Harris Co. – 1509
Harmony School of Ingenuity – Harris Co. – 1518
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Greater Houston Elementary School Ratings 2013
The number to the right is the state ranking out of 4059 elementary schools:
Harmony School of Excellence – Harris Co. – 771
Harmony School of Science – Harris Co. – 1279
Harmony School of Discovery – Harris Co. – 2433
Harmony School of Innovation – Harris Co. – 2863
Harmony Science Academy -- Harris Co. – 3260
Harmony School of Excellence – Harris Co. – 3665
Harmony School of Ingenuity – Harris Co. – 3873
Harmony School of Fine Arts – Harris Co. – 3908
Harmony Science Academy – Harris Co. – 3947
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To see the methodology used in the Children at Risk 2013 school rankings: http://childrenatrisk.org/
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“Behind the Doors of Turkish Gulen Charter Schools”
by Donna Garner
3.2.13
Mary Addi is a former Gulen charter school teacher who tells in a YouTube what goes on behind the doors of the Gulen Schools. Mrs. Addi is married to a Muslim man who is from Turkey himself, but she and her husband have traveled around the country telling the public of their great concerns about the Gulen charter schools.
In Texas, there are 38 Gulen charters; they are called the Harmony Schools and are run by the Cosmos Foundation. Different states have different names for these Turkish schools, but they are all tied together with H1-B temporary visa male teachers and administrators from Turkey who constantly switch schools.
This YouTube of Mary Addi telling her story is gripping; and because of her involvement in Loudoun County, Virginia, she was able to help influence the Loudoun County School Board on Feb. 26, 2013, to vote 8 to 1 against opening the Loudon Math and IT Gulen Charter School.
Here is the YouTube link to Mary Addi’s story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Please read the details of the Loudoun Co. School Board meeting:
Mary Addi has set up her own website – http://www.
We here in Texas are pushing our Texas Legislature to establish safeguards for charter schools, and these safeguards need to be established in every state:
Here are two sets of charter school safeguards that have been proposed by various experts.
1. That a financial audit conducted under generally accepted accounting practices by an independent, reputable auditor be required - and publicly available - from any charter school operator applying for bond guarantees or other financial incentives;
2. That the name, address, and citizenship of all board members and key administrators applying for said guarantee(s) or other financial incentives issued by the state be recorded and made available to the public;
3. That the funds in the underlying bonds or other financial incentives to privately owned, publicly financed schools are to be used solely for schools within Texas;
4. Severe criminal penalties for fraudulent activities involving bond guarantees or other financial incentives issued by states - such as a Class 2 Felony for criminal or securities fraud violations.
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Safeguards proposed in the 82nd Legislative Session in Texas but that the Texas Legislature did not pass:
1. Proof of U. S. citizenship for all charter school operator board members and top five highest-paid administrators. (Public ISD trustees must be U. S. citizens.)
2. Names, titles, and biographies posted online for all charter operator board members and top five highest-paid administrators.
3. Check registers posted online
Here is a recent article from Massachusetts: 2.21.13 – “Turkish-born educators seek to expand charter schools in Massachusetts” – by Steven A. Rosenberg, Boston Globe:
6.6.11 – “Charter schools tied to Turkey grow in Texas” – New York Times -- by Stephanie Saul: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/
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