The War on Excellence: Charter School Threatened in Fulton County, Georgia UPDATE: Boortz Notices; More News UPDATE: Ruh-Roh — Islamophobia?

Posted on | November 22, 2011 | 60 Comments

Last night I got an e-mail from a friend down home:

Fulton Science Academy Middle School won a 2011 National Blue Ribbon School Award. That’s no mean feat. (Even Arne Duncan “congratulated the school”.) And, if I do say so myself, it’s no surprise. My sons attend the school and my wife and I are very proud of their progress and accomplishments there.
Currently, the school charter is up for renewal and the Fulton County Superintendent of Schools is on track to recommend against renewal! They give some lame excuses to justify this, but scuttlebutt from the department suggests that it’s because “all the good students go to FSA and that makes the test scores go down at the regular schools.”
The school website has a running status page of the renewal process (fsamiddle.org) and there’s an independent website that’s tracking things, too (savefsa.com)
I’ve written to and asked Congressman Tom Price to get involved. I also suggested that he could come to the FC Board of Education meeting when they vote on the charter.Who knows? Stranger things have happened.
Hopefully this will turn out well for us, but — keep your fingers crossed!

Keep my fingers crossed? Sir, I intend to raise holy unshirted hell!

This kind of bureaucratic attempt to shut down a quality school cannot be tolerated. There ought to be a nationwide crusade on behalf of Fulton Science Academy. This is from the parents organization web site:

At the moment, the charter renewal staff of the Fulton County School System are offering non-negotiable terms regarding the charter that would hurt FSA’s ability to improve its physical facilities and manage the standards and operations of the school.
As parents of happy, well-educated FSA students, we feel it would be a shame if the Fulton County School System shuts down one of Georgia’s 4 National Blue Ribbon Middle Schools.
We ask for your support to try to prevent this from happening.

Has anybody told Neal Boortz about this? Somebody call him or send him an e-mail. I’d imagine Neal could put some mighty intense heat on the Fulton County School Board.

And while I’m thinking about it: Herman Cain is from Georgia. I’m going to do my best to bring this story to Herman’s attention: “School board bureaucrats trying to shut down award-winning charter school” sounds like the kind of issue a Republican presidential candidate ought to be talking about, don’t you agree?

UPDATE: Linked by Neal Boortz — thanks!

UPDATE II: FSA’s situation was mentioned last week in an article by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Parents of Fulton Science Academy Middle say their school is being denied the “blanket waiver” of full flexibility from state education mandates they have enjoyed for 10 years because of a board practice withdrawing the option for district charter schools. . . .
Fulton Science Academy, a school of 508, is Georgia’s first charter school to be named a national Blue Ribbon School for its success on state exams.
“Our school has always met or exceeded its [state exam] and charter goals,” said parent board member Angela Lasseter. “The intention for a charter school anywhere in the nation is to grant full flexibility and autonomy in return for better than average results.”

Wait a minute: 508 students? That’s got to be at least 500 parents. And I think 500 parents raising holy unshirted hell — writing letters to the newspaper, attending school board meetings, calling their state legislators, calling the governor’s office — would make life very uncomfortable for these school system bureaucrats.

Occupy Fulton County School Board!

UPDATE III: Click here to donate to Fulton Science Academy — it’s tax deductible.

UPDATE IV: Just spent 30 minutes on the phone with FSA spokeswoman Katy Dion and 15 minutes on the phone with John Trainor of the Save FSA parents group.

There’s still more reporting to be done, but certainly there seems good reason to suspect that the Fulton County Board of Education (FCBOE) isn’t doing right by FSA. This is a school that, since its founding 10 years ago, has already seen its alumni go on to such schools as Harvard, Princeton and West Point. More than 400 applicants are on the “wait list” to get into FSA, indicating that there is a high level of public demand for the kind and quality of education this school provides. Therefore, why the FCBOE would be trying to yank the school around on its charter-renewal process is somewhat mysterious.

At least one commenter has called attention to an issue that has not been raised directly by the FCBOE: Allegations that FSA is part of a “stealth Islam” sort of operation known as the Gulen (or Gulenist) movement. Longtime readers know I sure as hell am not going to ignore an angle like that, but Trainor assures me that there’s never been any hint of a pro-Islam influence at FSA, and Trainor is a conservative Catholic who is sensitive to such issues.

Nevertheless, I wonder if this angle doesn’t cut the other way, also. That is to say, perhaps FCBOE isn’t being entirely upfront about its own agenda in this matter. Can you say . . . “Islamophobia”?

Stay tuned. This story could get pretty interesting.

Category: Education, Georgia

Comments

60 Responses to “The War on Excellence: Charter School Threatened in Fulton County, Georgia UPDATE: Boortz Notices; More News UPDATE: Ruh-Roh — Islamophobia?”

Adjoran
November 22nd, 2011 @ 1:25 am

It’s outrageous, but absolutely typical. In South Carolina also the public schools lobbied for an “oversight” role in approving the applications for charter schools. The law specifically prohibited school boards from considering the funding (the charter school was eligible for the per-student rate of funding from the district for those students enrolled), but superintendents and boards invariably cited the money as at least one, if not the only reason for declining.

Maybe a public outcry can pressure one school board in the case of an existing successful charter, but for most, any role in the process for the public schools will always end badly for charters. And the parents of the remaining public school students often buy the bogus excuses – after all, most of them were educated in the same inferior public schools.

Ultimately, government must get out of the school business at every level.
M. Thompson
November 22nd, 2011 @ 2:04 am

The educrats are scared of their lies being exposed. Even a small part, and they’ll have to finally answer for the quality of their work.

Good work, and keep it up, FSA!
Joe
November 22nd, 2011 @ 2:07 am

What goes on in the name of public education is criminal. We spend more money in the United States for primary education than any other country (other than Switzerland) but do we get results for it?
Anonymous
November 22nd, 2011 @ 11:12 am

You obviously missed hearing about what the Gulen movement
is up to. The Fulton Science Academy
is one of the charter schools being operated by the Gulen movement, a
secretive, cult-like, religious group out of Turkey. The feds have been looking
into their charter school activities.

http://articles.philly.com/2011-03-20/news/29148147_1_gulen-schools-gulen-followers-charter-schools

Since you’re a conservative, checkout this piece at the
Eagle Forum: http://blog.eagleforum.org/2011/09/taxpayers-are-paying-for-foreign.html

And this at the Middle East Quarterly: http://www.meforum.org/2045/fethullah-gulens-grand-ambition

Or read Texas
conservative Donna Garner http://libertylinked.com/posts/8535/safeguards-badly-needed-for/View.aspx

But even left-leaning news organizations have presented
material about the Gulen movement and its charter schools:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/world/europe/04turkey.html?_r=1

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/07/education/07charter.html?_r=1

When you’re ready for the whole truth, you’ll find the evidence
for FSA’s affiliation on the pages starting here:

http://gulencharterschools.weebly.com/fulton-science-academy.html

The bottom line is that anything associated with this school
cannot be trusted. Gulenists are masters of PR and other manipulations, as they
are totally driven to advance their cause. FSA parents and public officials have
been made into their tools.

And don’t bother to ask the school operators about this
because they are not at liberty to discuss it; any questions will be met with
deflections and denials.

All I can say is that you have a lot of catch up reading to
do. It’s time for Americans to wake up to the smell of this particular Turkish coffee.
Mike Rogers
November 22nd, 2011 @ 11:59 am

And do not forget Newt!
He’ll be happy to throw a few firebombs on the topic.
Doc Clear
November 22nd, 2011 @ 12:16 pm

My boys were in a charter school here in Griffin. While it was the best public school in the county, it’s still a public school. We pulled them out and now send them to our church school. To complete the whole going Gault, my wife quit her 50K yr job and became a <10k yr parapro there. Guess what? All 3 are doing great. Yes, it sucks losing that much income plus spending another 8K for schooling plus paying for the public school. I figure we only get 1 time to do this right and I'll be damned if I disadvantage my kids just out of cheapness. My oldest had a huge Obama supporter as a teacher last year and she was worthless. We had meeting after meeting with principle and teacher to no avail. In the end the principle WOULDN'T move my son out of this lazy teacher's room. So a computer literally taught him his math all year because he was so far ahead of everyone else. I don't regret it one bit. I suggest any parent stay involved in their school and at the first sign of trouble, move them. It's just not worth it to give some idiot access to your kid unsupervised.
Ozgur Cengiz
November 22nd, 2011 @ 12:52 pm

The Fulton Science Academy is without a doubt part of the 130+ charter schools managed in the USA by followers of exiled Islamic Imam Fethullah Gulen. Perhaps you all have seen the NY Times article by pulitzer prize winning author Stephanie Saul “Charter Schools tied to Turkish Movement come under question”
They will lie and not admit their affiliation with the Gulen Movement. They are creating foundations and other NGOs around these schools utilizing educational tax money for non-educational purposes such as: Travel Expenses (Cosmos Foundation in Texas had over $6 million in Travel the last 3 years 990 tax returns, paying for h1-bVisas of unqualifed teachers and their families, funnelling the money back to Turkey and to the foundations to pay for lobbying, and Turkish festivals and Olympaids that the children participate in.
They are masters of deception and marketing savvy since the group owns media and other businesses. As instructed by Hocaefendi “You must work into the arteries of the system until you reach all power centers” They will market the schools as “Award winning” but in fact most of the contests are owned or sponsored by the Gulen foundations. http://www.gulencharterschools.weebly.com
http://www.gulenschoolsworldwide.blogspot.com
http://www.charterschoolscandals.blogspot.com
Also research ex FBI Turkish Translator Sibel Edmonds, Dr. Aland Mizell and Dr. Joshua Hendrick and find out what they have to say about theis group.
Charterschoolwatchdog
November 22nd, 2011 @ 1:00 pm

Check out http://www.charterschoolwatchdog.com
Bob Belvedere
November 22nd, 2011 @ 1:35 pm

Also check out, Stacy:
http://turkishinvitations.weebly.com/index.html
http://turkishinvitations.weebly.com/list-of-us-schools.html
John Trainor
November 22nd, 2011 @ 2:03 pm

FSA is a great place for my sons. As a fairly conservative Catholic, I would know if there was any pro-Islam agenda. After 3.5 years of direct experience and ton of involvement in the school, the claim simply is unfounded.

And, my son, as the winner of the International Turkish Olympiad this year would have been the top recruit and I can tell you that it simply hasn’t happened.

But, my boys have gotten an incredible education.
Erdogan Uduk
November 22nd, 2011 @ 2:23 pm

See who Ozgur Cengiz actually is http://goosenetwork.tumblr.com/

And see who Mr. Gulen is http://www.fethullahgulen.org/
Christy Waters
November 22nd, 2011 @ 3:43 pm

Glad Boortz picked it up.
Ktaylor
November 22nd, 2011 @ 4:21 pm

As a Social Studies teacher here at FSA (a truly amazing
place to come to every day from 7:45am until 5:00pm) I am enraged and
speechless about this completely untrue propaganda. Have we not learned from history that
discrimination is irrevocably detrimental to humankind? Perhaps those of you who have posted the ridiculously
false statements should come sit in my classroom and learn that Islam is a religion
of peace and love.
John Trainor
November 22nd, 2011 @ 4:27 pm

Actually, I think crazy people are best ignored. These are people that obviously have no first-hand experience. It’s best to let them rant the crazy stuff and focus on the education of the children.

My kids have had and are getting a great education from amazingly-dedicated teachers and I’m so happy for it. As someone who teaches Sunday school and coaches in an overtly-Christian basketball league, I’m 100% comfortable with FSA.
camar
November 22nd, 2011 @ 4:35 pm

Is this Charter school one of Fethullah Gulen’s schools? If so, it behooves the parents whose children are enrolled to delve into the whys and wherefores of this Muslim oriented school.
Gtbigbee83
November 22nd, 2011 @ 4:45 pm

My son is in his third year at FSA Middle . I am Methodist, conservative, and very protective of my children. I am careful of what they are allowed to read and what they are allowed to see on television. I f I had even seen or heard a “hint” of all of this…. do you not think that myself or other parents would not have been vocal about it already? Seriously? My children are safe, happy, and well educated. Many of the other local schools under the FCBOE are dealing with serious drug, bullying, and other abuse issues…and this in in their Middle Schools! All of you who constantly blog about the Gulen Movement…get a life.
Selmaaktas
November 22nd, 2011 @ 4:52 pm

My child has ADHD and Asperger sydrome. My child was treathed like a crazy child in regular public schools. the word “school” created fear in our home. My son has been going to FSA for the last two years. He is taking TAG classes and doing well. He has made friends; he is confident in himself. Teachers and administrators work with me to provide him the best learning environment. They have open door policy. They always offer solutions not obstacles. I was constantly hearing how bad my child was in regular school. In FSA, I am hearing about his talent and his uniqueness. I drive 10 hours week for him. It is well worth it!
John Trainor
November 22nd, 2011 @ 5:00 pm

Done. My Christian sons have been there 3.5 years. I’ve not heard of one mention of Islam other than what they get in their social studies class (taught by a lily-white Atlanta native). Thank you for your concern, but all is well.
Terry
November 22nd, 2011 @ 5:12 pm

     I agree with Mr. Trainor and Ms. Taylor above – I’ve been at FSA for 10 years now (since the beginning) and there certainly isn’t a “hidden agenda” going on at this school as the links above by gmtracker would lead one to believe.
     The Islamic religion is not promoted at the school in any way, shape, or form (nor any other religion) – only that we have tolerance and acceptance of others regardless of their personal beliefs. Isn’t that what children SHOULD be taught? The trips to Turkey mentioned in the articles are nothing more than exposing students to a different culture and showing them that the world is more than just what they see around them.
     The one article above also made it sound as though we are only an award-winning school because the competitions we’ve won are sponsored by Gulenist groups – nothing could be further from the truth. The National Blue Ribbon Award comes from the USDOE and our accomplishments in Science Olympiad, Math Olympiad, Model UN, Tech Fair, Social Studies Fair, Science Fair, State Spelling Bee (Biplab Panda represented GA in the Scripps National Spelling Bee on ESPN in 2003 I believe), and many more have absolutely nothing to do with the movement.
     Our school is nothing short of amazing due to the hard work of all of the staff members, regardless of where they are from, and educating students is what’s important, right?
Anupa D.
November 22nd, 2011 @ 6:09 pm

My children have been going to FSA schools for the last couple of years. They have moved from being shy kids at their regular public school to not so shy and finding nothing odd about being themselves at this school. The schools push one thing, and one thing only – academic excellence. I am very, very involved with the schools – as a room parent, a parent volunteer and a substitute teacher. In the many hours I’ve spent at the school, with the kids and with the staff, I have yet to hear anything about Islam or Gulen being mentioned in a classroom or in private conversation. As a Hindu parent, I am sensitive to propaganda from other religions, and despite all I’ve read about what the FSA schools supposedly push, I’ve heard nothing. What a waste of time to focus on the irrelevant and forget that these schools allow an equal opportunity to any and all residents of Fulton County to excel in academics regardless of where they come from!
MaryAngela
November 22nd, 2011 @ 6:32 pm

I find it confusing and deplorable that FSA MS is punished for its excellence and dedication to education. It should have FCSS staff exploring the methods for why the school is so successful, so that they can emulate its practices in their other schools instead of trying to make FSA MS fit their own model that is not achieving the same level of results. Some of the awards that it has garnered are as follow:
·         2011 National Blue Ribbon School Award
·         Highest ITBS scores in all five subjects among Fulton County Schools for the last three years
·         Recognized as one of 12 High Achieving Middle Schools by the Georgia Partnership of Excellence in Education
·         Gold & Platinum Awards from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement
·         1st Place in the National Science Olympiad ‘Compute This’ Event
·         1st Place in the Southeast Model United Nations Competition
·         1st Place in the International Media Festival
·         1st Place in the International Sustainable World (Engineering, Energy & Environment) Project Olympiad
·         1st Place in the State Science Fair
·         1st Place in the State Social Studies Fair
·         1st Place in the War Eagle Math Competition
·         1st Place in the 8th Grade State Chess Tournament
·         1st Place in the 7th and 8th Grade State Math League Competition
·         Best Performing Middle School in 2010 Fulton County Tech Fair

FSA MS is educational excellence at its best. This school’s focus is helping its students reach their fullest potential.   The school stresses high academics and accountability, students becoming well-rounded individuals with highly developed social and team skills, and good citizenship. FSA MS is a school that embraces all its students regardless of their religion, national origin, color of their skin, academic ability, sex, or their socio-economic status. This is a school that offers commendations to its students for kindness, honesty, exceptional performance, effort, etc. The students are taught to respect each other’s differences and accept everyone as their equal. The school environment is free from drugs, physical bullying, and complacency. Students are not stymied or pigeon-holed at one educational level. They are encouraged to reach the next level, always set new goals when they have met a previous one, and to never settle for less than their best. The education is tailored to each student’s individual needs. The teachers’, administrations’, and staffs’ dedication to their school is unmatched anywhere. The parking lot is never empty at 5:00 and it looks like school is in session on Saturdays.
Although it seems a shame to address the ludicrous conspiracy theories when we are actually trying to save an excellent educational establishment and choice for parents that feel that FSA MS is in the best interest of their children’s educational needs, I feel it necessary to do so. I need to point out, to all the people reading this blog, just how ridiculous this position is and the level of ignorance that it must have taken to draw these Gulen movement conspiracy conclusions. The reasonable, educated, logical, and intelligent individuals reading this blog cannot possibly believe that over a 10 year period, approximately 5,000 students and their 10,000 parents, the Georgia DOE, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the IRS have had the wool pulled over their eyes and that the students that were educated at FSA MS are now all practicing Muslims, hiding cult-like ideals from their parents, and harboring latent anti-establishment ideals. REALLY? SERIOUSLY? Religion is completely absent from the school environment and curriculum. Religion is a topic that is discussed at home and the purview of a student’s family. There are FSA MS students that practice Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, as well as others. Politics are only discussed as they relate to the curriculum. The budgets and cash flow statements are available for all to see, so monies are not being diverted for nefarious purposes. FSA MS was just thoroughly audited and received a BBB Fitch rating. That is not an easy feat to accomplish for a non-profit public school that is working on the limited funds allocated to it and while still providing a nationally ranked level of education to all its students. So, again, I say REALLY?
Now back to the real issue like saving a true educational gem for all the students waiting for their opportunity to be educated at FSA MS. SAVE FSA MS!!!!! Applaud its excellence, reward it for its accomplishments, and use it as a model for educational improvement!!!!
KShoffeitt
November 22nd, 2011 @ 6:54 pm

My children have been at FSA for 2 years and have experienced nothing but dedicated teachers who give so much to our children- they go above and beyond daily. I have watched my children grow and gain confidence in themselves, develop character, and truly love learning during their time at FSA.

There has been no mention of anything related to any religion. I was in one of their classes today and one of the Christian parents said something about a blessing for the food. The Christian teacher said to her that we can’t do any blessing because we respect our diversity and so many of us believe different things. FSA is a place where everyone is accepted for being who they are, religion-wise and otherwise.

Isn’t that what this country is about? Acceptance and love for others, whether they are like you or not? That’s what I want my children to learn, and it’s what they are learning at FSA. I am a strong supporter of separation of church and state and would not send my children to any school with a religious agenda, no matter the religion.

My children are happy and thriving there- why is that a threat to anyone else?
Emma S.
November 22nd, 2011 @ 7:46 pm

All 3 of my children attend FSA elementary, the sister school to FSA middle school, and we are so pleased at their level of education. It is wonderful to send our children to a school with such a diverse population while knowing that they are being challenged in all academic courses. The world at large is culturally diverse, so why shouldn’t our children be raised in this environment.

There has never been any suggestion of religion, be it Christian, Jewish Islamic, or any other religion. The difference between FSA and other schools, in my opinion, is that at FSA the children and their education are always put first. This is why these schools excel.

And as someone else wrote, FSA is open to all students in Fulton County no matter where they come from in the county or what their cultural heritage might be.
Maria Beug-Deeb
November 22nd, 2011 @ 7:52 pm

FSA MS is the best middle school in Fulton County. FSA MS provides my daughters with an excellent
educational experience comparable to top-performing public and private schools
in the nation. My husband and I have been impressed
with the quality of the education, the dedication of the staff, and the
friendly and safe atmosphere of the school. FSA MS is also a public school that has been in operation in Georgia for the last 10 years and as a public school has met or exceeded all of the county and state requirements. As a public school in operation for 10 years, FSA MS cannot have or ever have had a religious agenda. The administration and staff are extremely professional.
Rufus
November 22nd, 2011 @ 8:00 pm

Uhhh there is Amana Academy which is nearby and alot more middle easternly focus. And its not pushing any agenda. I hope they didn’t get FSA and Amana confused. The school board probably is stupid enough to do that.
Aw
November 22nd, 2011 @ 8:04 pm

What a bunch of crock. It is interesting that all those posting these ridiculous theories have never had any personal experience with FSA. Those who have like me with my children know that is a great school dedicated to providing quality education! America is really going to the dogs if everything good is treated with suspicion.
Dodd
November 22nd, 2011 @ 8:20 pm

Two of our children go to FSA Elementary, the sister school of the middle school. It’s a great school. There’s no political, religious, or social agenda. It just has good teachers, caring administrators, involved parents, and high standards.
It would be sad but all-too-typical if the debate turns out to be motivated by political issues and/or competition for the “good students” among county schools. The truth is that all students have the potential to be good, and the schools that succeed are the ones that partner with the parents to engage the students in learning. With some other experiences in public schools that ignored parents and coddled their staffs at the expense of students, I can say that those folks who want to compete with the charter schools ought to look inward first.
FSA Concerned Parent
November 22nd, 2011 @ 8:50 pm

Fulton Science Academy Middle and Fulton Sunshine Academy Elementary provide an important alternative to ‘typical’ public school settings. Like many charter schools, they are not for everyone. My oldest spent 9 weeks in FSA Middle, and we quickly discovered that they were not able to provide the special services needed for an Asperger student. However, my youngest has spent the last 15 months at FSA Elementary, and it has been a wonderful experience. In the interest of full disclosure, my family is Jewish. We are about as concerned about pro-Islamic brainwashing as anyone. Let me assure you that NOTHING OF THE KIND is going on there, as I would be the first to lead a mob with torches and pitchforks to stop it. These institutions need to be supported and lauded, not mischaracterized.
BRoberts
November 22nd, 2011 @ 11:01 pm

I have two children at fsa elementary school, and we love it there. I have been so impressed with the dedication of the teachers and administration at fsa. I can tell you from our personal experience that I have never heard anything at all to support this gulenist theory. I have witnessed amazing teachers who work hard and support my children. I have witnessed my children becoming friends with children of different cultures and having a great time. This amazing school gives my children a top quality education. I appreciate and support all fsa schools!
ohohmrbill
November 23rd, 2011 @ 12:17 am

Just like in Turkey !! Gulen also also sues people who speak out, have them jailed. The internet is full of stories. So they already admitted to following Facist Gulen. With those attitudes like that ( totally un-American) what are they really telling the kids during class? Actions not lip service if one were to go to you tube and put in—- Gulennewsfraud —there is a whole channel dedicated to these schools. Everthing from teacher raping students, gas leaks, abuse of funds, h1-b visa fraud FBI investigations. At Abramson Charter School (which can be googled) in one class the kids were left alone for weeks. They even tried to bribe a state official to give them an all clear on there deficiencies.
Erdogan Uduk & Aw are cult members who cyber stalk those that harass and make personal attacks on those who challenge these schools. Sorry boys we have legitimate media behind us. I ask anyone who reads this to make an effort to research Gulen and his schools. Then notify your local press, TV radio stations etc. Since Gulen and cult cannot stand the media then the media they should get. After all 100 journalists are rotting in prison because of these guys. So please make an effort to do so.
ohohmrbill
November 23rd, 2011 @ 12:21 am

As a catholic then you should study the Ottoman empire and what it meant for Christians and churches.

The schools already admitted they are inspired by Gulen and his words.

Lets hear what Gulen has to say about the Pope a few months after he gave him a birthday present.

Still think Gulen inspiration is a good thing?
ohohmrbill
November 23rd, 2011 @ 12:23 am

From Bangladesh to Ft Hood.
ohohmrbill
November 23rd, 2011 @ 12:31 am

Now here is where I call BS to your story. You said you were Catholic and anyone else who would be Catholic knows that…

CATHOLICS DO NOT DO SUNDAY SCHOOL !!!

That is for the other sect of Christians.

Nice try Gulen Cult Member !!

As anyone can see the Cult members come to the boards pretending to be American with happy go lucky joy joy feelings about there school.

Why would anyone trust them with such ridiculous behaviors. With that being said what on Earth can they be teaching the kids?

Again be sure to alert the media about these kinds of behaviors and anything else you may discover. Contact the department of immigration as much as you can and explain that we have no shortage of educational jobs in this country.
ohohmrbill
November 23rd, 2011 @ 12:35 am

Sunday school at a Catholic Church? LOL! Be sure to order your book by Dr. Aland Mazell to delve deeper in to the Gulen Movement

The link is in the description. Or just go directly to Amazon.com
ohohmrbill
November 23rd, 2011 @ 12:37 am

As a normal American you would almost never bring you religion into subject …Like our friend John Trainor who has just been exposed.
ohohmrbill
November 23rd, 2011 @ 12:42 am

Fulton Science Academy – letter from parent

In
May 2011, this website received a communication from a Fulton Science
Academy parent. It is reproduced verbatim below. It refers to a
January 2011 compliance report by Fulton County Schools (the government
agency charged with regulating Fulton Science Academy).

_______________________________________________________________________________

Here is a link to the Fulton Science Academy Middle School Compliance Report,
http://fsamiddle.org/images/stories/interimcompliance.pdf. I think you will find
this report very interesting in light of the recent news articles questioning the
business practices of Gulen inspired schools.

You will note that FSA performs well on an academic level and that is not the issue
facing these schools.

The document highlights many common concerns:
Staff QualificationsFinancial PracticesTransparencyAccountabilityParent Involvement

Highlight:
The
county has required that all FSA schools cease and desist business with
The Grace Institute on March 4, 2011. The Grace Institute was created
by former leaders of FSA schools and Board Members, a clear conflict of
interest. Taxpayer money was going to a company formed by the school
administration. And the school did not follow the proper bidding
process violating the school district policy. I appreciate your
approach to researching the schools. You have stuck to the facts.
Unfortunately, the schools have a deeper agenda. I agree that there are
some very nice teachers at the FSA schools but they are not telling the
truth.

The Fulton County Department of Education is
committed to the success of charter schools. They have done everything
possible to make sure that charter schools are following the rules IF
the parents and community understand the responsibilities and influence
they have over the Board.

The success of the schools are in the hands of the board, parents & community.

I hope that parents will:
find out who is on the Boardattend Board Meetingsunderstand they share responsibility for hiring

Next,
parents need to educate themselves and their kids on the Gulen
movement. Find out what the Gulen movement stands for beyond the
marketing. Do you believe in Gulen’s vision for Turkey, treatment of
women and the fact his followers are not direct about their intentions?
If not, ask questions.
ohohmrbill
November 23rd, 2011 @ 12:49 am

*slapping my knee Chuckles* As a parent I would go to the school and verify these names. The PTA or PA should have a list of parents. I laugh because if any of these parents do have the list of names of who posted on the board you will see they do not exist. I been at this for three years. The Gulenists love to come to the board pretending to be parents , students or overly liberal people to do damage control when ever an article comes out.

Again, it is your duty to ask all news agencies to investigate these schools more and to write about them.

Also blogging about people and individuals who oppose these schools. They do not attack or address the issue they will attack you. Even claim you to be a part of Terrorism Group called Ergenekon. LOL….silly cult members why would any rational person leave you alone with their children?
ohohmrbill
November 23rd, 2011 @ 12:54 am

Camar the Gulenists are nut Muslim, they are a cult. Other Islamic who know of this group will tell you this. So ! Gueln does not speak for the whole of Islam.
ohohmrbill
November 23rd, 2011 @ 2:09 am

Who said anything about brainwashing? Its our tax dollars and the fraud. Defections at every level of your organization is becoming paramount. Some run to the FBI for safety others come to us with detailed information and emails. More to be published later. The harder your cult tries to damage control the more you lose clients, capitol and creditability.
John Trainor
November 23rd, 2011 @ 4:05 am

Dude, you truly are a nut-job. I call it Sunday School because most people don’t know what the heck PSR or CCD is. You could have just checked with me before you made yourself look bad.

Here’s one of many photos I planted 4 years ago for this very moment that shows me teach PSR (http://www.flickr.com/photos/trainor/325616199/in/set-72157594425746532). I’m glad my subversive plan to teach kids about the Catholic religion years ago has panned out.Or, the photos of my son playing football this year for a Catholic school that must all be a sham just to help a Turkish cult.Or those photos of my kids getting their First Communion.Your extremism and lack of knowledge would be so funny if it weren’t so destructive to good things in this world. As such, it is just sad.

Based on your response, I’m turning you off as I am sure that many others around you have done throughout your life. Let me know if you want to have a facts-based, civil discussion.
John Trainor
November 23rd, 2011 @ 4:06 am

See my post above and you might want to check facts before you post. It will stop you from looking crazy and ill-informed.
Einar1i
November 23rd, 2011 @ 6:40 am

My sons attend this school. They are academically challenged and don’t have to deal with bullies or the usual middle school meanness. The teachers have been great and their peers are all focused on their education. With the accolades they have received I can’t fathom the argument against renewing the charter. Hopefully this will be resolved for the good of the kids.
John Trainor
November 23rd, 2011 @ 7:30 am

You can see my above post and you should get your facts ahead of time so you don’t looks so bad. Just a tip.
John Trainor
November 23rd, 2011 @ 7:31 am

Right. Check out the website to save FSA (http://SaveFSA.com). There are no references to religion. We just want the school board to keep a great charter school open.

You might want to look at the blog comments to see that others found it important to bring religion into a discussion where it does not belong. I was just refuting their ill-informed opinions.
John Trainor
November 23rd, 2011 @ 7:37 am

Come on down. I’ll introduce to a whole host of FSA parents who support the school. We can talk to the parents of the boys on my sons’ football team, the parents of the boys in my sons’ Boy Scout Troop, those that go to our church, etc.

I promise you that none of them are cult members. It might help for you to know more so you have enough information and can speak intelligently.
Mikes
November 23rd, 2011 @ 7:56 am

You are an idiot.
Mikes
November 23rd, 2011 @ 7:58 am

Complete nonsense. Do you have any experience with FSA? My kids went there and there was NEVER any religious overtone. Why don’t you go back under the rock you crawled out of.
Maria Beug-Deeb
November 23rd, 2011 @ 8:27 am

FSA is a public charter school that outperforms the traditional public schools in Georgia. It has been awarded the 2011 National Blue Ribbon Award for its overall academic excellence. FSA is the only Fulton County school to receive this award in 2011 and the only charter school in Georgia.

http://www.ed.gov/category/program/blue-ribbon-schools

In addition, FSA has achieved the following:

·         Highest ITBS scores in all five subjects among Fulton County Schools for the last three years

·         Recognized as one of 12 High Achieving Middle Schools by the Georgia Partnership of Excellence in Education

·         Gold & Platinum Awards from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement

·         1st Place in the National Science Olympiad ‘Compute This’ Event

·         1st Place in the Southeast Model United Nations Competition

·         1st Place in the International Media Festival

·         1st Place in the International Sustainable World (Engineering, Energy & Environment) Project Olympiad

·         1st Place in the State Science Fair

·         1st Place in the State Social Studies Fair

·         1st Place in the War Eagle Math Competition

·         1st Place in the 8th Grade State Chess Tournament

·         1st Place in the 7th and 8th Grade State Math League Competition

·         Best Performing Middle School in 2010 Fulton County Tech Fair
Anonymous
November 23rd, 2011 @ 8:36 am

A parent at Beehive Science and Technology School, the Utah Gulen charter school, was one of the first people to put things together. From http://www.deseretnews.com/m/article/700036619 :

At first, Wayment “couldn’t have been happier” at Beehive, he
said. His son started learning Spanish and Turkish, joined an after-school
science club and worked his way into concurrent enrollment math classes.
Wayment snagged a seat on the school’s governing board.

Four years passed before things started to get weird.

At board meetings, everyone except Wayment was Turkish. Everyone except
Wayment seemed to vote as a block…

It took months of research to put all the pieces together, but in the end,
the answer was simple. The Turkish ties, the strange allegiance to an outside
management company — it all boiled down to one person: Fethullah Gülen, a
mysterious Muslim preacher none of them had ever heard of…

While some see Gülen as a docile advocate for religious tolerance, others
argue he is practicing a form of “silent jihad.” In a 1999 sermon
that aired on Turkish television, Gülen said that to effect reform, “every
method and path is acceptable (including) lying to people.”…

“No one wants to think their kid’s public school is part of some
international conspiracy,” Wayment said.

But the evidence kept piling up…
———
Wayment was ultimately removed from the board for questioning things. The school is still in operation but has a huge student attrition rate (<50% who start 9th make it to 12th) and it's been at 3 different locations in 5 years.

You FSA parents should study up on the Gulen movement, and then go to your board and ask some probing questions. But be aware that Gulen's followers consider you as outsiders and are not at liberty to answer your questions honestly. They've been trained to keep secrets.

http://en.fgulen.com/pearls-of-wisdom/639-keeping-secrets
Bob Belvedere
November 23rd, 2011 @ 8:40 am

All of the above comments and links lead to one conclusion, as far as I’m concerned: this is a matter that must be thoroughly investigated.

When one is dealing with anything involving Muslims, one must immediately be suspicious because Islam is dedicated to deceiving and destroying all non-Muslims [taqiyya, anyone?].

Also, sufficient evidence has been presented here to warrant and grand jury-like investigation. Ohohmrbill may, indeed, be off his rocker – I don’t know – but any detective would say that he has raised enough questions to necessitate a detailed look into the activities of the Gulens. Further, the relatively quick appearance of testimonials in favor of FSA does reek a bit of astroturfing.

Whether we want to accept the truth or not, it is a fact that Islam is at war with The West [a war, literally, to the death] and, therefore, we must be suspicious of any organization connected, even seemingly remotely, with it.