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| gulen followers does not run gulen charter schools |
We need to understand one thing. There are thousands, if not millions, of people out there who are influenced in one way or another by Fethullah Gulen's thoughts on education, religion, etc. These people are everywhere. They are directors, teachers, principles, CEO's, politicians, workers, artists, etc. You can expand the list forever. These people do not make the instituions where they present as Gulen institutions because of their voluntery affiliation in thought to Mr. Gulen. If a charter school's principle loves Gulen, that school does not become suddenly a gulen charter school merely on account of his love of Gulen.
Here is further reading:
Loose ends on my charter schools piece
Charter school research
There's a bit of a dearth of local charter school research, particularly relating to the question of how well these schools do in addressing the persistent achievement gap. The last major state report came out in 2008, but interns within the finance department of the N.C. Department of Public Instruction did take a look this year at charter schools that target at-risk students. The authors found the schools with the strongest academic performance had extended learning days, smaller school size and other steps in place.
TMSA and the "Gulen movement"
Google "Triad Math and Science Academy" and one of the top hits is a website that connects staff and board members to Fethullah Gulen, an moderate Islamic theologian from Turkey whose followers have a global religious movement. I talked to a couple parents earlier this year who believed that school staff are Gulen supporters and were concerned enough about the Turkish influence at the school to pull their children out. (By the way, concerns about Gulen's connection to charter schools have been covered by other national papers, including The New York Times and USA Today.
Months ago, I checked with the state education department and was told that the department had looked into it, but couldn't substantiate the concerns.
I also asked Principal Hakan Orak, a Turkish immigrant, about the claims.
He denied that TMSA was a "Gulen school," but did add: "A lot of people in Turkey are inspired by Gulen. There may be people inspired by Gulen who are here. That doesn't make it a Gulen school."
Marcy Schneider, president of the school's Parent Volunteer Organization, backed up the principal. Schneider, a former homeschooler who volunteers at the school for 20 or more hours per week, said she hasn't seen any suspicious behavior among faculty and staff.
"We have had some people decide to move on because of that issue," she said. "My children would not be here if I felt there was any undercurrent or underhanded brainwashing going on."
List of failed charter schools in North Carolina
In my story I refer to two charter schools that either closed or failed to open in Guilford County. Find the total list of failing North Carolina charter schools here.
Minority recruitment
One development I am following is the recruitment of charter school leaders of color, an effort led by Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina and Partners for Developing Futures, a social venture investment fund. The fund started in 2008 and has so far invested $2 million in seven charter schools, according to program director Isha James.
About 125 black educators, community leaders and business people attended an informational meeting hosted by the two groups on Sept. 19 at the Grandover Hotel in Greensboro.
One of the attendees was Precious McKoy, who directs a mentoring program for middle and high school students in Greensboro. She and a friend have discussed opening a college prep charter school for high school students.
"We're definitely interested in being able to build on top of what we're currently doing," she said.
Today we published a story I wrote about the status of existing charter schools in Guilford County. Much of what I learned during my reporting would not fit in that article, so I've included below some loose ends you might be interested in:
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