Thread: ISLAMIST RUNNING 140 TAX-FUNDED CHARTER SCHOOLS IN U.S.

This man claimed to be a refugee. If he is a true political refugee why haven't his sponsoring and travel to Turkey come into question?

ISLAMIST RUNNING 140 TAX-FUNDED CHARTER SCHOOLS IN U.S.

Casts broad net of influence over lawmakers

Published: 01/17/2016
LEO HOHMANN

Muhammad Fethullah Gulen heads a global empire of schools and Islamic cultural centers and is one of Turkey’s most influential spiritual leaders. He lives in exile in the United States and has 140 charters schools in 26 states.

Muhammad Fethullah Gülen is a Turkish Islamist, writer and preacher with a secret plan for bringing Shariah law to America.

Arguably Turkey’s most influential spiritual leader of the past 50 years, Gülen left that country in the late 1990s and now directs his cult-like Islamic movement from a guarded compound in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.

Part of his empire consists of a thriving network of more than 140 charter schools in 26 states that sell themselves to parents as a secular and more academically rigorous alternative to public schools.

As the second largest chain of charter schools in the United States, Gülen schools rake in tens of millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars every year.

But the schools — which have innocent-sounding names like the Horizon Science Academies in Illinois, Harmony Schools of Excellence in Texas, Dove Science Academies in Oklahoma and Magnolia Science Academies in California — have long been the subject of investigations into alleged corruption scandals involving influence peddling and visa abuse.

USA Today reported recently that the Gülen faith movement secretly funded 200 overseas trips for congressional lawmakers and staff since 2008.

“Turkish leaders have asked the United States to extradite Gülen from the remote compound in rural Pennsylvania where he has lived for 20 years.

“The movement has founded hundreds of charter schools across the United States and around the world, has its own media organizations, and was deeply entrenched with the Turkish regime until a falling out two years ago. That led President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to declare Gülen was running ‘a parallel state’ inside the country with the intent of undermining the government.”

Critics argue that the schools also covertly engage in Islamic missionary outreach, usually after-hours or during school extra-curricular activities.

Anti-Shariah activist Pam Geller says Gülen has been dubbed “the Turkish Khomeini” for a reason.

“It has been widely reported for years that he wants ultimately to restore the Islamic caliphate in Turkey. That alone should make his charter schools in the U.S. a subject of law enforcement scrutiny, but it largely hasn’t,” Geller told WND. “There have been allegations that funds from these schools have gone to a Turkish Islamization movement, Hizmet. The U.S. government shouldn’t be funding Gülen’s schools; it should be investigating them and shutting them down.”

Most of the parents of students who attend Gülen charter schools have no idea about Gülen’s background as a Turkish Islamist and believer in civilizational jihad — which is a form of nonviolent jihad focused on infiltrating and overcoming Western nations over time through immigration and exploitation of the civil liberties available in those nations.

But a new book on Gülen and his U.S. schools hopes to blow the lid on his cloak of secrecy.

Clare Lopez, co-author with Christopher Holton of “Gülen and the Gulenist Movement: Turkey’s Islamic Supremacist Cult and its Contributions to Civilizational Jihad,” says the movement is extremely secretive but there’s no small amount of information for those willing to dig. She and Holton decided to peel back the layers.

“There have been many articles and of course the movement itself puts out a great deal of material and Fethullah Gülen himself is a prolific author of articles and books,” Lopez told WND.Lopez, who is vice president of research and analysis for the Center for Security Policy, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank operated by former Defense Department analyst Frank Gaffney, said Gulen is “fundamentally jihadist in outlook,” while promoting orthodox Islamic tenets within a worldwide movement.

Gulen is also heavily involved in the global interfaith movement, which seeks to build bridges between the major faiths of Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

“While not very well known by many Americans he is nevertheless quite influential and works through the schools, cultural organizations and the media to promote not only the orthodox teachings of Islam, but also a positive outlook towards Turkey,” Lopez said. “We’re concerned about its influence on our children, civic leaders and elected officials.”
Listen to Clare Lopez talk about the subject of her new book, the shadowy Gülen movement.

Traditionally the centers of Islam have been based in Saudi Arabia for Sunnis and Iran for Shiites.

But Turkey has always been the wild card. Students of history will recall that it served as the head of the Ottoman Empire for more than 500 years, but crashed and burned in the aftermath of World War I and was steered into a more Western mindset by Ataturk.

Under Erdogan's AKP party, however, that has all changed, as documented in the film "End Times Eyewitness" by Christian author and filmmaker Joel Richardson.

Erdogan has overturned the secularized Western influence that had banned the hijab and the fez in public places and eliminated the many Shariah-compliant restrictions placed on society.

Asylum in American

Gülen's cultural empire, including his schools and media companies, had a lot to do with the return of Islamist values in Turkey. But Gülen lost out on the political power struggle and in 1998 fled to the U.S., where he was offered asylum.
In the U.S., Gülen schools are not outwardly Islamic. Any influence in that regard is subtle, Lopez said.

image: http://www.wnd.com/files/2016/01/map...ions-in-US.jpg

Map of Gulen schools and cultural institutions in the United States.

But he has become expert at buying influence from politicians in Washington and in state Capitols.

"There have been many allegations of abuse of the visa system, kickbacks in salaries, and attempted influencing of school administrators, parents and teachers, journalists, priests and rabbis, everyone," Lopez said.

In 2013 Gülen and Erdogan had a final falling out.

"These are two powerful men each intent on seizing power for themselves, not that they disagree in any way over the direction to take Turkey, which is away from the West and toward the neo-Ottoman Islamic caliphate," Lopez says.
The U.S. gave Gülen legal permanent resident status in 2008, and he is now eligible for citizenship.

Soaking the U.S. taxpayer

The amount of public taxpayer money Gulen's charter schools receive every year runs into the tens of millions. A charter school is essentially operated like a private school only it receives taxpayer funding and does not answer to any widely elected school board.

"There's all kinds of charter schools in the U.S. that receive taxpayer funding and that is how the Gulen movement has developed its network of schools in the U.S., making them attractive by making them STEM schools, which parents love," Lopez said.

And when Congress passed the re-authorization of No Child Left Behind late last year, it included increased funding for taxpayer-funded charter schools run by unelected boards.

"Gulen Charter Schools exemplify the unconstitutionality of tax-funded school choice," writes Charlotte Iserbyt, a former education adviser to President Ronald Reagan, in her blog, "The ABCs of Dumb Down."

"There is no citizen accountability or oversight," Iserbyt says. "No wonder there is corruption. Those who think that charters are the solution for Common Core, forget it."

And for all of the taxpayer money flooding into the Gülen schools, most of the teaching positions go to foreigners who come to the U.S. on H-1B guest-worker visas from Turkey. This is the visa program that GOP presidential hopeful Sen. Marco Rubio wants to expand through his I-Squared bill, tripling the cap on such visas from about 66,000 per year to 195,000 per year.

"To the best of my knowledge in all the research I've done, I don't see that the Gülen schools are being accused of teaching Islamic ideology in the schools, that's not the issue, rather it's the abuse of H-1B visa system to bring in Turkish teachers instead of hiring Americans," Lopez said. "There is alleged abuse of the teachers who are required to kick back a percentage of their salaries, and they do teach a cultural emphasis on Turkey and Islam."

Charges of influence peddling

The schools also are known for offering lavish, all-expenses paid trips to Turkey for friendly politicians at the state, local and federal level.

The USA Today investigation accuses the Gülen movement of falsifying its funding of trips for U.S. congressional members.

Lopez said teachers and parents have complained that the schools' main purpose is to promote a love not only for Turkish culture but Islam.

"You'll see in the book former teachers or people who've broken away from the movement who say there is an attempt to inculcate a positive view of Turkey and Islamic culture," she said.

An Islamist with a hidden agenda

Joel Richardson is a Bible teacher, author and documentary filmmaker.

Richardson, the Christian author and filmmaker, said Gülen is without a doubt an Islamist with an hidden agenda. His strategy mirrors that of the Muslim Brotherhood, which advocates non-violent civilizational jihad as the means to infiltrate and influence Western societies.

"In the past, he has made very overt comments about the need to infiltrate the arteries of the system and so forth," Richardson told WND. "On the other hand, he is definitely non-violent and has furthered the idea, popular within some of the Turkish-Islamist movement of non-violent Islamism."

Erdogan struck harshly against the Gülen movement in Turkey, rooting numerous Gülen supporters out of the government and throwing them in prison. Erdogan has called for the U.S. to extradite Gülen for allegedly subverting the Turkish government.

"In terms of the danger that Gülen represents to the United States, I would say that five years ago, Gülen and his charter schools were a bigger concern," Richardson said. "They still need to be defunded by the U.S. government. Today, however, compared to the much larger dangers we are facing, including the very real Islamists that Obama has allowed into the U.S. government, or the very real, very violent Islamists that have infiltrated the country, Gülen, with his ideological jihad, is a relatively small fish, in an ever-expanding pond of violent Islamists."

Lopez said the Gülen movement helped drag Turkey back to its Islamic roots and so his influence should not be under-estimated in the U.S., and he certainly should not be given taxpayer funding.

"Look what's happened to Turkey, the Islamic supremacists were voted in, and Erdogan is on a neo-Ottoman path to take Turkey back to its roots as a jihadist state, so I think there is ever good reason to be concerned about his activities (in the U.S.)," Lopez said.


Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2016/01/islamist-...QrSus4VtbM1.99

Gulen Charter Schools in the United States


Page created June 2010; last updated Sep 13, 2014
by C.A.S.I.L.I.P.S. - Citizens Against Special Interest Lobbying in Public Schools CASILIPS on Twitter, Slideshare


For lists of schools currently pending or in the pipeline, and of schools that were planned but never materialized or that closed, see our companion site. For schools closed or removed from Gulenist control, see further down this page.

Note that some schools have 2 or 3 different campuses at different locations (divided into elementary/middle/high school), yet are still considered a single school by their state. The count here is based on what each state legally considers a "school" (i.e., an entity with its own school number and its own report card).

Total number of schools currently in operation: 146
Number of states with schools in current operation: 26 + District of Columbia
Number of schools closed / removed from Gulenist control / converted to private*: 9
*some of these schools may have later been resurrected under a new charter

Schools currently in operation(All are publicly funded.)

Arizona (7)

Management organization: Sonoran Schools
De facto management organization: Accord Institute for Education Research
Charter holder: Daisy Education Corporation*

• Sonoran Science Academy - Tucson* http://www.sonoranacademy.org/tucson/
• Sonoran Science Academy - Broadway http://www.sonoranacademy.org/broadway/
• Sonoran Science Academy - Phoenix* http://www.sonoranacademy.org/phoenix/
• Sonoran Science Academy - Davis Monthan Air Force Base http://www.sonoranacademy.org/davis-monthan/
• Sonoran Science Academy – Ahwatukee* http://www.sonoranacademy.org/ahwatukee/
• Sonoran Science Academy – Peoria http://www.sonoranschools.org/index....ols/ssa-peoria
• Paragon Science Academy http://www.paragonscience.org/

Arkansas (2)

De facto management organization: Harmony Public Schools (formerly Cosmos Foundation) http://www.harmonytx.org

• Lisa Academy http://www.lisaacademy.org/
  
• Lisa Academy-North http://www.lisanorth.org/

California (11)

De facto management organization: Accord Institute for Education Research

Charter holder: Magnolia Foundation http://magnoliacharterschools.org/

1. Magnolia Science Academy 1 - Reseda http://reseda.magnoliascience.org/
2. Magnolia Science Academy 2 – Valley http://valley.magnoliascience.org/
3. Magnolia Science Academy 3 – Carson - http://gardena.magnoliascience.org/
4. Magnolia Science Academy 4 – Venice http://venice.magnoliascience.org/
5. Magnolia Science Academy 5 – Hollywood http://hollywood.magnoliascience.org/
6. Magnolia Science Academy 6 – Palms http://palms.magnoliascience.org/
7. Magnolia Science Academy 7 - Van Nuys http://vannuys.magnoliascience.org
8. Magnolia Science Academy 8 – Bell http://bell.magnoliascience.org/
9. Magnolia Science Academy - San Diego http://sandiego.magnoliascience.org/
10. Magnolia Science Academy – Santa Clara http://santaclara.magnoliascience.org

Charter holder: Willow Education

1. Bay Area Technology School (Oakland) http://www.baytechschool.org/j/index.php

Colorado (1)

De facto management organization: Accord Institute for Education Research

• Lotus School for Excellence – Aurora http://www.lotusschool.org/

District of Columbia (1)

Management organization: Harmony Public Schools (formerly Cosmos Foundation)

• Harmony D.C. — School of Excellence http://www.harmonydc.org

Florida (10)

Organization: Charter Educational Services & Resources http://charterresources.us formerly Grace Institute for Educational Research and Resources http://graceschools.us

• Broward Math & Science Schools http://www.bmsschools.org/
• Discovery Academy of Science http://www.discoveryacademy.info
• New Springs Elementary School http://www.newspringsschools.org
• New Springs Middle School http://newspringsschools.org/
• Orlando Science Middle/High School http://orlandoscience.org/
• Orlando Science Elementary School http://orlandoscience.org/
• River City Science Academy, Middle School http://www.rivercityscience.org/
• River City Science Academy Innovation http://rivercityscience.org/innovation/‎
• River City Science Elementary Academy http://rivercityscience.org/elementary
• Stars Middle School, Tallahassee http://starsmiddleschool.org/

Georgia (2)

De facto management organization: Charter Educational Services & Resources http://charterresources.us formerly Grace Institute for Educational Research and Resources http://graceschools.us

• Fulton Science Academy High School (formerly TEACH-Technology Enriched Accelerated High) School http://fsahigh.org
• Fulton Sunshine Academy, Elementary School http://www.fultonsunshine.org/

Illinois (4)

Organization: Concept Schools http://www.conceptschools.org

• Chicago Math and Science Academy http://cmsaonline.net
• Horizon Science Academy Belmont http://www.hsabelmont.org
• Horizon Science Academy McKinley Park http://www.hsamckinley.org
• Quest Charter Academy http://www.questpeoria.org

Indiana (3)

Organization: Concept Schools, Inc. http://www.conceptschools.org

• Indiana Math and Science Academy – West http://www.imsaindy.org
• Indiana Math and Science Academy – North http://north.imsaindy.org
• Indiana Math and Science Academy – South http://south.imsaindy.org

Louisiana (1)

Charter holder : Pelican Educational Foundation
De facto management organization: Harmony Public Schools (formerly Cosmos Foundation) http://www.harmonytx.org

• Kenilworth Science and Technology, Baton Rouge http://www.kenilworthst.org

Maryland (4)

Charter holder: Chesapeake Lighthouse Foundation http://www.clfmd.org
De facto management organizations: Washington Educational Foundation http://www.weduf.org and Apple Educational Services

• Chesapeake Math and IT Academy http://cmitacademy.org/
• Chesapeake Math and IT Academy North a.k.a CMIT Elementary http://cmitelementary.org/
• Chesapeake Math and IT Academy South http://cmitsouth.org/
• Chesapeake Science Point, Hanover http://www.mycsp.org/

Massachusetts (3)

De facto management organization: Apple Educational Services
http://www.appleeducationalservices.org or http://aesny.org

• Pioneer Charter School of Science http://www.pioneercss.org
• Pioneer Charter School of Science II http://www.pioneercss.org
• Hampden Charter School of Science http://www.hampdencharter.org/

Michigan (1)

Management organization: Concept Schools http://www.conceptschools.org

• Michigan Math and Science Academy http://www.mmsaonline.org/

Minnesota (1)

Management organization: Concept Schools http://www.conceptschools.org

• Minnesota Math and Science Academy http://www.mmsaweb.org

Missouri (5)

Charter holder: Frontier Schools
De facto management organization: Harmony Public Schools (formerly Cosmos Foundation) http://www.harmonytx.org

• Frontier School of Excellence a.k.a. Brookside-Frontier Math and Science School http://www.bfmass.org/ http://www.kcfse.org/
• Frontier School of Innovation http://www.kcfsi.org/
• Frontier STEM no website yet; see http://frontierschools.org

Management organization: Concept Schools http://www.conceptschools.org

• Gateway Science Academy of St. Louis http://www.gsastl.org
• Gateway Science Academy South http://www.gsasouth.org

Nevada (2)

Charter holder: Coral Education Corporation
De facto management organization: Accord Institute for Education Research

• Coral Academy of Science - Reno Elementary http://coralacademy.org/elementary/ Middle High http://www.coralacademy.org/middle http://www.coralacademy.org/high
• Coral Academy of Science - Las Vegas (legally a single school, but has 3 campuses with separate locations) http://www.coralacademylv.org/

New Jersey (6)

De facto management organization: Apple Educational Services
http://www.appleeducationalservices.org or http://aesny.org

• Central Jersey College Prep http://njcollegeprep.com/
• Paterson Charter School For Science And Technology http://www.pcsst.org/
• Thomas Edison EnergySmart Charter School http://energysmartschool.org

Organization: North Jersey Arts and Science Charter Schools http://njascs.org

• Bergen Arts and Science Charter School (3 campuses) http://bergencharter.org
  
• Passaic Arts and Science Charter School (2 campuses) http://passaiccharter.org/elementary/
• Paterson Arts and Science Charter School http://www.pcsst.org

New Mexico (1)

De facto management organization: Cosmos Foundation/Harmony Public Schools

• Albuquerque School of Excellence http://www.abqse.org/

New York (4)

De facto management organization: Apple Educational Services
http://www.appleeducationalservices.org or http://aesny.org

• Syracuse Academy of Science http://www.sascs.org/
• Buffalo Academy of Science http://www.bascs.org/
• Rochester Academy Charter School http://www.rochester-academy.org/ and http://www.racschool.com/
• Utica Academy of Science http://www.uascs.org

North Carolina (2)

De facto management organizations: Washington Educational Foundation http://www.weduf.org and Apple Educational Services

• Triad Math and Science Academy http://www.tmsacharter.org/
• Triangle Math and Science Academy http://tmsaacademy.org

Ohio (19)

Management organization: Concept Schools http://www.conceptschools.org

1. Horizon Science Academy Cincinnati http://www.horizoncincy.org/
2. Horizon Science Academy Cleveland http://www.hsas.org/
3. Horizon Science Academy Cleveland Middle School http://www.hsacms.org/
4. Horizon Science Academy Cleveland Elementary School http://es.horizoncleveland.org/
5. Horizon Science Academy Columbus High School http://www.horizoncolumbus.org/
6. Horizon Science Academy Columbus Middle School http://www.horizoncolumbus.org/ms/
7. Horizon Science Academy Columbus Elementary School http://es.horizoncolumbus.org/
8. Horizon Science Academy Dayton Elementary School http://es.horizondayton.org
9. Horizon Science Academy Dayton http://www.horizondayton.org/
10. Horizon Science Academy Dayton Downtown http://dt.horizontoledo.org
11. Horizon Science Academy Denison Middle School http://www.horizondenison.org/
12. Horizon Science Academy Denison Elementary School www.denisonelementary.org/
13. Horizon Science Academy Lorain http://www.horizonlorain.org/
14. Horizon Science Academy Springfield http://www.horizonspringfield.org/
15. Horizon Science Academy Toledo http://www.horizontoledo.org/
16. Horizon Science Academy Toledo Downtown http://dt.horizontoledo.org
17. Horizon Science Academy Youngstown http://www.horizonyoungstown.org/
18. Noble Academy-Columbus http://www.noblecolumbus.org/
19. Noble Academy-Cleveland http://www.noblecleveland.org/

Oklahoma (4)

Charter holder: Sky Foundation
De facto management organization: Harmony Public Schools (formerly Cosmos Foundation) http://www.harmonytx.org

• Discovery School of Tulsa http://www.discoveryok.org/
• Dove Science Academy- Oklahoma City http://www.dsaokc.org/
• Dove Science Academy Elementary School http://www.dsaelementary.org/
• Dove Science Academy-Tulsa http://dsatulsa.org/

Pennsylvania (3)

De facto management organization: Apple Educational Services
http://www.appleeducationalservices.org or http://aesny.org

• Truebright Science Academy, Philadelphia http://www.truebright.org/
• Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania http://www.yscp.org/
• Young Scholars of Western Pennsylvania http://www.yswpcs.org/

South Carolina (1)

• Greenville Renewable Energy Education ("GREEN") Charter School http://www.scgreencharter.org/‎

Tennessee (1)

De facto management organization: Harmony Public Schools (formerly Cosmos Foundation) http://www.harmonytx.org

• Memphis School of Excellence http://www.sememphis.org/

Texas (45)

Charter holder/Management Organization: Harmony Public Schools (formerly Cosmos Foundation) http://www.harmonytx.org

Austin area

1. Harmony School of Science - Austin http://hssaustin.org/
2. Harmony Science Academy - North Austin http://hsana.org/
3. Harmony School of Excellence - Austin http://hseaustin.org/
4. Harmony Science Academy - Austin http://hsaaustin.org/
5. Harmony School of Political Science and Communication http://hspaustin.org

Brownsville

1. Harmony Science Academy - Brownsville http://hsabrownsville.org/

Dallas area

1. Harmony Science Academy - Waco http://hsawaco.org/
2. Harmony Science Academy - Garland http://hsagarland.org/
3. Harmony Science Academy - Dallas http://hsadallas.org Elementary http://hsedallas.org Middle School http://hsmdallas.org
4. Harmony School of Innovation - Dallas (formerly Harmony School of Innovation Carrollton) http://hsacarrollton.org/
5. Harmony School of Business http://hsbdallas.org

El Paso

1. Harmony Science Academy - El Paso http://hsaelpaso.org/
2. Harmony School of Innovation - El Paso http://hsielpaso.org/

Fort Worth area

1. Harmony Science Academy - Fort Worth http://hsafortworth.org/
2. Harmony School of Innovation - Fort Worth http://hsifortworth.org
3. Harmony Science Academy - Grand Prairie http://hsagp.org/
4. Harmony Science Academy - Euless http://hsaeuless.org/
5. Harmony School of Nature and Athletics – Dallas http://hsnature.org/
6. Harmony School of Innovation Euless http://www.hsieuless.org

Houston north area

1. Harmony School of Endeavor - Houston http://hsendeavor.org/default.asp
2. Harmony Science Academy - Bryan/ College Station http://hsabcs.org/
3. Harmony Science Academy - Houston Northwest http://hsanw.org/
4. Harmony School of Excellence - Houston http://hsehouston.org/
5. Harmony School of Advancement High http://hsadvancement.org/
6. Harmony School of Discovery http://hsdhouston.org/
7. Harmony School of Exploration http://www.hehouston.org

Houston south area

1. Harmony School of Ingenuity http://hsingenuity.org/default.asp
2. Harmony Science Academy - Beaumont http://hsabeaumont.org/
3. Harmony Science Academy - Houston http://hsahouston.org/default.asp
4. Harmony Science Academy High School - Houston http://hshigh.org/
5. Harmony School of Innovation - Houston http://hsihouston.org/default.asp
6. Harmony School of Art (and Technology) - Houston http://hsart.org

Houston west area

1. Harmony School of Science - Houston http://hsshouston.org/
2. Harmony Science Academy - West Houston http://hsawh.org
3. Harmony School of Science High - Sugarland http://hsshigh.org

Laredo

1. Harmony Science Academy - Laredo http://hsalaredo.org/
2. Harmony School of Innovation - Laredo http://hsilaredo.org

Lubbock area

1. Harmony Science Academy - Lubbock http://hsalubbock.org/
2. Harmony Science Academy - Odessa http://hsaodessa.org/

San Antonio area

1. Harmony Science Academy - San Antonio http://hsasa.org/
2. Harmony School of Innovation - San Antonio http://hsisa.org/

Charter holder: SST Schools (formerly Riverwalk Education Foundation, Inc) http://www.ssttx.org/
De facto management Organization: Harmony Public Schools (formerly Cosmos Foundation) http://www.harmonytx.org

1. School of Science and Technology Discovery - Leon Valley http://www.sstdiscovery.org/
2. School of Science and Technology - San Antonio http://www.ssttx.org/default.asp
3. School of Science and Technology - Corpus Christi http://www.sstcc.org/
4. School of Science and Technology – Alamo http://www.sstalamo.org/default.asp

Utah (1)

De facto management organization: Accord Institute for Education Research

• Beehive Science and Technology Academy http://www.beehiveacademy.org

Wisconsin (1)

Management organization: Concept Schools

• Milwaukee Math and Science Academy http://www.mmsacademy.org/

Schools closed or removed from Gulenist control

California (3)

• Magnolia Science Academy - San Diego 2 http://sandiego2.magnoliascience.org/
• Pacific Technology School – Orangevale http://ov.ptscharter.org/
• Pacific Technology School Santa Ana (a.k.a. PTS Orange County http://oc.ptscharter.org/) [statewide benefit charter not renewed; new charter approved to reopen as Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana]

Florida (1)

• Sweetwater Branch Academy, Middle School, Gainesville http://swbacademy.org/

Georgia (1)

• Fulton Science Academy Middle School http://www.fultonscience.org/

Louisiana (1)

• Abramson Science and Technology. New Orleans http://www.abramsonst.org/

Maryland (1)

• Baltimore IT Academy http://www.bitacademy.org/

Minnesota (1)
Management organization: Concept Schools

• Minnesota School of Science http://www.mssonline.org/
  

Wisconsin (1)

• Wisconsin Career Academy http://wiscca.org

The following map was made in March 2011; please see this page for more current maps.

http://turkishinvitations.weebly.com...s-schools.html

Government and Private Grants to Gulen Charter Schools

Page created Aug 2010; last updated Oct 13, 2012

Apart from normal state funding, Gulen charter schools receive substantial funds from other sources, including special state programs and the federal government. The following list gives some examples and is not comprehensive.

Arizona
Daisy Education Corporation

• $627,564 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• $158,500 United States Department of Education, Public Charter School Program 2001; Nasuhi Yurt;

Paragon Education Corporation

• $325,765 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• $149,440 United States Department of Education Charter School Program 2007; Project Director: Ali Kemal Unver.

Sonoran Science Academy Tucson

• $151,078 United States Department of Education Charter School Program 2007; Project Director: Adam Oksuz;

Sonoran Science Academy Broadway

• 2010-11 Arizona Charter Schools Incentive Program (AZSCIP); exact amount unknown; maximum $230,000

Sonoran Science Academy Davis Monthan

• 2010-11 Arizona Charter Schools Incentive Program (AZSCIP); exact amount unknown; maximum $230,000

Sonoran Science Academy Phoenix Metro

• 2010-11 Arizona Charter Schools Incentive Program (AZSCIP); exact amount unknown; maximum $230,000

Arkansas
Lisa Academy Charter School

• $154,244 Walton Family Foundation 2005
• $127,091 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• $86,712 Federal government: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

Lisa Academy North

• $113,076 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• $63,548 Federal government: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

California
Magnolia Science Academy

• Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education - $312,480
• Federal government: Department of Education $182,306
• Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education $22,502
• Federal government: Department of Education $10,323

Magnolia Science Academy 3 Carson

• $600,000 6/1/2008 California Department of Education, Public Charter Schools Grants

Magnolia Science Academy 4 Venice (a.k.a. Magnolia Science Academy San Pedro)

• $230,000 2007 Walton Family Foundation
• $250,000 2008 Walton Family Foundation
• $600,000 6/1/2008 California Department of Education, Public Charter Schools Grants fiscal year 2007-08.

Magnolia Science Academy 5 Hollywood

• $250,000 2008 Walton Family Foundation
• $600,000 6/1/2008 California Department of Education, Public Charter Schools Grants; fiscal year 2007-08.

Magnolia Science Academy 6 Palms

• $600,000 6/15/2008 California Department of Education, Public Charter Schools Grants; fiscal year 2007-08.

Magnolia Science Academy 7 Van Nuys

• $600,000 6/1/2008 California Department of Education, Public Charter Schools Grants; fiscal year 2007-08.

Magnolia Science Academy 8 Bell

• $250,000 Walton Family Foundation

Willow Education (charter holder of Bay Area Technology School)

• $100,108 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• $34,725 Federal government: Department of Education

Illinois
Chicago Math and Science Academy

• $500 Exxon Mobil Educational Alliance Grant

Indiana
Indiana Math and Science Academy

• $230,000 2007 Walton Family Fooundation

Indiana Math and Science Academy North

• $681,500 2010-12 Planning grant, Indiana Department of Education.

Louisiana
Abramson Science and Technology Charter School

• $230,000 Walton Family Foundation 2007
• $127,185 Federal government: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
• $47,406 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• $38,110 2010-11 Louisiana Dept of Education, Education Jobs Fund.

Maryland
Baltimore IT Academy

• $1,392,235 2011-14 3-year SIG (School Improvement Grant) from US Department of Education.

Chesapeake Math & IT Academy

• $15,000 2012-2013 Prince George’s County Executive’s Community Partnership Grant Program.
• $550,000 start-up grant. State of Maryland.

Chesapeake Science Point

• $150,000 start-up grant
• $2300 Dec 2009. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Grant
• $1,500 2008-09 Wolfram Research
• $750 2008-09 Northrop Grumman
• $1,250 2008-09 Chesapeake Bay Foundation
• $250,000 May 2009 Anne Arundel County

Massachusetts
Pioneer Charter School of Science

• $22,674 Federal government: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
• $10,000 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

Hampden Charter School of Science

• $53,771 Federal government: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

Nevada
Coral Academy of Science Las Vegas

• $454,589 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

New Jersey
Paterson Charter School of Science and Technology

• $265,826 Q2 2012 Department of Education ARRA, sub-award via New Jersey Department of Education
• $5,533.58 ARRA Food Service Equipment Assistance Grant
• $11,003.92 ARRA Food Service Equipment Assistance Grant October 2009
• $245,754 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• $166,830 Federal government: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
• $9,166 July 2012. Anti-bullying funds. New Jersey Dept. of Education

New York
Syracuse Academy of Science Charter School

• $25,000 Dec 2011. Central New York Community Foundation.

North Carolina
Triad Math and Science Academy Company (charter holder of Triad and Triangle Math and Science Academy schools)

• $238,250 Sep 2012. U.S. Department of Education, Non-SEA Planning, Program Design and Implementation.

Ohio
Horizon Science Academy Cincinnati

• $417,106 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• $67,298 Federal government: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

Horizon Science Academy Cleveland Elementary School

• $193,300 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• $28,788 Federal government: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

Horizon Science Academy Cleveland Middle School

• $194,228 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• $34,116 Federal government: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

Horizon Science Academy Columbus

• State of Ohio FY11 Public Charter School Program (PCSP) Dissemination Grant 133660; amount unknown
• $332,314 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• $34,225 Federal government: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

Horizon Science Academy Columbus West

• State of Ohio FY11 Public Charter School Program (PCSP) Implementation Grant 011976; amount unknown

Horizon Science Academy Columbus Elementary School

• $406,575 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• $37,306 Federal government: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

Horizon Science Academy Dayton

• $230,968 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• $50,554 Federal government: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

Horizon Science Academy Dayton High School

• State of Ohio FY11 Public Charter School Program (PCSP) Implementation Grant 011534; amount unknown
• $286,833 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

Horizon Science Academy Denison Elementary

• $169,209 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• $25,844 Federal government: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

Horizon Science Academy Denison

• $441,033 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• $53,484 Federal government: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

Horizon Science Academy Lorain

• State of Ohio FY11 Public Charter School Program (PCSP) Implementation Grant 011533; amount unknown

Horizon Science Academy Springfield

• $320,719 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• $47,567 Federal government: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

Horizon Science Academy Toledo

• State of Ohio FY11 Public Charter School Program (PCSP) Implementation Grant 011987; amount unknown
• $370,349 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• $56,774 Federal government: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

Horizon Science Academy Youngstown

• State of Ohio FY11 Public Charter School Program (PCSP) Implementation Grant 011986; amount unknown

Noble Academy Charter School

• $230,000 2007 Walton Family Foundation

Pennsylvania
Truebright Science Academy Charter School

• $140,545 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania Charter School

• $138,315 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• $192,355 United States Department of Education FLAP (Foreign Language Assistance Program) Grant, 2009,

Young Scholars of Western Pennsylvania Charter School

• $150,970 Sep 2012. U.S. Department of Education, Non-SEA Planning, Program Design and Implementation

Texas
Cosmos Foundation (charter holder of Harmony Science Academy schools)

• $2,831,219 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• $1,538,265 Federal government: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
• $300,000 2009 United States Department of Education FLAP (Foreign Language Assistance Program) Grant.
• $1,431,929 Sep 2011, for fiscal year 2011. US Department of Education. For 7 new schools in Texas. Contact person: Kadir Almus.

Utah
Beehive Science & Technology Academy

• $129,031 Federal government: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• $40,284 Federal government: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
• http://gulencharterschools.weebly.co...n-schools.html

https://youtu.be/jvdGKIpWXKY

Islamic Cleric Accused of Organizing Failed Turkish Coup Has Schools Across U.S.A.
AFP Photo/Selahattin Sevi

by MERRILL HOPE
17 Jul 2016

The Turkish government accused Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen of organizing Friday’s failed military coup. While the reportedly reclusive 75-year-old imam — who lives in self-imposed exile in rural Pennsylvania — denied any connection to Turkey’s military action and even suggested it may have been staged by the Turkish president, Gülen remains a controversial figure. He is allegedly connected to a vast network of questionable charter schools operating across the United States.

In 1999, Gülen fled his native Turkey after being accused of extremist Islamist activities. Today, he is considered a fierce opponent of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, although the two were considered allies until 2013. Then, as Turkish Prime Minister, Erdoğan accused Gülen of secretly backing a corruption investigation into the government, something Erdoğan called retaliation after he shut down some of Gülen’s schools in Turkey.

Gülen is said to head a powerful movement called “Hizmet,” a form of Islam that emphasizes service and education. Reportedly, his supporters started more than 1,000 schools and universities in over 100 countries, including approximately 150 U.S. taxpayer-funded charter schools. They operate in as many as 26 states and go by a variety of franchise names. They claim to specialize in math and science. Many are mired in controversy, coming under investigation for misuse of public funds, abuse of the H-1B visa program, kickback schemes and more.

Breitbart News reported these charter schools may soon open on U.S. military bases, according to accusations made Robert Amsterdam — the attorney for the Turkish government. His firm, Amsterdam & Partners LLP, was hired in 2015 to conduct a comprehensive international investigation into Gülen’s alleged illegal activities through the reputed Gülen Organization.
The largest number of these reportedly Gülen-affiliated schools are in Texas where nearly 31,000 students are served by 46 schools under charter operator The Cosmos Foundation, d.b.a. “Harmony Public Schools”. The chain plans to open 10 more schools over the next two years, adding approximately 10,000 students. In Texas, these open enrollment public charter schools are funded by more than $250 million state and federal taxpayer dollars annually.

This year, the Republic of Turkey called for a full scale investigation into the charter’s practices in Texas. Amsterdam filed a formal complaint with the Texas Education Agency (TEA). The document alleged misuse of H-1B visas; preferential hiring and employment practices towards Turkish nationals and males; discriminatory vendor bidding practices; and misappropriation of taxpayer dollars, including funneling monies to the Gülen Organization, among other charges. Amsterdam accused the schools of more than $18 million worth of taxpayer fraud in a second complaint.

Even before the coup attempt, Amsterdam called for President Obama to extradite Gülen back to Ankara based on his purported criminal conduct through the Gülen Organization.According to USA Today, Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday Turkey’s government first has to prove Gülen’s role in the failed military coup to be able to consider extradition.
Last year, Breitbart News reported FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds believed Gülen to be a threat to U.S. interests. Leaked information revealed the U.S. government’s concern that these schools were being used to indoctrinate students and use taxpayer dollars to fund the Gülen movement in Turkey. Harmony officials continue to dispute these allegations and deny any connections to Gülen.

In 2014, the FBI raided 19 schools in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. According to the Center for Security Policy, a Washington D.C.-based national security think tank, nine schools have been closed or removed from Gülenist control in California (3), Florida (1), Georgia (1), Louisiana (1), Maryland (1), Minnesota (1), and Wisconsin (1).

In 2015, the Center for Security Policy accounted for Gulen-affiliate charters in Arizona (7), Arkansas (2), California (11), Colorado (1), District of Columbia (1), Florida (10), Georgia (2), Illinois (4), Indiana (3), Louisiana (1), Maryland (4), Massachusetts (3), Michigan (1), Minnesota (1), Missouri (5), Nevada (2), New Jersey (6), New Mexico (1), New York (4), North Carolina (2), Ohio (19), Oklahoma (4), Pennsylvania (3), South Carolina (1), Tennessee (1), Utah (1), Wisconsin (1), and Texas which, at the time, had 45 of these charters.

In 2011, The New York Times exposed corruption of taxpayer money associated with the Cosmos Foundation, the charter school operator founded 10 years earlier by a group of professors and businessmen from Turkey and operating in the U.S. under the name Harmony Schools. Many were dubbed Gülen followers.

A new documentary, Killing Ed: Charter Schools, Corruption, and the Gülen Movement in America, takes an in-depth look at the chain’s operations in the Lone Star State, supporting widespread claims made about the Gülen movement.

http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2016/...ls-across-u-s/

Frank Gaffney: ‘Turkish Islamic Supremacist Cult’ Is Operating Texas Charter Schools with Taxpayer Subsidies

Wikimedia Commons

by JOHN HAYWARD
25 May 2016


Frank Gaffney, founder and president of the Center for Security Policy, joined Wednesday’s Breitbart News Daily with SiriusXM host Stephen K. Bannon with a breaking news update about the ongoing battle between the Turkish government and the followers of Islamist guru Fethullah Gulen.

“The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that the Turkish government, through a law firm it’s retained in the States, has filed complaints against a group that most of us have never heard of. It’s known as the Gulen movement,” said Gaffney.
He described the Gulenists as “kind of a Turkish Islamic supremacist cult,” centered around Fethullah Gulen, who is based in the United States.

“Talk about ‘Clinton Cash,’” said Gaffney, referring to Peter Schweizer’s book. “As a result of the Clintons allowing this guy into the United States some years ago, he is running a multi-billion-dollar enterprise, some of which has to do with real estate development, and construction, and media operations around the world, particularly in Turkey.”

Gulen also runs about 150 schools around the world, according to Gaffney, many of them located in the United States.

“They’re known by various names,” he explained. “In Texas, where there are something like 40, I believe, maybe 45 by now, they’re called Harmony schools. And the thing that will make your head blow up is, these are basically Turkish nationalist operations, which is kind of a patina for Islamic supremacists – pedagogy that oftentimes is sold to Americans, sold to school districts, as a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics or STEM program. But at its core, it’s really about promoting, I’m afraid, this kind of doctrine that is going to be very problematic, of course, for freedom-loving people in Texas, and a lot of other places.”

“The Turks are trying to shut it down. There’s kind of a Mafia war going on between two former allies – Fethullah Gulen on the one hand, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, now the president of Turkey,” said Gaffney. “They’ve turned on each other. It’s kind of like the old Iran-Iraq War, remember, Henry Kissinger said we’d like them both to lose. Well, this is what you’d like here.”
“Unfortunately, I’m afraid what’s going to be losing in the process, if this isn’t rolled up – in Texas, in California, and across the country – are the American people, and their kids,” he warned.

Gaffney described Gulen as a “cult leader” who “lives in an armed camp in the Poconos Mountains.” Although the reclusive Gulen doesn’t usually grant interviews to American media, Gaffney noted there was a fairly thorough “60 Minutes” profile of him several years ago.

“I think primarily by selling this idea that we all need to have our kids learn more about science and technology and so on, these STEM schools have been very popular. The Gulenists have figured out that if they package this thing properly, they can go get these schools set up as charter schools, which means that the government basically pays for them,” Gaffney said.

“They’ve used them – and this is the focus of the complaint – as means of bringing in lots of Turks as teachers in these schools, in many cases violating the H1-B visa program,” he charged. “And they’ve used them to provide kickbacks to Gulen, because something like 40% of those Turks’ salaries are then turned back over to the ‘mother ship.’ So it’s a racket, really, and they’ve managed to do this primarily, I think, by giving school board members, city council members, state legislators, even some federal representatives, all-expenses-paid trips to Turkey, that they use as a means of basically promoting the schools, promoting Turkey.”

Gaffney noted that the Turks have long been an important member of NATO, regarded as U.S. allies. “That isn’t the case any more,” he argued. “They’re still nominally our allies in NATO, but they’ve become, more and more, an Islamist anti-West operation. Witness what’s happening as their hand is in Europe these days, with the migration there.”

“This is an internecine struggle for control of power within Turkey, that just happens to have now this very important outlier in the United States, that I believe really is a problem for American educators, and for those who have enabled this kind of program to take place,” he said.

Bannon asked if it was certain that Gulen’s U.S. schools were receiving state and federal funding.

“Oh, for sure,” Gaffney replied. “We’ve got a new book on the subject at SecureFreedom.org, you can get it for free, it’s called Gulen and the Gulenist Movement: Turkey’s Islamic Supremacist Cult and Its Contributions to the Civilization Jihad. Which, as you know, is the term of the Brotherhood. It’s getting money from taxpayers. You bet.”

Bannon marveled that Gaffney and his Center for Security Policy are so often targeted for abuse in the media and dismissed as alarmist “screwballs,” when their solid research is ultimately repeated by mainstream outlets like the Wall Street Journal months or years later, driven by unfolding news events like the Texas lawsuit.

“I’ve been called a lot of things over forty years,” Gaffney chuckled. “I think the basic answer is, it’s a lot easier to try to suppress what you’d just as soon not look at, than it is to look at it, and recognize what a problem it represents.”

“This point about civilization jihad is, of course, the term that the Muslim Brotherhood has used to describe – not in some fantasy conspiracy of mine, but in their own playbook, which was introduced as evidence in the largest terrorism financing trial in U.S. history,” he continued. “They talk about how they’re going to destroy Western civilization from within, by our hands. And this is an example of it. What the Gulenists are up to in our schools is just one manifestation of this kind of Islamic supremacist agenda.

“I’m going to continue calling them out on it,” Gaffney vowed. “We’re going to continue documenting it. People can look at it themselves, at SecureFreedom.org – again, for free. Just download the PDF. Judge it for yourself. But I think most rational, sensible, certainly pro-American folks, they’re going to look at this and say, this is the straight poop, and we’ve got to do something about it.”

http://www.breitbart.com/radio/2016/...texas-schools/

One of these days people will understand why we need to pass the FairTax that grinds all this 501 C 3 disgusting crap to an end. Until then, hug your income tax code, watch the debt grow, watch our society and culture disappear, and buy some more notebooks to keep up with the growing number of unemployed Americans who can't sustain themselves.