False advertising and Concept Schools

This coming fall, Concept Schools will be adding two more charter schools to its collection. Both are in Chicago and come courtesy of the Chicago school board members who voted to approve the two proposals in January.

The promotional brochure designed to attract student enrollment states: “Concept serves 12,000 students in 30 high-performing charter schools across the Midwest, including 3 schools in Chicago.” (1.0 MB pdf) But Concept Schools is intentionally  misleading Chicago’s parents.

Gulen Movement 101: Session Two

Navigating the webinar

• 00:00 – 18:27 min.:  Recap from Session One (overview of Fethullah Gulen and the Gulen Movement, overview of the GM's US activities)
• 18:28 – 37:10 min.: Concept Schools history, founders, etc.
• 37:11 – 1:00:45 min: The specific theology of the Gulen Movement (presented by Tim Furman)
• 1:00:46 – 1:24:40 (end): Local GM-associated organizations, Concept Schools leadership patterns, etc.

Webinar video of Gulen Movement 101: Session One

 
Gulen 101 Session One With Sharon Higgins from Tim Furman on Vimeo.

The Gulen Movement: “a non-transparent organizational model”

The leading US authority on the Gulen Movement (GM) at this time is Joshua Hendrick, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Loyola University Maryland. His new book “Gulen: The Ambiguous Politics of Market Islam in Turkey and the World” was published in August 2013 by New York University Press. Fifteen pages are devoted to the Gulen charter school situation and are worth your investment in the book. From page 230:

“... by insisting on the nonpolitical nature of the GM’s lobbying and public relations efforts, by maintaining ambiguity regarding connectivity between individuals and institutions, by flatly denying suspect hiring and retention practices at affiliated charter schools, by allegedly engaging in gender discrimination at these schools, and by becoming the subjects of state and federal level investigation for financial mismanagement, the GM has opened itself up to intense criticism at best, and to potential criminal implications at worst.”

Lying like a rug: Concept Schools

Since Concept Schools is willing to lie to Americans about its very fundamental connection to the Gulen Movement’s (GM) larger school network, then what else is it lying about and why should Americans trust anything it claims?

Despite the GM’s best efforts to stay under the radar, each day a few more Americans are becoming aware of its presence here. As followers of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish imam who has been living on a secluded compound in rural Pennsylvania since the late 1990s, GM members have been busy building up their enormous network of schools around the world, among which are more than 140 publicly-funded charter schools operating in 26 of the United States.  

Update on Gulen charter schools

• 2013-2014: 147 schools in 26 states (# students TBD)
• 2012-2013: 140 schools in 26 states (59,953 students)
• 2011-2012: 136 schools in 26 states (51,950 students)
• 2010-2011: 126 schools in 25 states (44,727 students)

"Expose the Gulen Movement" report

On Saturday, August 31st, I was one of the speakers at the "Expose the Gulen Movement" protest rally held on a farm in the rural, rolling hills around Saylorsburg, PA. We assembled less than two miles from the compound where Fethullah Gulen lives. 

Gulen is considered to be one of the two most powerful men in Turkey. Those who attended the protest have a common interest in shedding light on the Gulen Movement's activities. To many Turks and Turkish-Americans, Gulen is using his power to undermine modernity, secularism, democracy, and women's rights not only in Turkey, but throughout the world.

This is the video of my speech about the Gulen charter schools, starting at 00:45 min.

"Expose the Gulen Movement" Protest and Conference

Two upcoming related events, a protest and a conference, will provide Americans with an opportunity to learn more about the Gulen Movement. The protest is an excellent opportunity for those in the NYC, NJ, and PA area to speak out against Gulen charter school expansion.

These protests are forming a bridge across the Atlantic that can help Americans understand more about the dark side of the secretive and controversial Turkish religious group that runs the largest charter school network here!

Gulen charter school enrollment in 2012-2013

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools describes itself as “the leading national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the charter school movement.” It closely tracks the charter school market share.

In 2012-2013, Gulen charter school enrollment was 59,953 students. The following table contains the figures for each of the schools listed on the NAPCS website (=140) that are Gulen Movement-associated.

In 2011-2012, Gulen charter school enrollment was 51,950 students.

In 2010-2011, Gulen charter school enrollment was 44,727 students.

A pack of lies + some truths

EXCERPT	SOURCE
Yet [the Gulen movement’s] structure, ambitions, and size remain opaque, making assessment of its impact and power difficult... Fethullahci are often loath to declare themselves openly as such.	“The Fethullah Gulen Movement.” Global Politician, 12/31/2008
The precise number of [Fethullah Gulen Community] members is difficult to estimate since some publicly deny affinity or membership with the movement.

The Gulen Movement’s subsidized, guided trips to Turkey

In addition to having acquired the operation of the largest network of privately-managed, taxpayer-funded charter schools in the US (currently 135 in 26 states), members of the Gulen Movement are very active with efforts to recruit sympathizers. One of their approaches is to invite academics, journalists, politicians, public officials, and religious community leaders on one of their subsidized, guided trips to Turkey. The trips are also regularly arranged for American students, parents, and teachers associated with the Gulen charter schools.

It must be mentioned that travelers are not always aware of the full intention behind the trips. As one photo journalist from Colorado noticed on the fourth day of travel, "We are beginning to understand the reason for the cultural exchange: it is not simply to meet local leaders and learn about Turkish culture, but also to gain an understanding of the Gülen Movement..."  "Gain an understanding," as in acquiring the perspective fed to them by members of the Gulen Movement over the course of nine to 10 straight days of tightly controlled immersion. This secretive group happens to be highly controversial in Turkey, and elsewhere.

Concept Schools, Illinois, and the Gulen Movement.

  Click to view in larger format > Concept Schools, Illinois, and the Gulen Movement by Sharon Higgins

Information about the Gulen Movement

My new paper posted on Scribd contains excerpts about the Gulen Movement from a wide variety of sources such as

• Congressional Research Service Report prepared for Members and Committees of Congress
• RAND National Defense Research Institute report
• Stratfor Global Intelligence Special Report
• CBS 60 Minutes
• The New York Times
• The New Yorker
• The New Republic
• Jane’s Islamic Affairs Analyst
• Global Politician
• Reuters
• The Washington Post

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.

Why Americans should learn about the Gulen movement

Beyond the issues with the Gulen movement’s stealth acquisition of the operation of the largest network of U.S. charter schools (as reported by CBS News 60 Minutes, The New York Times, and elsewhere), Americans should also become aware of the influence of this cult in Turkey.* A great deal has been written about the increased power of the Gulen movement in Turkey, its connection to the rise of political Islam there, and the GM's relationship to the AKP, Turkey's ruling party. All of this bears close watching. Please watch this excellent report from Worldfocus, a production of WNET, and read some of the following pieces about the social shifts.

My response to 60 Minutes’ piece on the Gulen Movement

Those of us who have been aware of the Gulen movement’s stealth involvement in an enormous network of publicly-funded charter schools are pleased that CBS News finally gave the situation wide national coverage. However, the 60 Minutes segment broadcast yesterday left out a number of important things. 

My Gulen Movement charter school piece in WaPo

Today the Washington Post published my piece about the Gulen Movement’s US charter schools. It was a guest post for The Answer Sheet, Valerie Strauss’s excellent daily online column on education topics.

Largest charter network in U.S.: Schools tied to Turkey

Much greater than expected: 2010-2011 Gulen charter school enrollment was 44,727

In August 2010, USA Today’s Greg Toppo wrote that Gulen movement-associated charter schools “educate as many as 35,000 students — taken together they'd make up the largest charter school network in the USA — and have imported thousands of Turkish educators over the past decade.”

At long last, the actual enrollment for the 2010-2011 school year has been tallied. The total is 44,727, nearly 10,000 students greater than the figure suggested by USA Today.

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