THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: Plagiarism in the charter school world

Monday, June 6, 2011

Plagiarism in the charter school world

Merriam-Webster’s definition of PLAGIARIZE

to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own
use (another's production) without crediting the source
to commit literary theft
present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

Multiple connections between schools can be found by scanning web pages and documents of charter schools for likely phrasing, and then inserting the phrases into Google’s Search bar. It was this technique which uncovered how a group of supposedly-unconnected charter schools (Gulen movement-operated) repeatedly make use of text written by the other schools in their underground network, as well as that of other charter schools and private schools.*

The exercise is time consuming, but nearly always fruitful. Here are just a few other outstanding examples of copying and plagiarism in the charter school world. There are dozens and dozens more, and it is anyone’s guess as to how widespread this activity is. Do the charter schools permit their students to do the same?

MIX-AND-MATCH-MIX-AND-MATCH-MIX-AND-MATCH-MIX-AND-MATCH

1. The discovery that the Gulen movement-operated Horizon Science Academy schools (operated by the 25-school, Ohio-based Concept Schools) had copied KIPP’s famous Five Pillars was first made by C.A.S.I.L.I.P.S. However, this is not the only case where the showcase elements of KIPP's educational philosophy have been used without attribution. St. HOPE Public Schools, the three-school CMO founded by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson (Michelle Rhee's fiancé) also has Five Pillars which are near-identical to KIPP’s. Click on the images at the very bottom to see for yourself.

Q: In this world where business model-like competition is the whole point, don't these people copyright their intellectual material?

2. The Horizon Science Academy – Cleveland High School has been highly acclaimed, even winning a U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award in 2009. In addition to containing the KIPP-originated Five Essentials which were noted above, the school’s Annual Report 2008-2009 contains more phrasing which has been copied from other schools, and/or from which other charter schools have copied. For instance,

==> A phrase in Our Guiding Principals (“belief that each child has an inherent curiosity and love of learning; and that each child has a unique intelligence, level of capability, and learning style”) is used by

Elko Charter School (non-Gulenist school in NV)
Coral Science Academy (Gulen charter school in NV)
Chesapeake Math and IT Academy (proposed Gulen charter school for MD)
Wisconsin Career Academy (Gulen charter school)

==> A phrase in Our Mission (“construct a program, which engages and motivates students to invest their talents, energy, and enthusiasm in completing their schoolwork in an exemplary manner”) is also used for at least seven other Gulen charter schools

Riverside Science Academy, AKA Broward Math and Science Schools (a new charter school opening Fall 2011; approved by Broward County Public Schools)
Sweetwater Branch Academy (Gainsville)
Orlando Science School
Fulton Science Academy (GA, in 2001 charter school proposal on p. 5)
Harmony Science Academy - Houston (as cached page of Texas Charter Schools Association webpage; 'that' is substituted for 'which')
Indiana Science Academy (as close variation in 2001 proposal of school which did not materialize)
Truebright Science Academy Charter School (Philadelphia, PA; as close variation in 2/14/2011 Charter Annual Report for PA DoE on p. 15)
Lewis Academy of Excellence (non-Gulenist charter school in GA; on revised charter school petition of 4/14/2004 on p. 10; articles about school's problems are HERE)

==> A phrase in Choice in Education (“availability of choice is an important element in educational accountability and promotes higher standards throughout the system”) is used by

Princeton Charter School (Princeton, NJ; est. 1997)
Sugar Valley Rural Charter School (Loganton, PA)

3. The phrase “prepare students for optimal best academic success in their future education, enable students to have a broad spectrum of options for their future endeavors, and prepare them to be effective, responsible and productive citizens” is used by

Pelican Educational Foundation (operates two Gulen charter schools in Louisiana)
International School of Sarajevo (with 'optimal best' and 'effective' deleted; Gulenist school in Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Comprehensive Model High School (with 'optimal best' and 'effective' deleted; an overtly Islamic school in Pakistan)

4. The phrase "success of students is dependent upon the school’s ability to create a culture that fosters meaningful, sustained relationships between teachers, students, and parents and holds all stakeholders responsible for outcomes" is used by schools operated by the Ohio-based Concept Schools, Inc. PLUS a Gulen movement-operated school in South Africa.

Horizon Science Academy (multiple schools in OH)
Gateway Math and Science Academy (St. Louis, MO)
Milwaukee Math and Science Academy (WI)
Michigan Math and Science Academy (Hazel Park, MI)
Indiana Math and Science Academy - West (Indianapolis, IN)
Quest Charter Academy (Peoria, IL)
Moonlight International School (South Africa)

5. The phrase, or near-identical variations of, “emphasis of the entire instructional program is aimed at meeting the individual needs of each student in order to allow children to develop to their fullest potential” is used by

Harmony Public Schools (CMO in Texas; in current catalog, p. 10)
HYPE Outreach Preparatory Academy, a Christian school in Northeast Texas
Albuquerque School of Excellence (Gulenist, web page with exhibit is no longer available)
Frontier School System (operates the Gulen charter schools in Missouri)
Mrs. Wagner's School (private school in Texas; est. 1958)
Digital Arts and Technology Charter School (AKA DigiTech K-12, a newly proposed NY Gulen charter school)

6. A large number of schools which are Gulen movement-affiliated use a phrase which is identical or near-identical to “carry the torch of knowledge, freedom, and prosperity that has been passed from one generation to another in this great country”

Paragon Science Academy (Chandler, AZ)
Bay Area Technology School (Oakland, CA; in mission statement of renewal petition of April 25, 2007 on pg. 427)
Magnolia Public Schools (Southern CA-based CMO, formerly Magnolia Educational and Research Foundation, formerly Dialog Foundation)
Lotus School for Excellence (Aurora, CO)
Palm Beach Science Academy (proposed school in FL; in document submitted to the Palm Beach school district on pg. 17)
Indiana Math and Science Academy-North (Indianapolis, IN)
Central Jersey College Prep Charter School (Somerset, NJ)
Coral Academy of Science Schools (NV)
Binghamton Academy of Science Charter School (proposed school in NY; in prospectus submitted to New York State Department of Education on pg. 2)
Horizon Science Academy schools (multiple schools in OH; on various websites and in annual reports)
Discovery School of Tulsa (OK)
Dove Science Academy-Elementary (OK)
Richmond Education Foundation / Richmond Science Academy (recently denied charter school in VA)
Wisconsin Career Academy (June 2010 charter school proposal, pg. 5)

PLAGIARISTS-CAN'T-BE-TRUSTED-CAN'T-BE-TRUSTED-CAN'T-BE-TRUSTED
Neither can schools which emphatically deny affiliations which are easily demonstrated.

Accessed 6/6/2002

Horizon Science Academy – Cleveland High School Annual Report 2008-2009

* For more, see the following pages

1 comment:

Gulen is a Fraud said...: Good work!
As a whole the Gulen Movement doesn't have a creative thought or orginal thought in their head. All of their tactics have been done before, they are consistant yet persistant and stay the course even denying even when confronted with overwhelming facts and support. As if people will believe them after the 100th lie.

Keep exposing them and the money and students will shortly dry up for the Gulen Movement in America.; June 10, 2011 at 10:52 PM

Inform yourself about the Gulen movement!

1. WATCH the Gulen Movement 101: Session One webinar presentation (1/22/2014)
2. READ the "Expose the Gulen Movement" report.
3. LISTEN to my interview with At The Chalk Face , slide marker to 32:00 min. (5/19/2013)
4. WATCH the 60 Minutes segment "U.S. charter schools tied to powerful Turkish imam" broadcast. (5/13/2012)
5. READ my response to the 60 Minutes piece.
6. READ my guest article about Gulen charter schools published by The Washington Post. (3/27/2012)
7. WATCH my interview talking about Gulen charter schools, or my presentation at LaborFest (segment between 49:18 min. & 1:07:36 min.)
8. READ my postings labeled "Gulen movement" HERE.

As one observer tweeted, "U.S. media have focused too much on the Islamic nature of the Gulen movement. Real concern is its shady dealings and improprieties."

Please be aware that Gulenists have created a large number of anonymously-operated damage control websites. They started to appear a few months after publication of Greg Toppo's article in USA Today (August 2010).

WE CAN DO IT!

Jim Hightower on populism:

"... what populism is at its essence is just a determined focus on helping people be able to get out of the iron grip of the corporate power that is overwhelming our economy, our environment, energy, the media, government."

Jim Hightower on plutocracy:

"Plutocracy and democracy don't mix."

More Jim Hightower HERE.
Read his Lowdown newsletter HERE.

Plutocracy is rule by the wealthy, or power provided by wealth. In a plutocracy, the degree of economic inequality is high while the level of social mobility is low.

On Bill Gates' ed reform

Joel Shatzky's comment on Huffington Post:

The inferior "test-prep" agenda which bases the pedagogically fraudulent "data" standardized test scores serves as a way of diverting the concerns of working parents who hope that better test scores will lead to better job opportunities for their children. If they realized that they were being given a con job, they might consider other, more "active" forms of political and social protest than simply lobbying for more money for charter and public schools.

New wealth gap report

Research and Policy Brief from the Institute on Assets and Social Policy, Brandeis University, May 2010:

"New evidence reveals that the wealth gap between white and African-American families has more than quadrupled over the course of a generation."

You absolutely must click on this link to view the graph.

Now compare that graph to the one you'll see here.

Now read this entry.

And if you are a person who blames the schools, or believes they are responsible for fixing these problems, you can stop that type of thinking right now.

A Keeper

Posted on the Oakland Public School Parents listserv by a member:*

As a public health nurse, I am working with a generation of young parents who were drug-exposed, who are now having children who are drug-exposed, and it's a whole new ballgame. Many who were premature and will carry some deficits for life.

There are also many other families who have several generations of all kinds of abuse, not enough to eat, violence in and out of their homes, as well as chronic exposure to pollution and nutritional deficits. And there are regular people in the same neighborhoods who are just trying to live, but are poor and can't get ahead.

And there is major grief, and continuous LOSS. So many folks have lost so many folks, people around them dying, of one thing or another, every month almost. Young people (cousins, brothers, friends) dying from violent means, the elders dying too young of chronic disease and disparities in health care, among other things.

What we know about learning and development is that stressed nervous systems CANNOT learn, and that's what we have. Children with many major stressors. Abandonment, attachment disorders, fear, post traumatic stress, sadness, inability to trust or sleep. Many children. Many.

Resulting in: Lack of impulse control, lack of executive function, difficulty in expressing and controlling emotions, difficulty in sleeping, holding still, and paying attention, not to mention following directions and prioritizing tasks.

Our teachers will (perhaps already do) need more training, support, and smaller class sizes. They need major support and help with mental health issues. We really need some kind of expanded vocational track for those who can't perform even at the community college level.

We can't expect teachers to undo years and years of living. The availability of universal preschool would help. Sometimes a classroom is the first kindly, safe, structured, stimulating environment a child encounters.

Wise insights such as these are never uttered by people like Eli Broad, Joel Klein, Michelle Rhee, Arne Duncan, Joe Williams, or any others who are of this type of school reform ilk. And this is why I know for certain that they just don't "get it." Maybe they don’t want to, OR maybe they don’t care.

* Thank you, B.R.

What Children Need

From Playing to Learn by Susan Engel (New York Times, 2/1/2010):

"Our current educational approach — and the testing that is driving it — is completely at odds with what scientists understand about how children develop during the elementary school years and has led to a curriculum that is strangling children and teachers alike.

…Simply put, what children need to do in elementary school is not to cram for high school or college, but to develop ways of thinking and behaving that will lead to valuable knowledge and skills later on."

And to tag onto that, check out this video about the wood shop at one of Oakland's middle schools.

Pages

Monday, June 6, 2011

Plagiarism in the charter school world

1 comment: