Could it be those free trips to Turkey for key legislators?
One of the curious aspects of the charter movement, beloved by both Republicans and the Obama administration, is the growth of Gulen charter schools. These are schools associated with a reclusive Turkish imam named Fetullah Gulen who lives in the Poconos but leads a vigorous political movement in Turkey. The Gulen schools have a board of directors composed typically of Turkish men, and most of their teachers are Turkish immigrants.
The Gulen charters are the nation’s largest charter chain. Texas has the largest number of Gulen charters.
As the Akron Beacon-Journal reports in a story by Doug Livingston, “Ohio taxpayers provide jobs to Turkish immigrants through charter schools.” The state has 19 Gulen charters. Some powerful state politicians have traveled to Turkey, and they return as supporters of Gulen charters. Gulen charters have innocuous names that do not reflect their ties to Turkey.
Livingston writes:
“A chain of 19 publicly funded Ohio charter schools, founded by Turkish immigrants, is taking the position that the United States lacks a qualified pool of math and science teachers and is importing perhaps hundreds of Turks to fill the void.
“The schools are run almost exclusively by persons of Turkish heritage, some of whom are not U.S. citizens — a new twist in Ohio’s controversial charter-school movement.
“In addition, the Horizon and Noble academies, run by Chicago-based Concept Schools, are related through membership, fundraisers and political giving to the nonprofit Niagara Foundation, which provides trips to Turkey for state, local and federal lawmakers.
“Among those touring Turkey has been State Rep. Cliff Rosenberger, a Clarksville Republican on the powerful finance and appropriations committee and considered to be a leading candidate for House speaker next year. He was joined on the trip by at least four other state legislators and local government leaders from his area in southwest Ohio….
“However, as early as 2002, state audits found thousands of public dollars “illegally expended” to finance the U.S. citizenship process for Turkish employees — some fresh out of college with no classroom experience and broken English. Help with legal and immigration fees also extended to their children and families, including the spouses of directors.
“The auditor also cited suspect wire transfers, totaling $36,000, and checks made out to “cash” to repay personal loans issued by individuals in Istanbul, Turkey.
“Three of the Ohio schools have been visited by the FBI as part of a multistate probe. The agency said it is part of a white-collar criminal investigation.
“Federal agents have not disclosed details, only that the investigation originated in Cleveland, has spread to Indiana and Illinois, and may or may not be connected to previous investigations at related schools in Baton Rouge, La., and Philadelphia.
Last school year, these Ohio charter schools, called Horizon and Noble Academies, received nearly $50 million in public funding transferred from local school districts where students otherwise would have attended.
“At $50 million, Concept is among the larger players in Ohio’s charter-school movement, totaling $914 million last year. For years, charter schools have come under fire for poor academic performance and questionable finances…..
“Last school year, Ohio’s Turkish-run schools — which offer the Turkish language and promote themselves as specialized in math and science — enrolled more than 6,700 students.
“In Cleveland alone, $12 million was transferred from the municipal school district to Concept schools. Academies also exist in Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Euclid, Toledo and Youngstown.
“According to the Ohio Department of Education, the academies’ performance on state tests varies widely from school to school and year to year. In 2013, 12 received D’s, four C’s and three B’s….Former employees allege that Turkish employees generally are paid more than U.S.-born teachers, then asked to contribute as much as 40 percent of their pay to an Islam-based religious movement known as Hizmet that supports interfaith dialog.”
To learn more about the Gulen charter, read Sharon Higgins report on Valerie Strauss’s blog.
For a guide to the Gulen charter movement, read here. For a state-by-state listing of Gulen-connected charter schools, see this list compiled by Sharon Higgins.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Fetullah Gulen is making BILLIONS from the US taxpayers.
Try trillions…he made over $914 B from 19 schools in Ohio last year. With 147 schools across the US, his take is far greater than some small nations. All of it on the tax money of We the People.
Correction…His take was $914 Million last year in Ohio.
But do the math…could be a CC question. If 19 schools produce profit of $914 M, how much profit is there coming from the other 147 Gulen charter schools?
Writing too fast…meant the other 128 schools.
And then compound these figures by the 15 years he has run schools in the US.
Please look at the numbers carefully and avoid the hyperbole.
“At $50 million, Concept is among the larger players in Ohio’s charter-school movement, totaling $914 million last year.”
It sounds like the total money that the state of Ohio pays to charter schools is $914 million. $50 million goes to the Concept Schools. Not all of that is “profit.” Obviously, most of the money will go to operating costs, but the administrators or parent organization will pay itself a certain amount of money.
We don’t know how much Fetullah Gulen is making, but we should know because charter schools receive taxpayer money.
Opening charter schools for the Gulen Movement (Hizmet or Cemaat) was a great money making tool for the Movement. Not only do they get the initial seed money for the opening (The Walton fund has been great for this) they try to get their enrollment up by claiming their is a waiting list creating a sense of urgency they get money on ADA. That is not where the big bucks come in, the Movement sniffs out Federal Grants, Bonds, Real Estate Development. Probably for an additional $800 million a year, hence what got the investigation started in the Concept Schools from the Federal E Rate- Technology Grants.
The other mechanism that create a win-win for the Movement is they bring in their own members who work at the schools while tuzuking up to 40% back to the movement via the NGOs or front groups that surround each school. In Ohio it is concept schools, Niagara Foundation < which makes no bones about Gulen being honorary President.
These same "members" create companies, real estate, uniform, catering, janitorial, technology that again reap all the benefits of our bids. The jobs for the schools are always awarded to a "Turkish own" company, so the money stays in their family and in many cases was wired to Turkey to landlords, etc., sucking more American money out of our communities and countries. This is organized crime and money laundering via self dealings. They also create these lobbying groups like Niagara that give local lawmakers campaign funds $$ (with your money) trips to Turkey, awards, etc., then to add insult to injury the lawmakers show up at their schools to take photo ops which is then paraded around by them as endorsement, and winning favors for the movement and Turkey. They have also gotten states to give Turkey and other Turkic countries proclamations. http://www.gulenpoliticians.blogspot.com This was a brilliant plan that America allowed and enabled, we are trillions of dollars in debt but we couldn't hand out jobs, money, etc., fast enough to this foreign group. http://www.gulencharterschools.weebly.com
Not only are we outsourcing public education to charters, bit we’re also providing a jobs program for foreign nationals. Shameful and despicable. Hope the voters vote these fellows out if and when they are given the chance. But I’ll also bet these folks also wrap themselves in the flag while chanting USA-USA-USA. Like I said shameful and nauseating.
“Man is the only animal which blushes. Or needs to.”
——Mark Twain
Sadly Mark, Gulen has been protected by the administrations of two Dem presidents, Clinton and Obama, and one Repub, Bush.
Operant question is why? And why are his green card teachers allowed to apply for American citizenship?
Why? Because the Gulen Movement originally started as an operative for Gladio B part of the CIA, if you look at who(m) signed his green card appeal and wrote glowing letters of endorsement on was non other than CIA Graham Fuller (look up “who is Graham Fuller) It was started to basically destabilize islam and Russia /Chinas interests in Central Asia for energy sources. It was a brilliant plan, Gulen was also the only group allowed schools to be built in Afghanistan while our CIA was assisting with Heroin smuggling throughout Europe (Albanian Turks run this operations) Gulen also was allowed to put schools in Iraq after America invaded mostly in the oil rich area of the North. 3 days before ISIS invades,……Gulen schools were evacuated. http://www.gulenschoolsworldwide.blogspot.com
It should be a legal requirement that the administrator of any public school or charter school be a U. S. citizen. My guess is that there are very few, if any, traditional public schools which have administrators who are not U. S. citizens.
For those interested in questionable links to Gulen, check out Graham Fuller, CIA, his daughter’s connection to the family of the Boston Marathon perpetrators, and, believe it or not, Fuller’s connection to Iran-Contra. It does not hurt to be aware of these links, and of the ability of this charter network to flourish with impunity. Really, do the research.
Links, please. Thanks!
I found most of the information and leads in the text of Diane Ravitch’s entry above. As for Graham Fuller, Wikipedia, and even better, leads from Wikipedia, will provide plenty of additional pieces of information. Gulen’s daughter, for instance, was married at one time to Tsarnev’s uncle (re: Boston atrocity, uncle’s statements). Mr. Fuller was involved in the plans for Iran-Contra. However, the most powerful information comes from the facts re: Gulen’s network of charter schools by state (above, Ravitch), and the net worth of this conglomeration (estimated: $300 billion-$500. billion–needs verification). So far, schools in 26 states. I am sure that there is much more information online to add to my brief research today.
Margaret…thanks for this link. I just spent the last hour reading about the Graham Fuller connection. What an amazing connection to Gulen…involving the CIA, the Gulen motives including hatred of Communism and adherence to free market capitalism….and the connection the Boston Bombers.
It reads like a Tom Clancy novel.
Certainly makes a case for CIA involvement and why he is given so much latitude to stay in the US and bring in so many Turkish citizens on green cards, and urging them to become citizens. His contacts across broad swathes of influential legislators, business tycoons, and even into Jewish connections, boggles the mind.
Hope everyone reads this material as well as Sharon Higgins. Sharon, please tell us what you think about the Fuller connection to Gulen.
Where are Snowden, Assuage, and Manning on all this, I wonder?
correction…meant Assange, not Assuage.
Sharon Higgins’ links are most revealing. She has done her due diligence. The state-by-state list of the 139 Gulen schools is remarkable, as is her list of legislators who have traveled to Turkey at Gulen’s behest. Most difficult to find, the various schools’ lists of faculty members are a revelation. Who knew that so many work visas for teaching have been and continue to be approved from Gulen’s home country. I admire Sharon Higgins’ focus and determination. As for the other bizarre links, what can I say?
I too admire Sharon’s scholarship and in depth investigation into the Gulen Movement. Have followed her for some time and look forward to her coming to LA soon.
addendum…suggest everyone spend some serious study time watching her videos. She is so articlute and informed and makes the case clearly.
The Akron Beacon Journal reporters are conspiracy theorists!
As are the whistleblowers who worked at the schools!
Oh, and the FBI! Them too! 🙂
I don’t know why no one regulates these schools and either does anyone else I have ever spoken to in this state about this. The assumption is they’re hugely politically-connected. Seems like a safe bet to me.
This is what happened to a public school employee who (allegedly, he’s been charged but not convicted) took 80,000 from an athletic booster fund. You’ll note he’s wearing “jail orange” in the photo. We seem to be able to conduct investigations of local public school people in a timely manner. I don’t know why that doesn’t apply to charters.
http://www.toledoblade.com/Courts/2014/07/04/Perrysburg-school-worker-faces-charges-in-theft-from-B-G-sports.html
Here in Indiana, Pence and his henchmen/women are trying to wrest away what little power is left to Glenda Ritz. fyi
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20140709/LOCAL06/140709366
But it’s not “political!” Only union members are “political”. Education reformers deal with pure data and are 100% non-ideological 🙂
I can’t believe people can watch these purely political machinations and the endless wrangling to push this woman out and believe this tripe. They couldn’t beat her in an election and they’ve been busily shutting her down ever since with what amounts to absolutely brutal hard-ball politics.
I guess by “not political” they mean “completely undemocratic”.
And don’t forget, education reformers are the only ones who “care” about students. Those of us who work with students every day in poverty level conditions (both teachers and students) only care about ourselves. (all of the above is sarcasm. No pitchforks, please!)
Based on others good work, I testified against any Gulan-connected charter opening here in Washington (we are opening just the first charter ever here in WA state this fall). That group has applied again and again, I’m going to testified against their application. We don’t need these people getting a foot in the door here.
Why are there so many district schools using curriculum from the Chinese communist party under the guise of the Confucius Institute? Could it be the free textbooks, equipment, teachers, and trips to China that district superintendents get?
Sources, please?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concerns_and_controversies_over_Confucius_Institutes#Confucius_Classroom
“We shall support whatever our enemies oppose and oppose whatever our enemies support”.
____from Thoughts of Chairman Mao
Wikipedia is your only source? 😦
Mr Goldenberg,
The 120 linked references at the bottom of the article are not enough sources for you?
How about this one where American University professors denounce the Confucius Institute…
http://www.aaup.org/report/partnerships-foreign-governments-case-confucius-institutes
And here I thought a lot of folks were going on a gulen-free diet these days.
Why hasn’t FOX jumped on something like this…or MSNBC for that matter?
Eagle Forum of Phyllis Schlafly has given gulen charters coverage, so conservatives haven’t been totally silent.