Angie Sullivan teaches in a Title 1 elementary school in Las Vegas. It is underfunded. The state is willing to fund failing charter schools but not pay for the public schools that most children attend. Angie wants to know why.
She recently learned that Soner Tarim wants to open a charter in Nevada. This is the same man who wants to open a charter in rural Washington County in Alabama and set off a firestorm of controversy. This is the same man whose proposal for a new charter chain was just rejected by the Texas State Board of Educatuon.
Angie writes:
Google: Soner Tarim lawsuit
Why is Soner Tarim pictured at Switch with these local Nevada folks?
Soner Tarim is a constantly under investigation all over the United States. As soon as he gets caught – he goes to the next place.
Someone in the NVDOE needs to be accountable for this and fired.
Google: Soner Tarim lawsuit
Folks in other states are contacting me to warn Nevada. This huge charter scammer keeps reinventing himself and opening charter shells in various states to try to attract investors.
Why is he opening new charters in Nevada? Who gave permission for this? He been kicked out of so many other states? Does anyone in charge have google?
Google: Soner Tarim lawsuit
80% of Gulen Schools have been closed across the world for good reason.
Alabama just kicked Soner Tarim out for fraud, hiring and other sketchy practices.
Austin, Texas – rejects Soner Tarim
Texas speaks out against him
Dallas, Texas – Bias and Self-Dealing.
The New York Times wrote an article about the misuse of federal money.
Memphis denied their application – School of Excellence.
List of Gulen Charters- Soner Charters are listed as low performing and closing or denied.
Are they funding a terror group using Texas education money?
This is bad.
We have no education money and this is what we do with the money we have? Fund a scammer?
He uses local folks to scam the Nevada Tax Payer?
Google: Soner Tarim lawsuit
We do not have money to waste like this. I’m not convinced the Gulens we have are honest or doing an education service. Please. Make. It. Stop.
I am
Mad.
The teacher,
Angie
Diane Ravitch's blog 
In today’s news, the U.S. House is set to vote on a bill to remove a cap on holders of H-1B visas. (Financial Express, July 9, 2019: “Good News for Indian Techies Holding H-1B Visa–U.S. Congress to Vote on a Bill to Remove Cap on Green Card.”)
I also read something about this in another paper, today. Reportedly, the GOP is against it, & isn’t expected to pass the Senate, but is expected to pass the House.
It was said that the majority of Turkish H-1B workers work at Gulen schools.
I would call my Congressional Rep. & urge a “nay” vote on the basis of the Gulen movement here, but, then, we are looking at workers from other countries…
a conundrum. That having been said, the best course–as Angie Sullivan has been following–is to write letters, e-mails & call local legislators, telling them NO more Gulen schools, & continuing investigations into those that are open.
The FBI has already “raided” several (including one in an IL suburb), but they continue to be open all over the country.
Yet another WHY?
The Gulen schools, I have read, are the single biggest users of those visas.
The H1b visa program is abused by tech companies in order to save money by hiring foreign Nationals who can be paid less than American citizens.
The excuse used is that the companies can not find qualified Americans to do the jobs, but the reAlity is that they quite purposefully overly restrict the requirements (eg, to those possessing a CS degree) in order to make it seem like no qualified US citizens can be found, when lots of American scientists, engineers and other equally qualified Americans possess the necessary computer programming skills to do the jobs.
Even when a potential employer does not know programming, it is actually very easy to learn (after all, 2 year olds learn human languages which are much more complex than computer languages) and specific computer languages can be readily picked up on the fly in a short period of time by anyone with a clue.
The abuse of the H1b visa program has been going on for a long time now and Democratic politicians have been some of the WORST offenders when it comes to pushing for increases in the number of visas. For example, Ted Kennedy used to continually exagerate the need for increasing visas.
Even when a potential EMPLOYEE does not know programming..
HB-1s are a neoliberal dream come true for lowering wages to enrich investors.
exactly said
Round and round the grifters go where they stop everyone knows. It is the most clueless, lawless, deregulated area. In many cases, it is Nevada.
Soner Tarim is a Pahara Fellow, an organization funded by Gates which was founded by the same person who founded or co-founded other Gates-funded ed organizations, TFA, New Schools Venture Fund and Bellwether
Gates Foundation has funded nearly every major sham having to do with education over the last decade.
They are a sham equal opportunity funder.
They really know how to pick em
Well, then, in response to all these comments, we should indeed be calling our Reps. & Senators to put the kabosh on H-1B (the House may have already voted on it today; I will check the news–they were supposed to.
Curious about Gulen Schools, I read a bit and learned some facts.
The Turkisk government sees Gulen’s schools as his money pipeline, much the same as some revolutionary organizations fund emir activities through drugs.
Gulen touts himself as a religious leader. Some have called him a Sufi Muslim for modern times.
Gulen preaches a philosophy that is compatible with market economy
Gulen schools are one of the “missions” of the faith, and they exist in 180 countries.
Given what has been posted here over the years, nothing I have read here cures the feeling I have that something fishy is going on.
Auto correct gave me the word emir instead of the word revolutionary above. I guess I ought to proof things better. Always a failing.
Diane has been posting info. about Gulen schools here for a long time, & lots of info. from someone who has done all her homework on it (what is her name, again, Diane?) Also, look up a Chicago blogger–Tim Furman (think his was “Tim Furman’s Blog”–?)–who has since ceased blogging, but followed the Gulen schools in Chicago area very closely.
Yeah, it’s been “fishy” from the get-go. Erdogan has been trying to have G extradited to Turkey; U.S. govt. has so far refused, so what’s the catch, esp. since G. schools have been raided by F.B.I.–?!
Sharon Higgins, Oakland Parent, tracks the Gulen charters.