http://www.slideshare.net/CASILIPS/concept-schools-success-in-education-or-success-in-marketing
Slide presentation about Concept Schools
Presumably 10% of the school's money goes to Concept in Illinois. That is the standard contract. Why should Minnesota, Indiana etc., money go to Illinois? Are Concept's services really so valuable?
2. The status of Concept Schools members in Ohio is not that great. 5 schools were on Academic Watch in 2009/10, 1 in Academic Emergency. Shouldn't they show they can fix the Ohio schools before expanding?
3. Concept failed to prove 501(c)3 status to Illinois
4. Locals should ask about the connection of Concept to Concept Schools International, which is opening schools in the United Arab Emirates. Is there a financial connection? Could Minnesota money be going overseas to that company?
5. Why would anyone in Minnesota, Indiana, etc., want governance to come from Illinois? Don't they want local control? How can parents and teachers communicate with the people who are really running the school when they are so far away? And how will the people in Illinois stay in touch with what's happening in the school and what the needs are?
Concept Schools, Gulen Charter Schools Midwest operations
DISCLAIMER:If you find some videos are disabled this is a result of Gulen Censorship and filing of fake copyright infringements to Utube.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Gulen Charter School Investigated by FBI PT 2
Centre County Charter School Linked To Controversial International Allegations
Recent News Reports Question Operations Of Group Connected To State College Charter School
link
emailPosted: 8:12 pm EDT March 21, 2011Updated: 9:15 am EDT March 22, 2011
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Recently released reports have linked a charter school in Centre County to a controversial network with Turkish links that has gained the attention of federal authorities.
A report published by the Philadelphia Inquirer linked the Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania in State College to a network of more than 120 charter schools in the U.S. connected to Turkish preacher and Muslim scholar Fethullah Gulen.
Gulen is living in self-imposed exile in a remote section of the Poconos in Pennsylvania.
Several reports claim that followers of Gulen have opened the network of charter schools across the U.S., and that federal authorities are investigating claims that school workers are donating portions of their salaries to a Muslim movement founded by Gulen.
Former Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania Parent Group President Ruth Hocker told WJAC-TV that she started filing freedom of information requests when local teachers were replaced by Turkish teachers and school administrators wouldn't explain the changes or verify teacher certification.
"We liked that they were multicultural, but any group that is favoring certain people over other people; favoring less-qualified people based on their race, that's when it's of concern," said Hocker.
Hocker said four of her children attended Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania; one graduated elementary school and three were eventually pulled from the classroom.
"We would say, 'Why are you hiring teachers who aren't certified?' and they would respond with, 'We can't find anyone local and certified who is qualified.' We would respond with, 'Penn State is right around the corner,; how can you not find someone certified and qualified in this town.' It doesn't even make sense," said Hocker. "We weren't concerned about their safety, but we certainly are concerned about the secrecy and where the money is being spent."
State College Area School District officials said that the Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania charter was renewed last July.
Calls requesting comment to the FBI, Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania have not yet been returned.
A report published by the Philadelphia Inquirer linked the Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania in State College to a network of more than 120 charter schools in the U.S. connected to Turkish preacher and Muslim scholar Fethullah Gulen.
Gulen is living in self-imposed exile in a remote section of the Poconos in Pennsylvania.
Several reports claim that followers of Gulen have opened the network of charter schools across the U.S., and that federal authorities are investigating claims that school workers are donating portions of their salaries to a Muslim movement founded by Gulen.
Former Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania Parent Group President Ruth Hocker told WJAC-TV that she started filing freedom of information requests when local teachers were replaced by Turkish teachers and school administrators wouldn't explain the changes or verify teacher certification.
"We liked that they were multicultural, but any group that is favoring certain people over other people; favoring less-qualified people based on their race, that's when it's of concern," said Hocker.
Hocker said four of her children attended Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania; one graduated elementary school and three were eventually pulled from the classroom.
"We would say, 'Why are you hiring teachers who aren't certified?' and they would respond with, 'We can't find anyone local and certified who is qualified.' We would respond with, 'Penn State is right around the corner,; how can you not find someone certified and qualified in this town.' It doesn't even make sense," said Hocker. "We weren't concerned about their safety, but we certainly are concerned about the secrecy and where the money is being spent."
State College Area School District officials said that the Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania charter was renewed last July.
Calls requesting comment to the FBI, Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania have not yet been returned.
Copyright 2011 by WJACTV.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Horizon Science Academy- Islam inspired schools growing in Ohio
Islam-inspired schools growing in Ohio
Tom Beyerlein and Margo Rutledge Kissell
Posted: 03/19/2011 10:27 PM
DAYTON — A fast-growing educational movement inspired by a reclusive Islamic imam has opened charter schools throughout the country, including three Horizon Science Academies in Dayton.
The Chicago-based Concept Schools runs 19 Ohio charter schools, becoming one of the state’s largest operators of publicly funded charters. It was founded by Turkisheducators con artists inspired by a religious leader, scholar and poet 5th grade educated Fethullah Gülen, who preaches a philosophy of nonviolence, interfaith dialogue, Turkish folkdancing, Turkish Character and personal success through education in math and the sciences. The schools’ operators say they don’t push a religious agenda.
The Gülen movement has drawn praise and criticism from both ends of the political spectrum. Former President Clinton and former President Reagan’s secretary of state, James Baker, are among its supporters, lauding the movement’s success in educating kids in tough urban environments. But conservative bloggers accuse Gülen followers of trying to brainwash kids in the ways of radical Islam, and teachers union officials say the schools misuse the H-1B visa program to import Turkish teachers, bypassing qualified Americans.
“We have folks who are ... fully capable, yet Ohio tax dollars are paying salaries of people coming in on visas,” Ohio Federation of Teachers President Sue Taylor said. “There just is something terribly amiss with that picture.” it's called Tuzuk, if you would give up 40% of your salary for the movement they might hire you too.
Concept Vice President Salim Ucan said a demanding curriculum, high expectations, strict discipline and longer classroom hours are parts of a recipe that has allowed some inner-city Concept schools to achieve impressive test scores where are these "impressive" test scores? and college placement rates.
One of its Cleveland schools is the only Ohio charter to earn a rating of excellent with distinction, but two of its three Dayton schools are on academic watch. The Ohio schools received more than $27 million in state funding in fiscal 2010, according to the state department of education.They are trying to apply for $93 million in bond financing.
Launched in 1999, Concept was the first group of educators to start a Gülen-inspired U.S. charter school, in Cleveland. Gülen’s followers generally keep a low public profile it's called a lack of transparency and accountability - gotta love that Turkish character and there’s no official count of Gülen-inspired schools, but experts say there now are more than 100 schools in 20 states, typically operated by unrelated, nonprofit organizations. By one count, Ohio is second only to Texas in the number of Gülen schools.
Ucan said 90 percent of Concept’s teachers are American in the current school year. Concept’s website says that, at one time, 25 percent of its teachers were foreign but Ucan said “as the schools grew, we slowed down on hiring international teachers.” Ucan is a liar, they increased the hiring of h1-b workers, but you must remember many are brought in as teachers then moved to the many Gulen NGOs that layer the schools.
As publicly funded schools, he noted, they are forbidden to push religion. A U.S. Department of Education official said no Gülen school in the nation has been found to violate that rule. Call it by it's name "Gulen School" Gulen is an Islamic Imam, they will in time start teaching Islam to the more vulnerable students.
“You’re always going to fear what you don’t know,” said Mimi Cox, who sends her three children to Horizon academies in Dayton. “Nobody is pushing their religion on anybody.”
Ucan said it shouldn’t matter whether the schools are Gülen-inspired “as long as no one is imposing any ideas upon anyone. That’s what makes America America.” No what makes America America is the fact we are transparent. Ucan then stop with the Turkish Cultural indoctrination, no more Turkish this and that.
Muslim cleric condemns terrorism
Fethullah Gülen has been described as Turkey’s most influential thinker, espousing a moderate Muslim ideology that condemns terrorism and embraces understanding between faiths. Gulen has been jailed twice in Turkey and was slated to be jailed a 3rd time when he flew the Turkey coop. influential thinker? ha ha ha
Born in 1941, Gülen adheres to the mystical Muslim path of Sufiism, and is described by scholars as the modern link to Turkey’s Ottoman tradition. His influences include the 13th century Persian poet Rumi, whose work spawned the whirling dervishes.
Gülen is a strong believer in math, science and technology education, teaching Turkish youth they “could be modern and still be good Muslims,” said University of Houston sociology Professor Helen Rose Ebaugh, author of a 2009 book about Gülen. “His message really caught on quickly. There are schools in 121 countries.” Dr. Rose Ebaugh is a loser, she is a paid speaker for the Gulen Institute and has already admitted that Gulen's charter schools "are causing problems" watch her video we have posted.
The university’s Gülen Institute credits the schools, which began in 1974, with making university education available to those outside Turkey’s ruling class. By 1990, movement members began founding schools and universities outside Turkey itself. Turkish Gülen followers also own a bank, a wire service, Turkey’s largest newspaper, a television network, a radio station and publishing companies. Controls media and arrests journalists that dare to speak out against the Gulen Movement.
Gülen came to the U.S. for medical treatment in 1999 and has remained here, living a reportedly spartan life at a remote Pennsylvania retreat. Turkish officials charged him in absentia with trying to establish an Islamic state in the secular nation, charges that were dropped in 2008.
U.S. Homeland Security sought to block permanent-resident status for Gülen in 2007, the Wall Street Journal reported, but he won on appeal. His appeal included letters from members of the CIA.
He is said to be in poor health and rarely grants interviews. In his first interview with a U.S. newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, in mid-2010, Gülen said, “I do not consider myself someone who has followers.” But various estimates have placed his following at between 3 million and 8 million.
In written responses to questions from USA Today, Gülen said he doesn’t know any of the leaders of the schools inspired by his teachings and has no involvement with the schools. “If they are successful in contributing to human well-being, love, social peace and harmony, I would applaud that,” he said.
The GOP-dominated Texas State Senate in January recognized Gülen “for his ongoing and inspirational contributions to the promotion of global peace and understanding.” Next time lets nominate Micky Mouse and see what happens.
Such praise hasn’t silenced criticism, with bloggers accusing the movement of being a cult-like enterprise to spread radical Islamic beliefs around the world.
Writing for the website Family Security Matters, conservative writer Paul Williams said “the schools reportedly are the breeding grounds for the Gülen movement in America and Fethullah Gülen’s long-range plan to create a universal caliphate.” A caliphate is the jurisdiction of Muslim leaders.
“A lot of this (criticism) is more fear than based on reality or data,” Ebaugh said.
D. Paul Johnson, a sociology professor at Texas Tech University, who visited Gülen schools in Turkey in 2008, said, “I see them in a positive light. They’re hoping to present an image of Muslims in America that differs from the stereotypes that have arisen since 9/11.” These visits to Gulen schools are all staged for the people who get a FREE trip to Turkey to report positive things about Gulen. Talk about the 300,000 Teacher in Turkey out of work. That one kind of slip by you Johnson?
Laura Leming, who chairs the University of Dayton’s sociology department, said, “People have raised the question, ‘Where is the moderate voice of Islam?’ The Gülen people would say, ‘This is the moderate voice of Islam.’ ”
High expectations but also high teacher turnover
In many ways, the Horizon Science Academy-Dayton High School isn’t so different than any public school. The preamble to the U.S. Constitution is on display, as are pictures of the presidents and the Iwo Jima flag-raising. They are trying hard but when the Turkish Olympiad comes the Turkish flag is everywhere.
The school, which opened in 2009, also prominently displays photographs of some of the 253 students who have been accepted to college or received scholarship offers. check each one of those students out, this group has been known to lie and boarst numbers that don't exist.
Scott Pearson, acting director of charter school programs for the U.S. Department of Education, said despite the academic watch ratings of two Dayton schools, Horizon often outperforms traditional public schools with comparable low-income, minority student demographics.
Ucan said the Concept schools provide about 25 percent more instructional time than traditional public schools and offer Saturday school for students who are struggling or want a more accelerated course.
High expectations of students is the key ingredient, according to Ucan. Must be talking about the sleep overs and weekend camps, males only. The Gulen Movement is largely male dominant.
Some students, he said, “lost that belief in themselves. Once they see people around them believing in them, they start believing in themselves, too. They’re good kids, they’re smart kids. They’re just behind academically.”
Senior Ithiyl Palmer, 18, of Dayton, who has had three scholarship offers and is interested in studying electrical engineering in college, said he likes the diverse culture and accelerated pace at Horizon. He said one drawback is that Concept’s growth has resulted in high teacher turnover, with instructors moving to other Concept schools. They move them around all the time, this is a Gulen tactic.
Many of the 545 students in the three Dayton Horizon schools — which include two elementaries — are blacks from low-income neighborhoods, but the schools also draw a significant number of Turkish or Russian immigrants.
Allegations of discrimination
Officials of the American Federation of Teachers say Concept officials needlessly import Turkish teachers using H-1B visas, pay them more than American teachers and discriminate against Americans when making promotions.
From fiscal 2008-2010, Horizon schools in Ohio applied for 24 new H-1B visas and 15 renewals for teachers whose three-year visas had expired, according to U.S. Homeland Security. Importing them in from Texas schools or hub- Cosmos Foundation dba Harmony Science Academy
Data from the Buckeye Institute, a conservative think tank, show foreign teachers often are the most highly paid at Ohio’s Horizon Science Academies. Of 19 teachers listed for Horizon-Dayton, six of the seven earning more than $35,000 in 2010 are Turkish. Turks made $38,200-$50,000, while the others, with one exception, made $26,000-$32,000.
“When you find out that people who are less qualified yet make $12,000 to $14,000 more than you, how are you supposed to feel?” said former Horizon-Dayton High School teacher Andrea Ross.
Ucan said Concept had trouble finding American teachers who were “high quality with phenomenal content knowledge,” so they used visas to hire Turkish teachers who were recommended to them. He said Concept relies less on visas since the recession hit and expanded the pool of qualified teachers. This fall, he said, Concept will hire its first non-Turkish principal, a woman.
“I don’t care who they are or where they come from,” he said, “as long as they serve my kids.they are not YOUR kids.”
He said visa workers’ pay is typically higher than American workers’ because federal law requires employers to pay visa workers by prevailing wage standards.
The Labor Department investigated and dismissed allegations that Concept pressured Turkish visa teachers at a Cleveland Horizon school to return part of their pay to Concept, Ucan said. “That’s a very common fraud in this country. That’s illegal and we do not do that.” sure about that Ucan, the investigation is still on.
Joshua D. Hendrick, who has studied the Gülen movement, said it relies on the support of a “very tight-knit group of deeply loyal and supportive followers who constitute the upper echelons.” He said Gülen followers’ “preference for ambiguity” when talking about their schools isn’t playing well in the United States. “It is and will likely continue to prove to be somewhat of an Achille’s heel here,” he said.
UD Professor Leming acknowledged there’s much distrust of the Gülen movement in the U.S. But she said Gülen’s philosophy isn’t so different than the teachings of Catholicism. Wrong there is a big difference, first of all the Catholic schools are privately funded and the Gulen Charter schools are public schools, Gulen's philosophy is Turkocentric and based on everything Turkish.
“This sounds pretty Marianist to me: ‘Let’s dedicate our resources to making the world a better place,’” she said. Leming should talk about how much money she gets as a Gulenist consultant. They don't make the world a better place they are liars.
The Chicago-based Concept Schools runs 19 Ohio charter schools, becoming one of the state’s largest operators of publicly funded charters. It was founded by Turkish
The Gülen movement has drawn praise and criticism from both ends of the political spectrum. Former President Clinton and former President Reagan’s secretary of state, James Baker, are among its supporters, lauding the movement’s success in educating kids in tough urban environments. But conservative bloggers accuse Gülen followers of trying to brainwash kids in the ways of radical Islam, and teachers union officials say the schools misuse the H-1B visa program to import Turkish teachers, bypassing qualified Americans.
“We have folks who are ... fully capable, yet Ohio tax dollars are paying salaries of people coming in on visas,” Ohio Federation of Teachers President Sue Taylor said. “There just is something terribly amiss with that picture.” it's called Tuzuk, if you would give up 40% of your salary for the movement they might hire you too.
Concept Vice President Salim Ucan said a demanding curriculum, high expectations, strict discipline and longer classroom hours are parts of a recipe that has allowed some inner-city Concept schools to achieve impressive test scores where are these "impressive" test scores? and college placement rates.
One of its Cleveland schools is the only Ohio charter to earn a rating of excellent with distinction, but two of its three Dayton schools are on academic watch. The Ohio schools received more than $27 million in state funding in fiscal 2010, according to the state department of education.They are trying to apply for $93 million in bond financing.
Launched in 1999, Concept was the first group of educators to start a Gülen-inspired U.S. charter school, in Cleveland. Gülen’s followers generally keep a low public profile it's called a lack of transparency and accountability - gotta love that Turkish character and there’s no official count of Gülen-inspired schools, but experts say there now are more than 100 schools in 20 states, typically operated by unrelated, nonprofit organizations. By one count, Ohio is second only to Texas in the number of Gülen schools.
Ucan said 90 percent of Concept’s teachers are American in the current school year. Concept’s website says that, at one time, 25 percent of its teachers were foreign but Ucan said “as the schools grew, we slowed down on hiring international teachers.” Ucan is a liar, they increased the hiring of h1-b workers, but you must remember many are brought in as teachers then moved to the many Gulen NGOs that layer the schools.
As publicly funded schools, he noted, they are forbidden to push religion. A U.S. Department of Education official said no Gülen school in the nation has been found to violate that rule. Call it by it's name "Gulen School" Gulen is an Islamic Imam, they will in time start teaching Islam to the more vulnerable students.
“You’re always going to fear what you don’t know,” said Mimi Cox, who sends her three children to Horizon academies in Dayton. “Nobody is pushing their religion on anybody.”
Ucan said it shouldn’t matter whether the schools are Gülen-inspired “as long as no one is imposing any ideas upon anyone. That’s what makes America America.” No what makes America America is the fact we are transparent. Ucan then stop with the Turkish Cultural indoctrination, no more Turkish this and that.
Muslim cleric condemns terrorism
Fethullah Gülen has been described as Turkey’s most influential thinker, espousing a moderate Muslim ideology that condemns terrorism and embraces understanding between faiths. Gulen has been jailed twice in Turkey and was slated to be jailed a 3rd time when he flew the Turkey coop. influential thinker? ha ha ha
Born in 1941, Gülen adheres to the mystical Muslim path of Sufiism, and is described by scholars as the modern link to Turkey’s Ottoman tradition. His influences include the 13th century Persian poet Rumi, whose work spawned the whirling dervishes.
Gülen is a strong believer in math, science and technology education, teaching Turkish youth they “could be modern and still be good Muslims,” said University of Houston sociology Professor Helen Rose Ebaugh, author of a 2009 book about Gülen. “His message really caught on quickly. There are schools in 121 countries.” Dr. Rose Ebaugh is a loser, she is a paid speaker for the Gulen Institute and has already admitted that Gulen's charter schools "are causing problems" watch her video we have posted.
The university’s Gülen Institute credits the schools, which began in 1974, with making university education available to those outside Turkey’s ruling class. By 1990, movement members began founding schools and universities outside Turkey itself. Turkish Gülen followers also own a bank, a wire service, Turkey’s largest newspaper, a television network, a radio station and publishing companies. Controls media and arrests journalists that dare to speak out against the Gulen Movement.
Gülen came to the U.S. for medical treatment in 1999 and has remained here, living a reportedly spartan life at a remote Pennsylvania retreat. Turkish officials charged him in absentia with trying to establish an Islamic state in the secular nation, charges that were dropped in 2008.
U.S. Homeland Security sought to block permanent-resident status for Gülen in 2007, the Wall Street Journal reported, but he won on appeal. His appeal included letters from members of the CIA.
He is said to be in poor health and rarely grants interviews. In his first interview with a U.S. newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, in mid-2010, Gülen said, “I do not consider myself someone who has followers.” But various estimates have placed his following at between 3 million and 8 million.
In written responses to questions from USA Today, Gülen said he doesn’t know any of the leaders of the schools inspired by his teachings and has no involvement with the schools. “If they are successful in contributing to human well-being, love, social peace and harmony, I would applaud that,” he said.
The GOP-dominated Texas State Senate in January recognized Gülen “for his ongoing and inspirational contributions to the promotion of global peace and understanding.” Next time lets nominate Micky Mouse and see what happens.
Such praise hasn’t silenced criticism, with bloggers accusing the movement of being a cult-like enterprise to spread radical Islamic beliefs around the world.
Writing for the website Family Security Matters, conservative writer Paul Williams said “the schools reportedly are the breeding grounds for the Gülen movement in America and Fethullah Gülen’s long-range plan to create a universal caliphate.” A caliphate is the jurisdiction of Muslim leaders.
“A lot of this (criticism) is more fear than based on reality or data,” Ebaugh said.
D. Paul Johnson, a sociology professor at Texas Tech University, who visited Gülen schools in Turkey in 2008, said, “I see them in a positive light. They’re hoping to present an image of Muslims in America that differs from the stereotypes that have arisen since 9/11.” These visits to Gulen schools are all staged for the people who get a FREE trip to Turkey to report positive things about Gulen. Talk about the 300,000 Teacher in Turkey out of work. That one kind of slip by you Johnson?
Laura Leming, who chairs the University of Dayton’s sociology department, said, “People have raised the question, ‘Where is the moderate voice of Islam?’ The Gülen people would say, ‘This is the moderate voice of Islam.’ ”
High expectations but also high teacher turnover
In many ways, the Horizon Science Academy-Dayton High School isn’t so different than any public school. The preamble to the U.S. Constitution is on display, as are pictures of the presidents and the Iwo Jima flag-raising. They are trying hard but when the Turkish Olympiad comes the Turkish flag is everywhere.
The school, which opened in 2009, also prominently displays photographs of some of the 253 students who have been accepted to college or received scholarship offers. check each one of those students out, this group has been known to lie and boarst numbers that don't exist.
Scott Pearson, acting director of charter school programs for the U.S. Department of Education, said despite the academic watch ratings of two Dayton schools, Horizon often outperforms traditional public schools with comparable low-income, minority student demographics.
Ucan said the Concept schools provide about 25 percent more instructional time than traditional public schools and offer Saturday school for students who are struggling or want a more accelerated course.
High expectations of students is the key ingredient, according to Ucan. Must be talking about the sleep overs and weekend camps, males only. The Gulen Movement is largely male dominant.
Some students, he said, “lost that belief in themselves. Once they see people around them believing in them, they start believing in themselves, too. They’re good kids, they’re smart kids. They’re just behind academically.”
Senior Ithiyl Palmer, 18, of Dayton, who has had three scholarship offers and is interested in studying electrical engineering in college, said he likes the diverse culture and accelerated pace at Horizon. He said one drawback is that Concept’s growth has resulted in high teacher turnover, with instructors moving to other Concept schools. They move them around all the time, this is a Gulen tactic.
Many of the 545 students in the three Dayton Horizon schools — which include two elementaries — are blacks from low-income neighborhoods, but the schools also draw a significant number of Turkish or Russian immigrants.
Allegations of discrimination
Officials of the American Federation of Teachers say Concept officials needlessly import Turkish teachers using H-1B visas, pay them more than American teachers and discriminate against Americans when making promotions.
From fiscal 2008-2010, Horizon schools in Ohio applied for 24 new H-1B visas and 15 renewals for teachers whose three-year visas had expired, according to U.S. Homeland Security. Importing them in from Texas schools or hub- Cosmos Foundation dba Harmony Science Academy
Data from the Buckeye Institute, a conservative think tank, show foreign teachers often are the most highly paid at Ohio’s Horizon Science Academies. Of 19 teachers listed for Horizon-Dayton, six of the seven earning more than $35,000 in 2010 are Turkish. Turks made $38,200-$50,000, while the others, with one exception, made $26,000-$32,000.
“When you find out that people who are less qualified yet make $12,000 to $14,000 more than you, how are you supposed to feel?” said former Horizon-Dayton High School teacher Andrea Ross.
Ucan said Concept had trouble finding American teachers who were “high quality with phenomenal content knowledge,” so they used visas to hire Turkish teachers who were recommended to them. He said Concept relies less on visas since the recession hit and expanded the pool of qualified teachers. This fall, he said, Concept will hire its first non-Turkish principal, a woman.
“I don’t care who they are or where they come from,” he said, “as long as they serve my kids.they are not YOUR kids.”
He said visa workers’ pay is typically higher than American workers’ because federal law requires employers to pay visa workers by prevailing wage standards.
The Labor Department investigated and dismissed allegations that Concept pressured Turkish visa teachers at a Cleveland Horizon school to return part of their pay to Concept, Ucan said. “That’s a very common fraud in this country. That’s illegal and we do not do that.” sure about that Ucan, the investigation is still on.
Joshua D. Hendrick, who has studied the Gülen movement, said it relies on the support of a “very tight-knit group of deeply loyal and supportive followers who constitute the upper echelons.” He said Gülen followers’ “preference for ambiguity” when talking about their schools isn’t playing well in the United States. “It is and will likely continue to prove to be somewhat of an Achille’s heel here,” he said.
UD Professor Leming acknowledged there’s much distrust of the Gülen movement in the U.S. But she said Gülen’s philosophy isn’t so different than the teachings of Catholicism. Wrong there is a big difference, first of all the Catholic schools are privately funded and the Gulen Charter schools are public schools, Gulen's philosophy is Turkocentric and based on everything Turkish.
“This sounds pretty Marianist to me: ‘Let’s dedicate our resources to making the world a better place,’” she said. Leming should talk about how much money she gets as a Gulenist consultant. They don't make the world a better place they are liars.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2094 or mkissell@daytondailynews.com
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Gulen Charter School Federal Investigation 'Bad Boys- what are you going to do?"
U.S. charter-school network with Turkish link draws federal attention
By Martha Woodall and Claudio Gatti
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER FOR THE INQUIRER
Fethullah Gulen is a major Islamic political figure in Turkey, but he lives in self-imposed exile in a Poconos enclave and gained his green card by convincing a federal judge in Philadelphia that he was an influential educational figure in the United States.
As evidence, his lawyer pointed to the charter schools, now more than 120 in 25 states, that his followers - Turkish scientists, engineers, and businessmen - have opened, including Truebright Science Academy in North Philadelphia and another charter in State College, Pa.
The schools are funded with millions of taxpayer dollars. Truebright alone receives more than $3 million from the Philadelphia School District for its 348 pupils. Tansu Cidav, the acting chief executive officer, described it as a regular public school.
"Charter schools are public schools," he said. "We follow the state curriculum."
But federal agencies - including the FBI and the Departments of Labor and Education - are investigating whether some charter school employees are kicking back part of their salaries to a Muslim movement founded by Gulen known as Hizmet, or Service, according to knowledgeable sources.
Unlike in Turkey, where Gulen's followers have been accused of pushing for an authoritarian Islamic state, there is no indication the American charter network has a religious agenda in the classroom.
Religious scholars consider the Gulen strain of Islam moderate, and the investigation has no link to terrorism. Rather, it is focused on whether hundreds of Turkish teachers, administrators, and other staffers employed under the H1B visa program are misusing taxpayer money.
Federal officials declined to comment on the nationwide inquiry, which is being coordinated by prosecutors in Pennsylvania's Middle District in Scranton. A former leader of the parents' group at the State College school confirmed that federal authorities had interviewed her.
Bekir Aksoy, who acts as Gulen's spokesman, said Friday that he knew nothing about charter schools or an investigation.
Aksoy, president of the Golden Generation Worship & Retreat Center in Saylorsburg, Pa., where Gulen lives, said Gulen, who is in his early 70s, "has no connection with any of the schools," although he might have inspired the people who founded them.
Another aim of the Gulen schools, a federal official said, is fostering goodwill toward Turkey, which is led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the pro-Islamic prime minister, whose government recently detained journalists after they alleged that Gulen followers were infiltrating security agencies.
Gulen schools are among the nation's largest users of the H1B visas. In 2009, the schools received government approvals for 684 visas - more than Google Inc. (440) but fewer than a technology powerhouse such as Intel Corp. (1,203).
The visas are used to attract foreign workers with math, science, and technology skills to jobs for which there are shortages of qualified American workers. Officials at some of the charter schools, which specialize in math and science, have said they needed to fill teaching spots with Turks, according to parents and former staffers.
Ruth Hocker, former president of the parents' group at the Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania Charter School in State College, began asking questions when popular, certified American teachers were replaced by uncertified Turkish men who often spoke limited English and were paid higher salaries. Most were placed in math and science classes.
"They would tell us they couldn't find qualified American teachers," Hocker said.
That made no sense in Pennsylvania State University's hometown, she said: "They graduate here every year."
Other school parents described how uncertified teachers on H1B visas were moved from one charter school to another when their "emergency" teaching credentials expired and told of a pattern of sudden turnovers of Turkish business managers, administrators, and board members.
The charter school application that Truebright filed with the Philadelphia School District in 2005 mentioned that its founders helped start similar schools in Ohio, California, and Paterson, N.J.
Shana Kemp, a School District spokeswoman, said that the district had just learned Riza Ulker, Truebright's permanent CEO, was on extended sick leave and that it would look into that. She said district officials knew nothing about a federal investigation of these charter schools.
Further evidence of the ties comes from a disaffected former teacher from Turkey who told federal investigators that the Gulen Movement had divided the United States into five regions, according to knowledgeable sources. A general manager in each coordinates the activities of the schools and related foundations and cultural centers, he told authorities.
Ohio, California, and Texas have the largest numbers of Gulen-related schools. Ohio has 19, which are operated by Concept Schools Inc., and most are known as Horizon Science Academies. There are 14 in California operated by the Magnolia Foundation. Texas has 33 known as Harmony schools, run by the Cosmos Foundation.
In their investigation, federal authorities have obtained copies of several e-mails that indicate the charter schools are tied to Hizmet and may be controlled by it:
One activist sent an e-mail Aug. 30, 2007, to administrators at four schools and the president of Concept Schools in which he mentioned "Hizmet business" and several problems that needed to be addressed so that "Hizmet will not suffer."
And the disaffected teacher who described the five regions gave authorities a document called a tuzuk, which resembles a contract and prescribes how much money Turkish teachers are supposed to return to Hizmet.
State auditors in Ohio found that a number of schools had "illegally expended" public funding to pay legal, immigration, and air-travel fees for nonemployees and retained teachers who lacked proper licenses. Audited records from the Horizon Science Academy in Cincinnati in May 2009 also say that "for the period of time under audit, 47 percent (nine of 19) of the school's teachers were not properly licensed."
The same records show that the founder of Horizon Cincinnati was listed as the CEO of the school's management firm and as president of the school's property owner.
The American charter schools were a central part of Gulen's argument that won him a green card after the Department of Homeland Security ruled that he did not meet the qualifications of an "alien of extraordinary ability" to receive a special visa.
In a lawsuit Gulen filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia in 2007 challenging the denial, his attorneys wrote: "In his position as the founder and head of the Gulen Movement, Mr. Gulen has overseen the establishment of a conglomeration of schools throughout the world, in Europe, Central Asia, and the United States."
His attorneys also referred to a letter of support from a theology professor in Illinois who described Gulen as "a leader of award-winning schools for underserved children around the world, including many schools in the major cities in America."
On July 16, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Stewart Dalzell ruled that Gulen met the requirements for a green card.
Hocker, the State College parent, said the current CEO had assured her the school had no ties to Gulen.
Rather, he told her that Gulen had inspired him to go into education and that Turkey "wanted to be known for teaching, the way you would think of India" for information technology, Hocker said.
But she noted that when the school's founding CEO disappeared, his successor arrived from the Buffalo Academy of Science, another Gulen school. The dean of academics came from a related school in New Jersey. Ulker, Truebright's, CEO, was one of the school's founders and is a board member.
"If you start looking at their names, you can connect them back to all the other charter schools and Gulen groups," Hocker said.
She later withdrew her three children over concerns about secrecy and finances.
A sister school - Young Scholars of Western Pennsylvania - is scheduled to open outside Pittsburgh in the fall.
(Young Scholars in State College and Western Pennsylvania are not connected to the Young Scholars Charter School in North Philadelphia.)
Truebright, at 926 W. Sedgley Ave., opened in 2007, enrolls seventh through 12th graders, and is about to hold its first graduation. Ninety percent of its students are African American. The school has met the academic standards of the federal No Child Left Behind Law the last two years.
Cidav, the acting CEO, came from the Harmony Science Academy in Austin, Texas. He said he could not comment on behalf of the school. He referred all questions to Ulker, who Cidav said had gone back to Turkey for a family emergency after Christmas and was not expected back until July. Board Chairman Baki Acikel did not respond to an e-mail request for comment.
Before Ulker's abrupt departure, he was involved in failed attempts to open charters in Camden and Allentown.
He also applied for Truebright to become one of the charter operators selected to take over failing Philadelphia schools as part of Superintendent Arlene C. Ackerman's Imagine 2014 initiative. In late December, Truebright was one of 10 organizations the district deemed "not qualified" for further consideration.
________________________________________
Claudio Gatti is the New York-based correspondent of Il Sole 24 Ore, the leading daily financial newspaper in Italy.
Contact staff writer Martha Woodall at 215-854-2789 or martha.woodall@phillynews.com.
Find this article at:
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20110320_U_S__charter-school_network_with_Turkish_link_draws_federal_attention.html?viewAll=y&c=y
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| Truebright Science Academy Gulen "Inspired" school |
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Gulen- Turkey's Invisable Man Casts Long Shadow WikiLeaks Cable
09ANKARA1722: GULEN - TURKEY'S INVISIBLE MAN CASTS LONG SHADOW
http://cablesearch.org/?id=09ANKARA1722&vThis is not the original Wikileaks document! It's a cache, made on 2011-03-18 03:24:40. For the original document check the original source: http://213.251.145.96/cable/2009/12/09ANKARA1722.html
ID | 09ANKARA1722 |
SUBJECT | GULEN - TURKEY'S INVISIBLE MAN CASTS LONG SHADOW |
DATE | 2009-12-04 11:11:00 |
CLASSIFICATION | CONFIDENTIAL |
ORIGIN | Embassy Ankara |
TEXT | C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001722 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE AND NEA/I E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/03/2019 TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV PHUM TU SUBJECT: GULEN - TURKEY'S INVISIBLE MAN CASTS LONG SHADOW REF: A. ANKARA 1029 ¶B. ANKARA 834 Classified By: Ambassador James Jeffrey, for reasons 1.4(b),(d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Fethullah Gulen remains a political phenomenon in Turkey. Although "exiled" in Pennsylvania for the past decade, Gulen's impact continues to expand, aided by legions of loyalist supporters and a network of elite schools. The Gulen Movement's purported goals focus on interfaith dialogue and tolerance, but in the current AKP-secularists schism, many Turks believe Gulen has a deeper and possibly insidious political agenda, and even some Islamist groups criticize Gulen's lack of transparency, which they say creates doubts about his motives. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) Gulen was born between 1938-1942 (varying dates have been given), and initially served as an imam and as an employee of Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet). He established his own movement in the 1970s based on the teachings of Said Nursi, an Islamic thinker of Kurdish origin, whose followers are called Nurcus. Gulen then broke away from the Nursi framework. Gulen's own philosophy emphasizes the role of science in Islam. He supports interfaith dialogue and condemns terrorism. In the past two decades, Gulen has focused primarily on education, not only in Turkey but around the world. His schools have earned a reputation particularly in Central and South Asia for academic excellence and the advocacy of moderate Islamic views. Indicted, Then Acquitted ------------------------ ¶3. (SBU) Gulen has been living in the U.S. since 1999 when he went there ostensibly for health treatments (a heart condition and diabetes). At the same time, however, he faced charges in Turkey of plotting to overthrow the state. The charges were based on a 1986 sermon where Gulen is heard declaring that "our friends, who have positions in legislative and administrative bodies, should learn its details and be vigilant all the time so they can transform it and be more fruitful on behalf of Islam in order to carry out a nationwide restoration." This indictment gave his travel to the U.S. the appearance of his being a fugitive from the Turkish judicial system. A Turkish Court acquitted him of all charges in 2006. That acquittal was appealed but the acquittal was upheld in 2008. ¶4. (SBU) In the meantime, Gulen had applied for Permanent Residence status in the U.S. Immigration officials initially rejected Gulen's application to be classified as "an alien of extraordinary ability," but a Federal Court ruled in late 2008 that this rejection had been improper. Gulen now holds a Green Card, and lives in a secluded compound in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains. ¶5. (SBU) The core of the Fethullah Gulen Movement is his network of schools, which extend from South Africa to the United States. The schools emphasize high academic achievement, and they openly recruit and provide scholarships to the brightest students from poor and working class families. Gulenist schools in Turkey routinely produce graduates who score in the upper one percent of the annual university entrance exam. These top graduates often become teachers themselves. The Gulenist doctrine, with its conservative and religiously observant undercurrent, has met fierce hostility in regimes such as Russia, which expelled the Gulenists en masse in the 1990s. ¶6. (C) But it is within Turkey that the movement has its roots, its largest following, and its greatest controversies. The Gulen Movement includes not only educational institutions, including the famous Samanyolu ("Milky Way") school in Ankara and Fatih University, but also the ANKARA 00001722 002 OF 003 Journalists and Writers Foundation, various businesses, and media outlets such as "Zaman," "Today's Zaman" (English language), "Samanyolu TV," and "Aksiyon Weekly." Gulenists also reportedly dominate the Turkish National Police, where they serve as the vangard for the Ergenekon investigation -- an extensive probe into an alleged vast underground network that is accused of attempting to encourage a military coup in ¶2004. The investigation has swept up many secular opponents of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), including Turkish military figures, which has prompted accusations that the Gulenists have as their ultimate goal the undermining of all institutions which disapprove of Turkey becoming more visibly Islamist. (COMMENT: The assertion that the TNP is controlled by Gulenists is impossible to confirm but we have found no one who disputes it, and we have heard accounts that TNP applicants who stay at Gulenist pensions are provided the answers in advance to the TNP entrance exam. END COMMENT) Championing the Ergenekon Probe ------------------------------- ¶7. (C) Gulenist newspapers such as "Zaman" relentlessly question the validity of the Ataturk legacy and argue that as an EU aspirant country, Turkey must ensure the diminished voice of the Turkish military in political issues. These papers champion the Ergenekon investigation and continually stress that the traditional dominance of the Turkish military has been a negative factor in Turkey's history. Not surprisingly, contacts close to the the Turkish General Staff openly loathe Gulen, and contend that he and his legions of supporters are embarked on a ruthless quest not only to undermine the Turkish military but to transform Turkey into an Islamic republic similar to Iran. ¶8. (C) Even among some Islamist organizations, the Fethullah Gulen Movement seems to have a murky reputation. The former head of the City Women's Platform, Hidayet Tuksal, told us that her group regards Gulen positively, because he disapproves of the use of violence, but that Gulen's lack of transparency creates doubt about his motives and leads to suspicions about what lies ahead -- even within the communities where Gulen is most active. Gulen's purported main goal is to bolster interfaith dialogue and tolerance, but the notion is widespread among many circles in Turkey that his agenda is deeper and more insidious. ¶9. (C) The Gulen movement has been described as a modernized version of Sunni Hanafi Islam. It shares this orientation with "Milli Gorus," the grouping associated with former PM Necmettin Erbakan, but the two movements are otherwise distinct: "Milli Gorus" is Turkey-centric; the Gulen Movement has a broader scope and is more comfortable with the concept of justifying the means for the end, such as discarding the headscarf when necessary. Still, there is some convergence: many of the founders of AKP came from "Milli Gorus," but many officials within AKP are known to be close to the Gulen movement. ¶10. (C) Most discussions in Turkey which touch on Gulen tend to be somewhat delicate and deliberately artful. Our interlocutors often seem reluctant to express their views, seemingly uncertain if it will rebound on them to their detriment. In addition, the political context for conversations about Gulen is complicated because President Gul is himself seen by almost all of our contacts as a Gulenist, while Prime Minister Erdogan is not. Indeed, some of our contacts have argued that Erdogan is so firmly outside the Gulen camp that Gulen loyalists view him as a liability. At the same time, the Republican People's Party and other AKP opponents of the ruling Justice and Development Party are quick to accuse the U.S. of working covertly to prop up Gulen, allegedly to weaken Turkey's secular foundation to produce a "model" moderate Islamic nation. This accusation relies on the premise that Gulen was given refuge in the U.S., and ultimately permanent resident status, despite ANKARA 00001722 003 OF 003 facing indictment in Turkey for illegal anti-secularist activities. ¶11. (C) Gulen has his share of non-Islamic supporters, which includes the Eucumenical Patriarch in Istanbul. In a recent conversation with the Ambassador, the Patriarch reported that he had visited Gulen during his last trip to the United States and had spent more than an hour together in a one-on-one discussion. He planned to see Gulen again on his recent visit to New York. The Patriarch told the Ambassador he had been "very impressed" with Gulen and commented on the quality of Gulen schools, including a Gulenist University in Kazakhstan named for Suleyman Demirel. Comment ------- ¶12. (C) Given the current AKP-secularist schism in Turkey today, it should not be surprising that any Islamist movement in Turkey would choose to be circumspect about its intentions. Unfortunately, this simply feeds the reflexive tendency in Turkish society for conspiracy theories, and magnifies suspicions about the Gulen movement itself. While the purported Gulen goals of interfaith dialogue and tolerance are beyond reproach, we see aspects of concern in the allegations that the USG is somehow behind the Gulen movement. Accordingly, we would recommend the following standard press guidance: Q: Why is the U.S. sheltering Fethullah Gulen and doesn't this mean that the US is promoting a non-secular Turkey? A: -- The U.S. is not "sheltering" Mr. Gulen and his presence in the U.S. is not based on any political decision. -- Mr. Gulen applied for, and received, permanent residence in the U.S. after a lengthy process which ended in 2008 when a Federal Court ruled that he deserved to be viewed as an "alien of extraordinary ability" based on his extensive writings and his leadership of a worldwide religious organization. -- As a Green Card holder, Mr. Gulen is entitled to all the privileges which that status entails. His presence in the U.S. should not be viewed as a reflection of US policy toward Turkey. JEFFREY |
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TAGS | PREL PTER PGOV PHUM TU |
ADDED | 2011-03-17 15:03:00 |
STAMP | 2011-03-18 03:24:40 |
VOTE_POINTS | 0 |
VOTE_COUNT | 0 |
VOTE_RATING | 0 |
PRIORITY | OO |
TWEETS | 1 |
MANUAL | N |
SITELINK | |
ISNEW | N |
FINGERPRINT1 | 73e29667dde944c9c678ef033eac52f0 |
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Gulen Movement latest subject of WikiLeaks
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| Gulen exiled to America with a tourist visa that he later converted to a permanent visa in 1999, he was denied and later appealed and was granted permanent status in 2008 Turkey’s religious Gülen community subject of latest WikiLeaks
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Friday, March 11, 2011
Gulen Movement keeps beating the same drum
http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/azstarnet.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/6/13/faa/613faab0-5159-11df-84f8-001cc4c03286.pdf.pdf
This was written by a paid Gulen researcher about their growth in Singapore (SE Asia) you will note it is the SAME story country to country - state to state. 8 step process Steps:
1)Started with Turkish business men that moved into the area
2) They started cultural festivals and "friendship dinners" and "Noah's Pudding" night
3) Foundations, Institutes, groups pop up surrounding the Turkish community.
4) community religious leaders, polticians, academia and media are invited and HONORED
5) Free trips to Turkey to discover business opportunities with Turkey (always a camera or video to record the event or endorsement)
6) Get embedded into local politics via bribe, payouts, manipulation
7) Media, marketing, advertising hype (turkey is a growing economy, only through ties with Turkey will your country/state prosper)
8) Establish schools. (Turkish Olympiads, Turkish cultural influences "Turkish is the language of Peace and Love"
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Gulen Movement Slave Trade aka Tuzuk Contract abuse of human rights
As revealed by the Hawaii Free Press Article “Gulen Cult: Legislators to welcome ugly union busting to Hawaii: http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/main/ArticlesMain/tabid/56/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/3871/Gulen-Cult-Legislators-to-welcome-ldquoUgly-Unionbustingrdquo-to-Hawaii-schools.aspx
The Gulen Movement Tuzuk contract amounts to nothing more than exploitation of fellow naive members of Hizmet (Gulen Movement) This Tuzuk (donation) contract is comparable to the Indentured Servants of early America and it is shameless to think that the Gulen Movement who supposedly teaches “respect” and “Turkish Character” would prey on their fellow brothers and sisters. The Tuzuk Contract: http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/main/Portals/0/Article%20Attachments/Gulen%20Tuzuk%20Contract.pdf
The Gulen Movement’s Tuzuk human slavery contract a modern version of the past indentured servant. An indentured servant was typically a young, unskilled laborer contracted to work for an employer for a fixed period of time, typically three to seven years, in exchange for transportation, food, clothing, lodging and other necessities during the term of their indenture
Here is a copy of the Gulen Movement Tuzuk Contract, which is used in conjunction with their abuse of H1-B visas. As you can see the Gulen Movement keeps the employee’s American retirement which must go back to the Gulen Foundation or NGO (Non Governmental Organization) and if the unsuspecting Gulen victim stays, they get a whopping $10.00 raise a year and no medical insurance. However, they can get extra money if the Gulen victim gets a fancy title. The board members determine whether the Gulen victim (aka Gulen Slave) can continue education in an American University for an advance degree. This is extortion and robbing of American tax dollars to perform a modern day indentured servant. The question is does the foundation hold their visa as collateral until they work off their expense of immigration fees. The Gulen slave Tuzuk contract is an abuse of human rights
As we have discussed before, there is NO shortage of math and science teachers and other qualifed teachers. America has suffered an unprecedented amount of traditional public schools that have closed, the unemployed number of American teachers is staggering. Meanwhile the Gulen Movement continues to abuse their own brothers and sisters.
Consider these pathetic Gulen statistics:
Consider the following (based on the list Top 100 H1b Visa Sponsors In Secondary School Education Since 2008 appearing on 7/23/2010):
- The Gulen schools and their related organizations account for 31.5% of all H1B visa applications requested by the top 100 secondary school education H1B visa sponsors. (Table 1)
- Of the top 100 secondary school education H1B visa sponsors, 34 of the 100 sponsors were Gulen schools or their related organizations.
- A total of 4277 visas were requested by the top 100 sponsors.
- 1349 of the 4277 applications were submitted by Gulen schools or their related organizations.
- There were fewer than 100 U.S. schools in this subterranean network of schools operated by Gulen movement missionaries in this same year. Read about the characteristics of these schools here.
- The Cosmos Foundation, which operates approximately 27 Gulen schools in Texas, ranked #1 with 521 visa applications. These schools are heavily, but not exclusively, staffed with Turkish and Turkic teachers. The administrators and founders are nearly exclusively Turkish males.
- To contrast, Global Teachers Research Resources (a teacher headhunting organization) ranked #2 with 325 visa applications. GTRR’s newsletters reveal a wide range of teacher nationalities.
- Further investigation is likely to reveal that close to 100% of the visa applications of the Gulen schools and their related organizations will be for individuals from Turkey.
- Public school districts also applied for visas. In fact, seven of the top-20 largest school districts in the country were also top-100 sponsors for visa applications. These seven districts represent nearly 2,900,000 students attending approximately 3,831 schools. (Table 2)
- When averaged, seven of the top-20 largest school districts in the country submitted one H1B visa application for every 6.2 schools.
- The average number of visa applications for the Gulen schools was 13.5 H1B visa applications per school!
http://gulencharterschoolsusa.blogspot.com/2010/12/gulen-charter-schools-booming-h1-b-visa.html
http://perimeterprimate.blogspot.com/2010/07/gulen-schools-and-their-booming-h1b.html
http://gulencharterschools.weebly.com/importing-english-teachers-from-turkey.html
An indenture was a legal contract enforced by the courts. One indenture reads as follows:
This INDENTURE Witnesseth that James Best a Laborer doth Voluntarily put himself Servant to Captain Stephen Jones Master of the Snow Sally to serve the said Stephen Jones and his Assigns, for and during the full Space, Time and Term of three Years from the first Day of the said James’ arrival in Philadelphia in AMERICA, during which Time or Term the said Master or his Assigns shall and will find and supply the said James with sufficient Meat, Drink, Apparel, Lodging and all other necessaries befitting such a Servant, and at the end and expiration of said Term, the said James to be made Free, and receive according to the Custom of the Country. Provided nevertheless, and these Presents are on this Condition, that if the said James shall pay the said Stephen Jones or his Assigns 15 Pounds British in twenty one Days after his arrival he shall be Free, and the above Indenture and every Clause therein, absolutely Void and of no Effect. In Witness whereof the said Parties have hereunto interchangeably put their Hands and Seals the 6th Day of July in the Year of our Lord, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy Three in the Presence of the Right Worshipful Mayor of the City of London. (signatures)
Like slaves, servants could not marry without the permission of their owner, were subject to physical punishment (like many young ordinary servants), and saw their obligation to labor enforced by the courts. To ensure uninterrupted work by the female servants, the law lengthened the term of their indenture if they became pregnant. But unlike slaves, servants could look forward to a release from bondage. If they survived their period of labor, servants would receive a payment known as "freedom dues" and become free members of society. One could buy and sell indentured servants' contracts, and the right to their labor would change hands, but not the person as a piece of property.
On the other hand, this ideal was not always a reality for indentured servants. Both male and female laborers could be subject to violence, occasionally even resulting in death.
Learn more about Indentured Servants here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indentured_servant
GULEN ON SLAVERY
Monday, March 7, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Horizon and Quest Academy part of Concept Schools- Caterpillar and Concept?
Quest Academy – Caterpiller and Gulen
This author shouldn’t surpise anyone he is an ex-legislature from Illinois turned academia 2 of the things the Gulen Movement target in their “Quest” (no pun intended) for worldwide domination. Knock yourself out Hizmet, it is all catching up with you.
First, about this line:
"he points to the success of Concept Schools in Ohio, where he says all show either "continuous improvement" or that they are "effective and excellent.""
That is inaccurate. The last batch of school report cards available from Ohio, for 2009-2010, showed 5 Horizon schools (Concept) on Academic Watch and one on Academic Emergency. (cf. http://www.slideshare.net/CASILIPS/concept-schools-success-in-education-or-success-in-marketing)
Note this line from the article:
http://mywebtimes.com/archives/ottawa/display.php?id=425750
"To get the school up and running, however, the school district required the charter organizers to come up with $1 million from the community, which it did, half of it from major employer Caterpillar."
Hakan Berberoglu's wife Ozgur Aytekin Berberoglu works for Caterpillar. That is why you'll see Caterpillar supporting the Midwest Gulen schools. Also, I remember seeing a document, perhaps a charter application or board minutes, in which Caterpillar made a statement that they needed better science and math education in their area. They made it look as though it came from an independent local employer rather than it being an inside job.
http://magazine.mccormick.northwestern.edu/fall2004/class.html
"Ozgur Aytekin Berberoglu (mechanical engineering '00) received her master's degree in nanotechnology from University of Illinois at Chicago and works at Caterpillar, in Aurora, Illinois, as a vehicle engineer in the wheel loader department. She was married to Hakan Berberoglu in July 2003 in Istanbul, Turkey."
I'd say with 95% certainty that Hakan Berberoglu (Niagara Foundation) is posting comments to the Houston Chronicle article.
"he points to the success of Concept Schools in Ohio, where he says all show either "continuous improvement" or that they are "effective and excellent.""
That is inaccurate. The last batch of school report cards available from Ohio, for 2009-2010, showed 5 Horizon schools (Concept) on Academic Watch and one on Academic Emergency. (cf. http://www.slideshare.net/CASILIPS/concept-schools-success-in-education-or-success-in-marketing)
Note this line from the article:
http://mywebtimes.com/archives/ottawa/display.php?id=425750
"To get the school up and running, however, the school district required the charter organizers to come up with $1 million from the community, which it did, half of it from major employer Caterpillar."
Hakan Berberoglu's wife Ozgur Aytekin Berberoglu works for Caterpillar. That is why you'll see Caterpillar supporting the Midwest Gulen schools. Also, I remember seeing a document, perhaps a charter application or board minutes, in which Caterpillar made a statement that they needed better science and math education in their area. They made it look as though it came from an independent local employer rather than it being an inside job.
http://magazine.mccormick.northwestern.edu/fall2004/class.html
"Ozgur Aytekin Berberoglu (mechanical engineering '00) received her master's degree in nanotechnology from University of Illinois at Chicago and works at Caterpillar, in Aurora, Illinois, as a vehicle engineer in the wheel loader department. She was married to Hakan Berberoglu in July 2003 in Istanbul, Turkey."
I'd say with 95% certainty that Hakan Berberoglu (Niagara Foundation) is posting comments to the Houston Chronicle article.
STATE AFFAIRS: Can charter schools save public education?
03/04/2011, 1:22 am
Jim Nowlan, State Affairs
Charter public schools are all the rage among education reformers and business leaders. We don't have any charter schools in our readership communities, so I took a drive to Peoria to visit the Quest Charter Academy in that city. The techniques employed there are not magic — longer school days and school year; twice as much time devoted to math and English as in regular schools; strong parental involvement; and high expectations. Charter schools in Illinois are authorized by local public school districts under a "charter" of, say, five years to provide education often somewhat specialized for typical public school students. The Quest Academy focuses, for example, on math, science and technology. The Quest Academy operates from a previously shuttered public elementary school. About 700 students applied for the 225 slots in a fifth- to seventh-grade school that will grow each year until it provides education through the senior year in high school. Students were selected by lottery and reflect the demographics of the Peoria school district: 63 percent African-American, 23 percent Caucasian, 11 percent multiracial and 2 percent Hispanic. As a charter, Quest can operate independently of most school district rules. Teachers are, for example, on yearly contracts rather than protected from firing by tenure. Nevertheless, Quest received 400 resumes for it 20 teaching positions. As Quest Principal Engin Blackstone notes: "We can change things overnight if they aren't working to our satisfaction." Quest receives about the same amount of funding per pupil as the regular public schools in Peoria. To get the school up and running, however, the school district required the charter organizers to come up with $1 million from the community, which it did, half of it from major employer Caterpillar. The school is operated by Concept Schools, a nonprofit group that runs 25 schools in Midwestern states, primarily in Ohio. Eleven years old, Concept is headed by two Turkish-American entrepreneurs who often bring math and science teachers from abroad into their classrooms, because of the difficulty of finding highly-qualified math and science teachers in the U.S. Peoria's Quest relies, however, solely on American teachers. As I see it, the key differences with the regular schools are these: Each Quest school day is 62 minutes longer, and after school activities in chess club, MathCounts, science fair and other competitive pursuits are encouraged; after school tutoring also is available. Math and English lasts 90 minutes a day for each, rather than 45 minutes. School meets Saturdays for both students who are struggling and for advanced students. The school year is eight days longer, and classes run with volunteers from nearby colleges when teachers are occupied by required professional development (normally, students are let off during what we used to call "Institute" days). Parental involvement is emphasized; there are four rather than two parent conferences, conducted Saturdays, and home visits by teacher-advisers are required. Blackstone is discouraged that only 80 percent of the parents participated in the first round of parent-teacher-student conferences, and he will focus on the 20 percent who didn't show, he says. Nor does Blackstone — a native of Turkey who is on the path to U.S. citizenship — give up on his students. When a parent with a child who has behavior problems suggested he move the child of out Quest, Blackstone said, "No, we will have a consultant or other specialists work with the child." The big question is whether charter schools make a difference in outcomes, now that there are 5,000 charter schools nationwide educating 1.5 million students (115 in Illinois, with 42,000 students). A recent major evaluation by the U.S. Department of Education found that, "On average, charter middle schools that hold lotteries are neither more nor less successful than traditional schools in improving student achievement, behavior and school progress." Blackstone believes his school will indeed fulfill the "Quest to be the best," and he points to the success of Concept Schools in Ohio, where he says all show either "continuous improvement" or that they are "effective and excellent." Charter schools are found primarily in large urban school districts that exhibit poor performance overall. Whether they will be all the rage in the future depends upon whether they make a positive difference. I came away from Quest Charter Academy with the sense the principal and his team are trying mightily to do just that.
FOOTNOTES: |
Caterpillar was featured quite prominently in "Shadow of the Holy Book," about the Turkmenistan dictator, Niyazov. Even more prominently featured was Ahmet Calik of Calik Holding who is also a close associate of Erdogan. Also, Ergogan's son-in-law has been working for Calik.
Caterpillar is likely to be intertwined with Calik's business ventures, esp. those having to do with mining the untapped deposits in Central Asian regions.
Caterpillar is likely to be intertwined with Calik's business ventures, esp. those having to do with mining the untapped deposits in Central Asian regions.
- http://www.miningtopnews.com/anatolia-announces-strategic-relationship-with-calik-mining.html
- http://www.miningtopnews.com/caterpillar-moves-forward-with-new-large-mining-trucks.html
- http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/world/asia/14minerals.html
- http://www.meforum.org/2045/fethullah-gulens-grand-ambition
- http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=33579
Calik, a multi-billionaire, is described this way: "a happily married father of four remains a humble, decent, nice and quietly confident man-kind of like a Turkish version of Warren Buffet."
http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page72068?oid=87989&sn=Detail
Somehow this is connected to why the CIA is involved and, I believe, why all these Gulen schools have been tolerated, and even promoted by members of our own government.
More on Calik, Cetin and leader of all Turkomans Niyazov
http://turkishinvitations.weebly.com/gulen-and-saparmurat-niyazov.html
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