Then a few months ago we learned that
Islamic imam Fethullah Gulen,a Turkish
exile seeking to bring sharia law to Turkey
along with the rest of the world, has
established at least 90 American taxpayer-funded charter schools (here
in Texas under the umbrella of parent company Cosmos Foundation)
with two dozen here in Texas (see list below), all of them with the word
"Harmony" in their title.
Islamic imam Fethullah Gulen,a Turkish
exile seeking to bring sharia law to Turkey
along with the rest of the world, has
established at least 90 American taxpayer-funded charter schools (here
in Texas under the umbrella of parent company Cosmos Foundation)
with two dozen here in Texas (see list below), all of them with the word
"Harmony" in their title.
By now hopefully more folks are understanding Bill Gates' role as one
of the funders of the Cosmos Foundation, a public charity, through the
Texas High School Project.
of the funders of the Cosmos Foundation, a public charity, through the
Texas High School Project.
| P E Y T O N W O L C O T T |
How we take back our children's education: one person, one question, one school at a time. |
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| Copyright 1999-2010 Peyton Wolcott |
"Walk softly and carry a big stick." -- Teddy Roosevelt "Trust but verify." -- Ronald Reagan |
| Just because you can doesn't mean you should. |
| H o w w e t a k e b a c k o u r c h i l d r e n ' s e d u c a t i o n : o n e p e r s o n , o n e q u e s t i o n , o n e s c h o o l a t a t i m e . |
| PEYTON WOLCOTT'S 6 SIMPLE SUGGESTIONS FOR SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS: How you can rebuild public trust and save at least $75 per student this next year. 1. End discretionary spending. Set an example for your staff; let them know you mean business about running a tighter ship: No trips, no conferences, no meals, no credit cards. If you want to learn more about something, use Google. Do a webinar. Read a newsletter. No golf games with vendors, ever. No chauffeurs, no rental cars. Stay home, do your work and keep your nose clean. 2. Reduce administrative costs. Go through your administrative staff roster and cut every other job, starting with getting rid of all PR and marketing. No advisors, no consultants. Learn how to really read a budget. Put your check register and all wire transfers online. 3. Ethics. No nepotism. Let your wife and kids earn a living in a field other than education. No board members' spouses working in the district. Conduct all discussions with vendors and potential vendors in the open; invite your public to watch and ask questions. Throw away your contract and work year by year. Move your chair off the dais at board meetings. You're not a team member with your elected trustees. You're not equal to them. They're your boss. 4. No construction. If you're the rare district truly experiencing sufficient growth to justify building new schools, splinter off that population and let them start their own new school district or charter school. They might be able to take over an abandoned church or office building for much less than the Taj Mahal you had in mind. 5. Back-to-basics curriculum. Math table (1st grade: add, 2nd grade: subtract, 3rd grade multiply, 4th grade divide) daily drill. You made sure your own kids learned the basics at home or with tutors; why shouldn't all children have that same opportunity? Ditto for phonics. Classical literature. History, not social studies. No more block scheduling. Daily P.E. for all. Emphasize individual effort and accomplishment. 6. Attitude. You're a public servant, not a Third World dictator. Practice humility and gratitude. Remember when your employees laugh at your jokes or tell you you're cool or vendors marvel at your every utterance that they're all sucking up to you. Remember why you got into education to begin with. Sell your house in the gated community and buy one in the middle of a real subdivision like your average parents and taxpayers can afford. Let yourself be driven not by the latest platitude you picked up at the latest education conference but by the same wonderful noble desire to educate kids that got you into this field. |
| Texas Hill Country - Mesquite and Wildflowers Boerne |
| Public Ed Commentary - Charter Schools: Talkin' Turkey about the Cosmos Foundation & Bill Gates |
| Bringing you the information and tools you need in order to improve public education and lower taxes and spending; during the past two decades of the voucher debate an entire generation has grown up in the public school system. If you don't think this is important look at the Nov. 2008 election where folks voted based on emotions and hope rather than facts. Let's put a stop to the school-to-prison pipeline -- and keep our public schools locally run, strong and free.. |
| Professional development -- or developing a tan? Is this a good use of America's resources and tax dollars? For salaried public school superintendents to play golf on school days? At a resort hundreds of miles away? With vendors? How about if it's with a spouse who is a no-bid vendor in his district? And the business is a sponsor of the golf weekend? In any event, do these 9 images look like "professional development"? Which part of this is professional and what's being developed in a setting like this other than a tan? Starting with this photograph, let's begin a meaningful conversation about spending in our public schools. |
Grab your Ottoman (Empire): Time to talk Turkey about Turkey in our public schools
Did you notice in stories about Israel's
defense of its anti-terrorist blockade
against Islamic elements masquerading as
humanitarian aid ships that the aid ships
were funded by a Turkish-based charity?
Did that come as a surprise?
defense of its anti-terrorist blockade
against Islamic elements masquerading as
humanitarian aid ships that the aid ships
were funded by a Turkish-based charity?
Did that come as a surprise?
| The group that sent the six ships from Turkey, Islan Haklary Ve Hurriyetleri Vakfi [IHH], is an Islamist charity that has been on the Israeli terror list in recent years and under scrutiny by the CIA since 1996.* (SOURCE--Gary Bauer) |
Turkey's been popping up all over the
world stage the past few years.
My first "What the ...." Turkey moment
was last year when Rick Steves, PBS's
pot-promoting travel host, traveled outside
of Europe for a special on Turkey in
which he described that country's
massacre of over a million Armenians
during World War I as an unfortunate
political event -- reserving "terrible" for a
description of the orange drink at his hotel.
world stage the past few years.
My first "What the ...." Turkey moment
was last year when Rick Steves, PBS's
pot-promoting travel host, traveled outside
of Europe for a special on Turkey in
which he described that country's
massacre of over a million Armenians
during World War I as an unfortunate
political event -- reserving "terrible" for a
description of the orange drink at his hotel.
| * The IHH is connected to a Saudi organization run by Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, who has issued fatwas supporting homicide bombings against Israeli civilians. The entire effort was a PR stunt – “a provocation” as one Israeli official put it. One “peace activist” who participated in the IHH effort told Al Jazeera before the ships departed Turkey, “We are now waiting for one of two good things – either to achieve martyrdom, or to reach Gaza.” Note which “good thing” she put first. (Ibid.) |
| FETHULLAH GULEN TURKISH CHARTERS ALREADY ESTABLISHED: HOUSTON: Harmony Science Academy.... Harmony Science Academy Houston NW.... Harmony School of Excellence... Harmony School of Endeavor... Harmony School of Ingenuity..... Harmony School of Innovation...... Harmony School of Science DALLAS: Harmony Science Academy...Harmony School of Innovation EL PASO: Harmony Science Academy...Harmony School of Innovation SAN ANTONIO: Harmony Science Academy BROWNSVILLE: Harmony Science Academy LAREDO: Harmony Science Academy AUSTIN: Harmony Science Academy.... Harmony Science Academy North Austin.... Harmony School of Excellence.... Harmony School of Science FORT WORTH: Harmony Science Academy .... Harmony Science Academy Grand Prairie.... Harmony Science Academy Euless BEAUMONT: Harmony Science Academy BRYAN: Harmony Science Academy LUBBOCK: Harmony Science Academy WACO: Harmony Science Academy |
| Texas public school Turkish class weekend camp |
| QUERIES TO SONER TARIM, SUPERINTENDENT HARMONY PUBLIC SCHOOLS (Sent June 2, 2010) (1) Invitation to consuls (2) Contractors (3) SBEC certificate (4) Teaching re WWI Armenian genocide Soner, I'm doing research for a commentary on charter schools, hope you can help me with a few questions: (1) Consular visits When the Turkish consul visited one of your schools he was honored with a Turkish dance; were any other consuls from any other countries invited during the past 2-3 years and if so which and what were the approximate dates of the visits? Were these other consuls honored with dances in their own language and culture; for example, if the Swiss consul was invited was the dance reflective of the Swiss dancing style including costumes? I've tried various Google searches and am only able to come up with the Turkish consul. While various elected and appointed officials appear to have have visited Harmony Public Schools; I'm only asking about visits by consular officials. (2) Harmony PS contractors How are contractors chosen for your schools? Are contracts put out for open bid? Why this question comes up: On the most currently available IRS Public Charity Form 900 posted for Cosmos Foundation, the contractor with the largest compensation from HPS -- Atlas Texas Construction & Trading, Inc., with almost three times the earnings of all other major listed HPS contractors ($6,709,375) -- has direct ties to Turkey; wondering what other qualifications they brought that earned them such a large contract. The second one listed on the HPS IRS form 990, North American Constrution [sic], appears to have no presence at the Texas Comptroller as regards franchise tax responsibilities -- even when the third name is spelled "Construction"; however, there is an assumed name for NACCO (but no Comptroller presence although there is one for "NACCO HOMES INC." which could perhaps be "North American Construction Co.") and is owned by Mohammed Mujeebullah. I am unable to find much on any of these three and here again am wondering the criteria for awarding a $1.2 million contract to "North American Constrution [sic]." The penultimate name on the contractor list is "EGE Construction LLC" which is owned by Osman Ozkan; again not able to find much in the way of records for this business. (3) SBEC Looked for your State Board for Educator Certification certificate at TEA (first name: Soner, last name: Tarim) but there is none listed. Under which name did you earn your SBEC superintendent certificate? (4) Armenian genocide Readers have suggested that I ask you about Harmony Public Schools' teaching of the murder of over a million Armenian men, women and children in Turkey during World War One, commonly referred to as the Armenian Genocide. Apart from any minimum curiculum requirements in the TEKS, can you give me some idea how this very sensitive subject is being covered by HPS ? By the way, have you posted your schools' checks online yet? Over two thirds of all Texas local school dollars are already onlne, all voluntarily. Thank you for your help on this -- please let me know if you have any questions -- |
| COSMOS FOUNDATION IRS 990 FORM - CONTRACTORS |
| (L) Soner Tarim, superintendent, Harmony charter schools (Texas); (R) right, John Fitzpatrick, Texas HS Project exec. dir. |
| Turkish dance at left, Harmony Doner Day [sic] volunteers at right |
While the Ottoman Empire will not likely be rebuilt on the backs of sleeping Texas taxpayers, it is a good thing
to be asking questions about these folks who come to our shores and use our dollars to teach our children
about their way of life -- especially if it appears they may be doing so at the expense of American history,
heritage, culture and citizenship.
to be asking questions about these folks who come to our shores and use our dollars to teach our children
about their way of life -- especially if it appears they may be doing so at the expense of American history,
heritage, culture and citizenship.
4 QUESTIONS FOR
HARMONY
CHARTER SCHOOLS
HARMONY
CHARTER SCHOOLS
Do you have a Turkish
charter school near you?
charter school near you?
| TEXAS |
Q: Why is Bill Gates so
generously funding a string
of Turkish charter schools?
generously funding a string
of Turkish charter schools?
| Bill Gates Funds Gulen Islamist Movement Family Security Matters 25 May 2010 By Paul Williams, PhD The Fethullah Gulen movement, which seeks to restore the Ottoman Empire, has found a friend and benefactor in Bill Gates of Microsoft fame. Mr. Gates is ranked the third wealthiest person on planet earth. In 2007, through the Texas High School Project, the Gates Foundation shelled out $10,550,000 to the Cosmos Foundation, a Gulen enterprise that operates 25 publicly funded charter schools in Texas . The Internal Revenue Service Form 990 for Cosmos shows that the Cosmos Foundation received $41,570,721 from taxpayers. At present, there are 85 Gulan madrassahs (Islamic schools) in the United States, and all operate with public funding. At the Gulen schools, students are indoctrinated in Turkish culture, language, and religion so that they may be of service in making Fethullah Gulan’s dream of a universal caliphate a reality. The madrassahs sponsor Turkish clubs, Turkish language societies, Turkish dance groups, and annual trips to Istanbul . According to Stephen Schwartz of the Center for Islamic Pluralism, the 85 Gulen schools advance and promote Islamic beliefs; present the Ottoman Empire, which lasted from 1299 to 1923, as a golden age; and serve to rewrite history by denying the Armenian holocaust under the Turks during World War I. Many of the teachers at these schools are Turkish émigrés with questionable credentials. Some possess H-1B non immigrant visas which should only be granted to individuals who possess "highly specialized knowledge in a field of human endeavor.” The female faculty members appear in their classrooms wearing hijabs and traditional Islamic attire. Critics can’t understand why the schools are staffed with imported elementary and secondary school teachers when thousands of trained and certified American educators are begging for teaching positions. But are the schools really subversive? Rachel Sharon-Krespin writes: "His (Gulen’s) followers target youth in the eighth through twelfth grades, mentor and indoctrinate them in the isikevi, educate them in the Fethullah schools, and prepare them for future careers in legal, political, and educational professions in order to create the ruling classes of the future Islamist, Turkish state.” Even more telling is a comment from Nurettin Veren, Gulen’s right hand man for 35 years, who said: "These schools are like shop windows. Recruitment and Islamization are carried out through nigh classes (...) Posted May 25th, 2010 by hd http://europenews. dk/en/node/32379 |
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| PROPOSED--& facing community opposition: Odessa Harmony Science Academy. |
| Above, Texas public schoolchildren attended this Turkish-themed event; below, Turkish consul with student dancers at Texas public school |
| Friday, June 4, 2010 Email from Soner Tarim: "I am away from office attending the Texas Association of Education Service Centers Conference. I will respond to your request when I my return to my office in the middle of next week." |