I wrote earlier that the governor of Maine was angry about the rejection of four of five charter applications by the state authorizing committee. He said he wished they would just “go away.” Two of those rejected charters were for-profit online corporations that have hired well-connected lobbyists, their usual method of operation. A third was a Gulen charter, here described by Sharon Higgins, who runs a website called “Charter School Scandals” and follows the expansion of the Gulen network.
Sharon writes:
“One of the rejected schools, Queen City Academy Charter School, was a Gulen charter school. It did not take long after Maine established its charter school law for Gulenists to try to open one of their charter schools.
Click to access QueenCityAcademyCharterSchool.pdf
The Gulen movement advanced their US activities into Maine last year. They hosted their first state capitol event for politicians last spring and have already taken at least one group of Maine lawmakers (plus spouses) to Turkey for their standard dog and pony show — a complementary trip that delivers a sustained dose of biased information delivery, concentrated lobbying, and constant ingratiation mixed with sightseeing and periodic visits to Gulenist institutions.
http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=Portal+News&id=368790&v=article2011
http://tinyurl.com/anw59r9
The lead applicant for the QCA charter school was also the outreach coordinator for the organization that sponsored the capitol event and who met with Governor LePage last spring. Other QCA founders have been involved with a Gulen charter school in Massachusetts for the past six years. There are lots and lots of the usual Gulen movement “web of organization” connections.
Very, very heavy marketing on behalf of Turkey and Turkish culture has been taking place all across the US for the past 13 years or so (including at the Gulen charter schools). It is definitely not by happenstance and is not being done by just any group, nor by any random assortment of Turkish people. It is the coordinated work of individuals who are Fethullah Gulen “inspired.”
http://turkishinvitations.weebly.com/gulenist-non-profits.html
Members of the Gulen movement are heavily involved with trying to help advance Fethullah Gulen’s vision of Turkey becoming a powerful global figure once again. One of Lesley Stahl’s interview subjects in her 60 Minutes report — and the only Gulen movement observer/critic in Turkey who wasn’t too afraid to be interviewed — assessed this group as a personality cult.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57433131/u.s-charter-schools-tied-to-powerful-turkish-imam/?tag=contentMain;cbsCarousel
Whichever way the Gulen movement should be most accurately classified, at the very least it is a group which is widely acknowledged to be secretive as well as extremely controversial in Turkey. Oh yeah, and it is operating the largest network of charter schools in the United States with taxpayers’ money (over $400M/year at this point). If efforts in Maine and Virginia are eventually successful, two more states will be added to the 26 where Gulen charter schools are operating. Hizmet (how members refer to themselves) constantly talks about the importance of “dialogue” but it will NOT engage in a frank one with the American public. A broader exposure, full recognition, and a solid grasp of this situation, along with a heightened level of discussion and analysis, is needed asap!”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Would unions be ok with charters if charters were unionized?
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I don’t speak for unions, but I will not be satisfied with charters unless the laws ban for-profit charter and chain charters and require charters to accept the same students enrolled in public schools–and cap their executive salaries to no more than those of public school principals.
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In CT We’ve got a Gulen school near where I live, the Putnam Science Academy. Working conditions for teachers are pretty bad, from what I understand.
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If you think the working conditions for teachers are bad what about their lack of skills for teaching the special needs students. At their Texas Harmony Schools they were caught misspending over $180,000 intended for special needs educaton. At their school in Minnesota, they told 40 parents of special needs students to not bother comming back for rhe 2012-2013 school year.
Yep they are being caught and questioned by average Americans fighting back.
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So you also live in the Quiet Corner? I was surprised to know this school existed: it keeps a very low profile.
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Just HATE right wingers trying to educate blacks. Ugh.
KKK and Progressives agree on this.
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You obviously do not read this blog thoroughly. We are concerned with HOW children- all children- are educated.
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Is Gulen operated out of Florida?? There is a charter organization in Florida that uses tax-payer dollars to buy property already owned by a subsidiary of the charter. That’s how the money is made.
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Gulen makes money, in part, by making the staff kick back a portion of their salaries.
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Check Sharon Higgins website “Charter School Scandals” for a complete list of Gulen charters. They have many different names.
Other charter operators play the real estate scam. They buy a property, then lease it to the school at exorbitant rates. One charter in NYC bought a property for $3 million, then charged the school close to $3 million annually in rent. Sweet deal, paid for by taxpayers.
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Alan, don’t forget the TUSKON business men worldwide operate the Textile mills, mining operations, construction companies, etc., With the schools they own all the janitorial, catering and construction companies. All the bids go to Gulenist owned and operated businesses……………..as well as the teaching jobs. No one else need apply. Stupid Americans.
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Why are Gulen schools allowed to exist? Straight corruption.
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Why everyone against the Gulen Schools? i mean what harm to they cause. All they are trying to do is to help their own people to reach a state of education, to make sure that their kids are aligned with the current country they are living in. I mean, come on guys, seriously lets think about this for a min. There is no need to grain hatred over here. I thought America was for the free thinkers? Which part of it is not clear. If the Gulen movement is after power, of which is total bonkers and jokes, that not real. All its after is to Educate, Dialogue and Guide people through the means of Education education education. Name me specific wrong-doings they have done, or are they not better than raising kids wierdly, like some others.
Anyway, lets discuss this seriously, please facts. Lets keep our theories aside inc mine.
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Merhaba Baki;
Then are you willing to admit these 130+ schools operated by KNOWN followers of Gulen are in fact “Gulen Schools” instead of (wink wink) Gulen Inspired? When you start being proud of your hocaefendi then maybe you might get more schools but as it sits. YOu still money and jobs from Americans and they are not taking this sitting down.
You also make American politicians part of your evil plan by bestowing awards, campaign contributions and trips to Turkey on them. While our jobs are stolen by your brethren that barely can speak English. But then English isn’t it ………you are Turkocentric and teach everything from a Turkish perspective.
What makes you think America wants your brand of education. Judging from all the average Americans fighting your cult back and winning I would say………………..Americans don’t want you liars in their educational decisions. Go home (that is if you can) We all know that Gulen is under house arrest.
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Gulen’s Schools act as opposition to the modern Turkish Ataturk. They totally deny democracy and females are subjugated and have not rights. All their ideology is idolatry.
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I don’t think tax dollars should be used to promote a foreign nation’s agenda, do you? If they want to operate private schools with their own money, that’s fine with me. We have a right to object when they start taking money from the government.
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you are right. Gulen schools train young minds to join the Islamic movement with the word “Selam”. When they speak peace, they actually mean war. A deception. There is no truth in the school’s ideology.
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It is simply difficult to know the facts, with the opaque nature of charter governance. From what I have seen, these schools appear to run the range that you see in schools with high staff turnover. The difference, of course, is in the pro-Turkish language/culture mission of the schools, and the high numbers of H-1B visas held by the employees, and the obvious connection to the seminal figure in modern Turkish Islam, a man whose agenda is described as “the Turikification of Islam, and the Islamification of modernity.” I have nothing against that mission, but it is strange that hundreds of American charter schools are connected to it, and most likely involved in funding it.
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Here in Lancaster, PA the Gulen folks are attempting to push their charter application past the school board. Their curriculum is a mess (it seems to be a cut and paste job) and they promise that the children of the city’s poor minority population will all be educated to run success business.
They too deny the Gulen connection even though their board and consultant (now mysteriously gone from their website) are affiliated with Gulen institutions. Do they not understand that their names on on the websites of the Gulen schools and Google actually performs searches quite well?!
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Here in Loudoun County Virgina, we fought the Gulen Movement tooth and nail. We even had an ex CIA analyst put together a video explaining their obvious ties to their Cult. It is not recommended for opening but now this slippery group wants to delay submitting their charter school application because they would like to add more local Loudoun people on their board instead of members of their cult. As well as changes to the curriculum which was much like you said “a mess” not quite sure how they have managed to get away with this, they must have friends in high places in the USA.
http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/potential_loudoun_charter_schools_asks_for_delay_in_application935/
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Hi Dianne, are you aware of any link between the Gulen Movement and the yuzyil isil international high school in Istanbul?
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I don’t know. Contact Sharon R. Higgins, who tracks the Gulen movement. Her blog is “charter school scandals.”
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At the very least the Gulen movement is about money. They claim to bring in Turkish teachers to teach Math and Science claiming a shortage of US teachers. Just to be clear Turkey is about 10 countries below the US in the recent global benchmarking for students. The US should be sending Math and Science teachers to Turkey.
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i will keep an eye on gulen movement schools. it sounds very interesting. After reading that article, i searched and found so many bias gulen schools blogs. they lie on their blogs. They even publish Google ads on the gulen charter schools searches. Look at that: http://www.conceptschools.info/ Full of lies !! thanks Diane to enlight us !
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Gulen schools promote peace under the cover of Islam and Mohammed’s culture. It is an arabic cultural cult. Children are intimidated and brainwashed about releigion. In fact this arabic islamic movement is against Christianity. Their motto is to transform all people into arabic islamic customs. If one does not agree with their ideology, then one is an enemy of their ideology. Teachers in the Gulen school have no experience in education and no skills in teaching young minds.
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