The Gulen Movement in Azerbaijan & a quid pro quo?

It requires an ongoing effort to even minimally understand the Gulen movement, the secretive and controversial religious group which operates the largest charter school network in the United States. Details about this group's structure, recruitment and control of members, were recently presented by Fuad Aliyev in “The Gulen Movement in Azerbaijan” (12/27/2012). His article appeared in Current Trends in Islamist Ideology, a publication of the Hudson Institute’s Center on Islam, Democracy and the Future of the Muslim World. Aliyev is a Fulbright Scholar at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.

2011-2012 Gulen charter school enrollment = 51,950 students

To date, a total of 140 U.S. charter schools have been established which can be associated with the secretive and controversial Gulen Movement. This school year (2012-2013), 136 of the 140 are still active. Two of the four which are no longer active as Gulen charter schools have been converted into private schools and are taking advantage of tax credit scholarship (in GA) or school voucher (in WI) programs.

Where are Oakland's charter schools located?

(Updated 9/1/12)

For the 2012-2013 school year, Oakland will have 40 active charter schools.

1. Eleven of those charter schools are at sites where an OUSD school has been closed or forced out.

High school retention: Oakland's charter schools vs. OUSD schools

Are the privately-operated charter high schools in Oakland doing a better job than Oakland Unified School District's high schools with holding onto their freshman students until the twelfth grade?

One way to explore the answer is by comparing the enrollment at the different schools using figures posted by the California Department of Education’s DataQuest. This was done for the two cohorts at charter high schools and OUSD high schools who entered Grade 9 in 2007-08 and 2008-09, and arrived at Grade 12 for the school years 2010-11 and 2011-12.*

Comparison of Grade 9>12: 2010-11

·    OUSD high schools had a higher student retention rate than Oakland’s charter high schools, by 7.2% points.

·    At OUSD high schools (11 schools this year), the Grade 12 enrollment was 69.1% of the enrollment when that cohort was in Grade 9 (2007-08).

·    At Oakland charter high schools (11 schools this year), the Grade 12 enrollment was 61.9% of their Grade 9 enrollment (2007-08).

·    The retention of students at OUSD high schools ranged from 34% to 100%.

·    The retention of students at Oakland charter schools ranged from 42% to 100%.

Comparison of Grade 9>12: 2011-12

·    Oakland’s charter high schools had a higher student retention rate than OUSD high schools, by 6.7% points.

·    At Oakland charter high schools (13 schools this year), the Grade 12 enrollment was 68.6% of the enrollment when that cohort was in Grade 9 (2008-09).

·    At OUSD high schools (12 schools this year), the Grade 12 enrollment was 61.9% of their Grade 9 enrollment (2008-09).

·    The retention of students at OUSD high schools ranged from 51% to 100%.

·    The retention of students at Oakland charter schools ranged from 48% to 100%.

Most notable is that the charter school results are not that all impressive, especially considering the self-selection aspect that is an unequivocal characteristic of all charter school families. The figures likely demonstrate that Oakland’s charter schools do not necessarily provide immunity against students dropping out. No surprise there.

In addition, it is likely that the high attrition seen at the charter schools known for demanding high levels of compliance -- such as American Indian Public High School and Oakland Military Institute -- are the result of lower performing and/or non-compliant students being pressured (or greatly desiring) to escape leave. There have been reports from other states about students with disciplinary issues being advised by charter school administrators to withdraw from the school in exchange for having their records cleaned.

Special kudos to Life Academy, a small OUSD school that is retaining its students year after year; it is definitely doing something right. 

And stay tuned for more results at the end of the 2012-13 school year. 

* Excluding alternative OUSD and charter high schools.

Enrollment Grade 9 > Grade 12, with percentage Charter schools in blue; OUSD schools in black	2011-12	2010-11	2009-10
American Indian Public High School	37 >21 57%	34>19 56%	52>29 56%
ARISE High School	62>33 53%	63>32 51%	n/a
Bay Area Technology School	36>18 50%	38>16 42%	n/a
Business Information & Technology High School (Castlemont)	116>64 55%	112>71 63%	153>80 52%
Coliseum College Prep Academy	60>52 60%	na	na
College Prep & Architecture Academy (Fremont)	144>80 56%	110>67 61%	129>92 71%
East Oakland Leadership Academy High	21>15 71%	n/a	n/a
East Oakland School of the Arts (Castlemont)	107>58 54%	105>51 49%	85>45 53%
Envision Academy of Arts & Technology	72>59 82%	60>38 53%	62>32 52%
Golden State College Preparatory Academy	29>15 52%	n/a	n/a
Leadership Preparatory High School (Castlemont)	126>64 51%	130>114 88%	116>92 79%
Life Academy	63>62 100%	60>64 100%	65>60 92%
Lighthouse Community Charter High School	60>29 48%	65>31 48%	48>30 63%
Lionel Wilson College Preparatory Academy	106>52 49%	90>81 90%	165>101 61%
LPS College Park	70>63 90%	110>57 52%	104>63 61%
Mandela High School (Fremont)	136>78 57%	122>74 61%	108>60 56%
McClymonds High School (EXCEL 2009-10, and prior)	111>58 52%	84>79 94%	72>54 75%
Media College Preparatory High School  (Fremont)	110>61 56%	152>51 34%	120>71 59%
Oakland Charter High School	29>32 100%	30>16 53%	n/a
Oakland High School	599>389 65%**	508>387 76%	576>391 68%
Oakland Military Institute	94>51 54%	76>38 50%	86>57 66%
Oakland School for the Arts	77>74 96%	26>47 100%	58>48 83%
Oakland Technical High School	606>401 66%	597>371 62%	563>346 61%
Oakland Unity High School	53>56 100%	49>43 88%	46>51 100%
Skyline High School	709>419 59%	565>429 76%	625>426 68%

**Recalculated since original posting

###

Gulen charter school timeline

(Updated 3/12/2012)
Additional schools are added as they appear @ http://charterschoolscandals.blogspot.com/p/list-of-us-gulen-schools.html

The largest charter school chain in the U.S. is run by the members of the Gulen movement, a controversial, secretive, religious, and highly nationalistic group out of Turkey that is operating in a manner with no exact precedent. The "movement" simultaneously promotes Islam, Turkey, and GM-affiliated Turkish businesses as it pursues a strategic, power-accumulating geopolitical agenda. To accomplish its goals, the movement conducts a range of activities associated with its schools, interfaith dialog and Turkish culture-promoting organizations, media outlets, and business organizations. Members of the Gulen movement make up only a small portion of the Turkish people, but the group is very powerful

Arne Duncan issues a public statement about the Gulen movement's charter schools! Not.

I fully expect that my comment left at Town Hall: 140 Characters at a Time, a Twitter town hall with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, will not be published, and will be quite surprised if it is. In either case, I've decided to make it into a blog post here.

Sharon says:

Your comment is awaiting moderation.

November 17, 2011 at 5:22 pm

I would like Secretary Duncan to issue a public statement explaining his views on the 131 charter schools being operated by the Gulen movement. Each year, since 1999, members of this extremely controversial, cult-like religious group out of Turkey have opened several new charter schools. The enrollment of these schools currently exceeds 35,000 students.

Why does the U.S. Department of Education continuously permit these schools to conceal their religious affiliation from parents, school board members, and authorizing agencies?

Oakland charter schools to date

Please add any corrections in the comments section. -- Thanks. (Revised 4/28/2011)

 OAKLAND CHARTER SCHOOLS TO DATE

- Number of charter schools approved to open (by OUSD, county, or state) = 49  (+ 2 not yet opened)
- Number of revoked or abandoned charter schools = 16
- Failure rate to date = 32.65% (16/49)
- Schools highlighted in red were revoked, abandoned, or not renewed.
- Two additional schools are due to open in Fall 2011. 

• Achieve Academy: Approved in 2006; CMO: Education for Change
• American Indian Public Charter School: Approved in 1996
• American Indian Public Charter School II: Approved in 2007
• American Indian Public High School: Approved in 2005
• ARISE High School: Approved in 2007
• Bay Area Technology School: Approved in 2004
• Berkley Maynard Academy: Approved in 2005; CMO: Aspire Public Schools
• CA College Prep Academy: Approved in 2005; CMO: Aspire Public Schools; county approved; closed 2008; moved to Berkeley
• Civicorps Elementary: Approved in 2001
• Civicorps Middle School: Approved in 2009
• Community School for Creative Education (new): Charter denied by OUSD; sought and were granted approval by county; opening Fall 2011
• Conservatory of Vocal and Instrumental Arts (COVA): Approved in 2007
• Education for Change at Cox Elementary: Approved in 2005; CMO: Education for Change; only OUSD school conversion; renewal denied 2010; sought and received county approval
• Dolores Huerta Learning Academy: Approved in 1999; renewal denied 2009 and closed
• E. C. Reems Academy of Tech and Art: Approved in 1999
• EBCC Civicorps Corpsmember Academy: Approved in 1996; grade 12+ only
• East Oakland Leadership Academy: Approved in 2003
• East Oakland Leadership High: Approved in 2008
• East Oakland Partnership School: Approved in 1999; abandoned in 1999
• Envision Academy for Arts & Technology: Approved in 2004 by Alameda County
• ERES Academy: Approved in 2009;CMO: Aspire Public Schools; took over Huerta Academy site
• Growing Children: Approved in 2002; revoked in 2006 and closed
• Junior Space Exploration Academy: Approved in 2006; revoked 2007 and closed
• KIPP Bridge College Preparatory / KIPP Bridge Charter Academy: Approved in 2002; CMO: KIPP; initially state-approved, then district-approved
• LPS (Leadership Public Schools)-College Park: Approved in 2005;CMO: Leadership Public Schools
• Lighthouse Charter High: Approved in 2005
• Lighthouse Community Charter: Approved in 2002
• Lionel Wilson College Prep: Approved in 2002; CMO: Aspire Public Schools
• Lotus Agriculture and Tech: Approved in  2002; abandoned in 2004; never opened
• Meroe International Academy: Approved in 2000; revoked in 2001 and closed
• Millsmont Academy Secondary: Approved in 2008; CMO: Aspire Public Schools
• Millsmont Academy: Approved in 2004; CMO: Aspire Public Schools
• Monarch Academy: Approved in 2000; CMO: Aspire Public Schools
• North Oakland Community Charter: Approved in 2000
• Oak Tree Charter: Approved in 1999; revoked in 2000 and closed
• Oakland Aviation High School: Approved in 2006; renewal denied in 2011 and closed
• Oakland Charter Academy: Approved in 1993
• Oakland Charter High School: Approved in 2007
• Oakland Health Science: Approved in 2007; abandoned 2009; never opened
• Oakland Military Institute: Approved in 2001;initially state-approved, then district-approved
• Oakland School for the Arts: Approved in 2002
• Oakland Unity High School: Approved in 2003
• Oasis High School: Approved in 2004; renewal denied in 2009 and closed
• Olivet Partnership School: Approved in 1999; abandoned in 1999; never opened
• San Antonio Partnership School: Approved in 1999; abandoned in 1999; never opened
• Space Exploration Academy: Approved in 2006; renewal denied 2007 and closed
• University Prep Academy (UPrep): Approved in 2002; revoked in 2007 and closed
• Vincent Academy (new): Approved by OUSD in 2010; due to open Fall 2011
• West Oakland Community Charter: Approved in 1999; closed in 2006
• World Academy: Approved in 2005; CMO: Education for Change
• Youth Employment Partnership: Approved in 2004; ungraded secondary students; closed 2008

YEAR	OUSD’S NON-CHARTER SCHOOL ENROLLMENT	OAKLAND’S CHARTER SCHOOL ENROLLMENT
1994-95	51587	119
1995-96	52269	183
1996-97	53273	189
1997-98	53320	189
1998-99	54028	228
1999-00	54068	983
2000-01	54024	839
2001-02	52310	1235
2002-03	48932	3569
2003-04	46204	4233
2004-05	43874	5340
2005-06	41277	6858
2006-07	39599	7413
2007-08	38783	7648
2008-09	38495	8021
2009-10	38112	7987