• FACT:  Cosmos Foundation, Inc.'s IRS 990 forms for  2006 ... 2007
    ...  2008 ...  2009 are not available on the Cosmos/Harmony
    websites.  
  • FACT:  For the average Texas taxpayer to find the most recent
    names of Cosmos Foundation, Inc. board members, they have to
    go to Guidestar & look for CFI's IRS 990 forms such as this.
  • FACT:  Cosmos Foundation, Inc. has hired Burson Marsteller
    VP/Global Communications (and former White House staffer) Karen
    Hughes to help them pass Senator Florence Shapiro's SB 597
    which would give CFI and other charter operators unimpeded
    access to our children's money (the PSF fund) as guarantees for
    their construction bonds.
  • FACT:  As a condition of Cosmos Foundation, Inc.'s public charity
    status with the IRS, they are required to open their books to the
    public.
  • FACT:  The two databases Cosmos Foundation, Inc. posts online
    apppear to require a password to access.
  • FACT:  Most Cosmos Foundation, Inc. charter applicants (see chart
    above) appear to be Turkish-educated and to have first worked in
    Turkey.
  • FACT:  The US DOE is using the federal grant process to
    undermine local control of public schools.  Example:  This TCEP
    $10 million grant.  
Other than the fact that Karen Hughes has declined
to state how much cash she's receiving for her, uh,
help with the bond bills, what's the problem with
charter schools wanting their PSF bond bills
passed?
RECENTLY KNOWN CURRENT COSMOS FOUNDATION, INC. BOARD
MEMBERS AS OF FY 2008 (per IRS 990 at GuideStar)
P E Y T O N   W O L C O T T

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Copyright 1999-2011 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  .     F o l l o w   t h e   m o n e y  ,  h o n e y !
Texas Hill Country - Mesquite and Wildflowers
Boerne
A day in pictures:  Harmony "Public" Schools go the the Texas Lege - May 11, 2011
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..
The 13 states who have stood up
to the feds and declined to apply
for Phase II of Race to the Top:
13
  • Alaska
  • Idaho
  • Indiana
  • Kansas
  • Minnesota
  • North Dakota
  • Oregon
  • South Dakota
  • Texas
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • West Virginia
  • Wyoming
About the "Don't Tread on Me" Gadsden flag:
"it was in the fall of 1775 when the United States Navy was
established. Their main job was to intercept British ships who
were attempting to deliver supplies to the British troups in the
colonies. To support the Navy, five companies of Marines
were mustered to accompany them on their first mission.
These first Marines originated from Philadelphia and carried
drums painted yellow with a coiled rattlesnake with thirteen
rattles. These thirteen rattles represented the original thirteen
colonies. The motto painted on these drums was "Don't
Tread On Me". This is the first recorded telling of what the
future Gadsden flag would symbolize. This flag was designed
and named after American patriot Christopher Gadsden."
(SOURCE)
May  2011
ONER U
CELEPCIKAY      
  
MUSTAFA ATIK
KADIR ALMUS
ELLEN A
MACDONAL
DR. SONER
TARIM
BILAL AKIN
CENGIZHAN
KESKIN
DR. IBRAHIM
SEL
Texas:  Land of Charters -- and Economic
Opportunity  (SB 597 & HB 1437)
By Peyton Wolcott
Monday, April 4, 2011 - Updated Tuesday, April 5, 2011

In 1995, state senator Bill Ratliff rewrote the Texas Education Code -- big-time.
Other than paving the way for a lucrative career as a lobbyist for both himself and
his son Thomas (Microsoft, etc.), this accomplished several things (more below)
including the establishment of charter schools in Texas. But Bill forgot to include
proof of US citizenship for appointed charter school board members.
In depicting the fictitious character Borat,
American actor Sasha Baron Cohen tapped
into immigrants' yearning for a better and
more prosperous life in the United States.  
Sen. Florence
Shapiro's SB 597 &  
Rep. Rob Eissler's
sleeper, HB 1437
Until this year, so long as
charter schools were content
to lease those empty
Harmony charter schools' & Cosmos Foundation,
Inc.'s ties to Turkey (view larger here).
Curious about Cosmos
Foundation, Inc.?
.
Want to know more about their
Harmony charter school operation
in Texas ?  (NOTE: New PW
webpages in red)
Despite widespread rumors,
Cosmos Foundation, Inc.
officials have long denied any
connection to Turkish Muslim
imam Fethullah Gulen. "I've
never met him," one said.  
"Prove it," their supporters say.
  • FACT: Cosmos has hired former
    White House staffer Karen
    Hughes to do their bond PR--but
    even though she calls them
    Harmony "Public" Schools, she
    won't say how much they're
    paying her or her company,
    Burson-Marsteller.
  • FACT:  Neither Karen Hughes
    nor BM's PR officer have
    responded to phone calls or
    emails regarding her work for
    Cosmos.
  • FACT:  Although Cosmos hired
    Karen to help them pass SB 597,
    neither she nor they attended the
    bill's public hearing on March 22,
    2011; queries for Karen.
  • FACT:  Cosmos superintendent
    Soner Tarim has not responded
    to numerous queries other a
    June 5, 2010 email stating that
    he would send the information
    the following week--which he
    has not done as of April 2011.
  • FACT:  Unlike Texas public
    school districts governed by
    elected trustees, Cosmos,
    which is governed by appointed
    trustees, does not list any staff.
  • FACT:  Cosmos Foundation, Inc.
    does not list any of the names of
    its appointed board members
    on the CFI website; find them
    here.
  • FACT:  TEA paid Cosmos
    Foundation, Inc. $68 million
    (includes $1.2 million from the
    ARRA Stimulus) during 2010-
    2011; prior years here.
  • FACT: Arne Duncan has given
    Cosmos Foundation, Inc. an
    additional $2 million in tax
    money-funded grants.
But now the charter operators have
gone all glitzy on us and want a
piece of the Texas plum pie, a
guarantee by the Permanent School
Fund (the PSF is the endowment
that allocates monies for free
textbooks to Texas public school
Pastor's $3 million
A pastor who ran a
Houston charter school
once said to exemplify
charter school problems
was arrested Thursday
along with three family
members on charges of
misappropriating $3
million in state and
federal education funds.
The Rev. Harold W.
Wilcox, former head of
the now-defunct
Prepared Table charter
school and pastor of the
Greater Progressive
Baptist Church, and
three relatives were
arrested at their homes.
The four are accused of
pocketing money from
the federal school lunch
and breakfast program
for poor children, among
other programs. Wilcox
is accused of using
$51,000 in school funds
to make a down
payment on a house.
"The real victims are the
children who went to
school and suffered
from the services they
did not receive," U.S.
Attorney Michael Shelby
said.
(Houston Chronicle)
Like old-time sleeper cells, charter
operators have mostly been content
to keep a low profile, renting empty
storefronts and doing their best,
some like KIPP telling us
enthusiastically and often about their
achievements, others like Houston
pastor Harold Wilcox or San Antonio
superintendent Roi Garcia, failing
miserably (see links to news stories
below).
What's "KIPP"?
According to her
obituary in the
Washington Post, KIPP
inspiration Harriet Ball
taught her students this
mantra: "Knowledge is
power, power is
money, and I want it."
The largest of the Texas charter operators, Cosmos
Foundation, Inc., has even hired no less than Karen
Hughes of PR heavyweights Burson-Marsteller to --
uh, what's the word I'm looking for -- help Cosmos
pass the school construction bond bills.
...APRIL 4, 2011:  14 NEW REPORTS - A CLOSER LOOK AT THE COSMOS
...FOUNDATION, INC. / HARMONY SCHOOL CHARTER OPERATION IN TEXAS
  • FACT:  Cosmos Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)3 public charity based in
    Texas operating 33 (their count) charter school campuses.
  • FACT:  Even though Cosmos is
    now calling their charter operation
    "Harmony Public Schools"
    nothing about them seems public
    as none of the names of their
    board members, administrators,
    teachers or other staff appear on
    any of their websites. So we went
    looking:
  • FACT:  Cosmos superintendent
    Soner Tarim's side consulting
    business is not in good standing
    with the Texas comptroller.
  • FACT:  Cosmos VP Ellen
    MacDonald's business is also
    not in good standing with the
    Texas Comptroller.
  • FACT: Cosmos board treasurer
    Mustafa Ata Atik, a Baylor MD,
    ordered 152 Italian mattress
    bases for his side business, a
    small grocery. (Why? Any ideas?)
  • Sept. 1996:  Ali Yavuz Zeybek
    began working as Vice Presi-
    dent of Academic Affairs at
    Süleyman Demirel University
    (SDU),  in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
  • Dec. 17, 1996:  SDU officially
    opened its doors. The SD in
    SDU: Name of Turkey's forner  
    prime minister and president.
  • Dec. 17:  Why? Muslim poet
    Rumi died on Dec. 17, 1273
    (in Turkey); just as other
    religions consider the day
    their founder died holy, so do
    Sufis and other Muslims.
  • Fethullah Gulen calls himself
    on his website "a modern day
    Rumi" and  Gulen is honorary
    president of the Rumi Forum.
  • Dec. 24, 1997: Süleyman
    Demirel accepted a Harmony
    award from a group for which
    Gulen is honorary chair.
NOTES:
  • SDU was not named after the
    president of Kazakhstan but
    after the president of Turkey,
    Suleyman Demeril.
  • SDU in Kazakhstan ranks
    10123rd among the world's
    universities and appears to
    have approximately 110 faculty
    members and over 1000
    students.  A new university, it
    appears to only offer bachelor
    degrees.
  • SDU in KZ is not to be
    confused with the institution of
    the same name in Turkey with
    39,000 students.
  • The Turkish SDU partners with
    both Ohio State U. and Iowa
    State U.
The above chart was compiled with information from the Texas
Education Agency; see it full size here,
Connecting the dots:
Cosmos . . . . . Gulen
Karen Hughes welcoming the
Cosmos  crowd at the
invitation-only bond luncheon
they hosted at the Austin Omni.
  • More about Turkish
    president Suleyman
    Demirel's award from the
    "leading Arabic International
    Daily" Asharq Alawsat:  "In
    1997, Turkish president
    Suleyman Demirel accepted
    a prize from Fethullah Gulen’
    s educational institution."  
  • Q:  Wouldn't Ali Yavuz
    Zeybek have had to have
    known about the prize as he
    was VP at SDU when the it
    was given and it was and
    still is a very small institution.
  • Turkish scholar Bayram
    Balci (Institut Français d’
    Etudes sur l’Asie Centrale in
    Grenoble, France) connects
    Gulen to SDU:  "The largest
    number of [Gulen-
    associated] schools is at
    the moment in Kazakhstan
    where the cemaat now runs
    28 high schools and the
    Süleyman Demirel
    University." (More below.)
From "Fethullah Gulen's
Website":

Night for Encouragement of
National Harmony December
25, 1997,

The "Tolerance and Dialogue"
message had been launched
in January, 1995, at a
magnificent ceremony
organized by the Journalists
and Writers Foundation in the
Ciragan Hotel, and its banner
had been carried by the
Foundation and its Honorary
President, M. Fethullah Gulen.
Unfortunately, however, with
time this message was given
less attention.

The enthusiasm of those who
until that time had wanted to
live together under an umbrella
of pluralism and
multi-culturalism in social
harmony had dwindled;
instead, there were
discussions with vague criteria
and polarization. Taking these
factors into consideration, the
Journalists and Writers
Foundation organized the
"National Harmony Awards" on
December 24, 1997, and
presented awards to
well-known figures in our
country, including Turkish
President Süleyman Demirel.
  • Aug. 1999:  Ali Yavuz Zeybek left
    his job as VP-Academic Affairs
    at SDU in Kazakhstan.
  • Jan. 2000: 4 months later, Ali  
    surfaced in Texas applying to
    open a Cosmos charter school
    as its president.  Name of the
    charter school:  Harmony
    Science Academy.  In 2007 Ali
    surfaced in Canada -- talking
    about the Gulen movement.  
    More here.
Dec. 24, 1997 Harmony awards
(PHOTO COURTESY--Fethullah Gulen's Web Site)
How's this:  
And more here:
MORE FACTS:
What then-state senator Bill Ratliff's SB 1 wrought in 1995:

  • Then-Governor Bush was given  the so-called Texas Miracle in time
    for his run for the White House.in time for his run for the White House.
  • Stripped power from our elected local school boards and given to
    their employee, the superintendent.
  • Gave Texas schoolchildren fuzzy math and whole word language
    instruction; the Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills (TEKS)
    introduced drecky curriculum standards and teachers began teaching
    to Pearson-supplied tests.
  • Launched Texas taxpayer-funded charter schools -- without requriing
    the proof of US citizenship which would prevent what's happening
    now, folks getting off a plane from, say, Kazakhstan, and opening a
    Texas charter school shortly thereafter.
At least two Cosmos Foundation, Inc. officials have
non-Cosmos businesses that are not in good standing
(as of this morning) with the Texas Comptroller.  They are
superintendent Soner Tarim and board VP Ellen A.
MacDonald.  There may be more or these two may be the
only ones; they are the only two I've researched so far.  
Also, Soner, the superintendent, still has no SBEC
certification after a decade at the helm.    See chart here.

All charter schools are not created equal. At the very least
requiring all of our charter operators to be US citizens, to
have annual GAAP audits and to put their check registers
online will go a long way towards leveling the playing field.

As I learn more I will share it with you as soon as is
feasible. Our schoolchildren deserve for the grownups in
their lives to be better informed on this than we have been.
NEW: APRIL 5, 2011:
"FETHULLAH GULEN'S WEB
SITE" INFORMATION HERE
students) for their school construction bonds, just like at public school districts.
storefronts, whether or not Texas charter operators were
citizens of the United States of America was relatively moot.
But now with their wanting access to the PSF the issue of
US citizenship becomes very important indeed.

The local ISDs who also have access to the PSF as a
guarantee for their construction bonds are governed by
elected trustees, all of whom must be US citizens. When
they run for office we get to vet them for ourselves.

Not so with our charter operators. When folks get off the
plane from another country and apply to the State of Texas
to start up a charter school, TEA does not ask whether or
not they are US citizens because, remember, Bill Ratliff did
not include US citizenship requirements in his 1995 SB1.

And because charter school operations are run by boards
who are appointed, not elected, they do not go through the
same vetting process as do elected officials.
Link to San Antonio Express-News article re Roi Garcia/San Antonio Prep Academy & TEA audit findings:
www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/article/TEA-alleges-illegalities-at-district-1320246.php

Link to Houston Chronicle article re Pastor Harold Wilcox's $3 million problems at his charter school:
www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/2658525.html
(Please scroll down below map for additional facts)
SOURCE--Cosmos Foundation, Inc.
"Oops" moment when hovercraft almost
started down the steps of the Capitol
(above).
Seven men and 1 woman who accompanied Harmony "Public" School students to the Texas
Legislature;  I attempted to ask as many as possible for their names but not everybody was
willing to let me talk to them. Above left, Levent Sakar from Harmony Science Academy in
Houston.  The woman above middle when asked her name said something that sounds like
"Rakayet" -- will attempt to verify this with Cosmos/ Harmony superintendent Soner Tarim
as it was difficult to understand her.  Far right above:  Bilgehan Yasar.  That's Zekeriya
Yuksel (lower right in orange T-shirt), currently living in San Antonio.     (PHOTOS--Peyton Wolcott)
Left, Harmony charter school students leaving
Capitol Rotunda to return home.  Above left,
Harmony senior student Soung Park of Houston
said he will attend Rhode Island School of Design
this fall; among the more fashionably attired of the
male students attending the Lege event, Soung
was wearing two blue rhinestone barrettes in his
hair and pink rubber bands on his braces.  The
Harmony charter student with him at right said
she was a sophomore.

Student T-shirt:

Only a life lived
for others
is a life
worthwhile.
                     --Albert Einstein