| 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 1999-2011 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 |
Cosmos Foundation (Texas) - Questions asked 2010 - 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:
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) |
| March 2011 |
| ONER U CELEPCIKAY |
| MUSTAFA ATIK |
| KADIR ALMUS |
| ELLEN A MACDONAL |
| DR. SONER TARIM |
| BILAL AKIN |
| CENGIZHAN KESKIN |
| DR. IBRAHIM SEL |
| Joe Straus |
| Ken Paxton |
actual
expenditures, all
funds
expenditures, all
funds
| Wendy Davis (SD # 10) |
Aledo ISD
Arlington ISD
Birdville ISD
Burleson ISD
Carroll ISD
Castleberry ISD
Crowley ISD
Eagle MtSaginaw
ISD
Everman ISD
Fort Worth ISD
Godley ISD
Grapevine-Colleyville
ISD
Hurst-Euless-Bedford
ISD
Keller ISD
Kennedale ISD
Lake Worth
ISD
Mansfield ISD
White Settlement ISD
Arlington ISD
Birdville ISD
Burleson ISD
Carroll ISD
Castleberry ISD
Crowley ISD
Eagle MtSaginaw
ISD
Everman ISD
Fort Worth ISD
Godley ISD
Grapevine-Colleyville
ISD
Hurst-Euless-Bedford
ISD
Keller ISD
Kennedale ISD
Lake Worth
ISD
Mansfield ISD
White Settlement ISD
$ 15,773
$ 8,668
$ 12,471
$ 18,014
$ 11,790
$ 8,908
$ 13,063
$ 14,527
$ 14,446
$ 10,884
$ 25,709
$ 11,255
$ 9,013
$ 11,424
$ 9,150
$ 13,056
$ 10,474
$ 9,496
$ 8,668
$ 12,471
$ 18,014
$ 11,790
$ 8,908
$ 13,063
$ 14,527
$ 14,446
$ 10,884
$ 25,709
$ 11,255
$ 9,013
$ 11,424
$ 9,150
$ 13,056
$ 10,474
$ 9,496
LINKS
Although the following six queries to Cosmos Foundation superintendent Soner Tarim (June 2010 and February 2011) have each been sent multiple times, as of March 27, 2011 still
no information responsive to the queries has been provided by Soner; I continue to send additional queries (below right). My queries to Soner reflect readers' issues and concerns;
some have to do with his business practices including the awarding of no-bid contracts, others the lack of certification for many of his employees, lack of biographical information
on his trustees (there are no trustee names listed on his schools' websites). Other queries reflect the Cosmos Foundation's Harmony charter schools' apparent emphasis on Turkish
culture and the Ottoman Empire. Why have I sent these informal queries to Soner in lieu of more formal public records requests? The surprisingly simple reason is here.
no information responsive to the queries has been provided by Soner; I continue to send additional queries (below right). My queries to Soner reflect readers' issues and concerns;
some have to do with his business practices including the awarding of no-bid contracts, others the lack of certification for many of his employees, lack of biographical information
on his trustees (there are no trustee names listed on his schools' websites). Other queries reflect the Cosmos Foundation's Harmony charter schools' apparent emphasis on Turkish
culture and the Ottoman Empire. Why have I sent these informal queries to Soner in lieu of more formal public records requests? The surprisingly simple reason is here.
| June 2010 |
| February 2011 |
| 2011 / #4 Soner, information pls. re H-1B visas for Harmony schoolteachers and employees (Cosmos Foundation) (TX) Monday, February 14, 2011 From: "Peyton Wolcott" To: "Soner Tarim Harmony supe (TX)" <starim@harmonytx.org> How many H-1B teachers and employees does Harmony/ Cosmos have at present? I have seen numbers from an estimated 250 to well over 1,000. At your earliest convenience please send the names of H-1B teachers and employees at Harmony/Cosmos. Thank you. Peyton Wolcott Publisher, Public Ed Commentary / Founder, National Grassroots School Check Register Movement P.O. Box 9068, Horseshoe Bay, Texas 78657 www.peytonwolcott.com |
| 2011 / #3 Soner, citizenship information pls. for Harmony directors (Cosmos Foundation) (TX) Monday, February 14, 2011 From: "Peyton Wolcott" To: "Soner Tarim Harmony supe (TX)" <starim@harmonytx.org> The Cosmos/Harmony websites' "about" pages have few references to Turkey, a good example being the "About Harmony Schools" page here, yet elsewhere on the sites there are many references to Turkish festivals, language and culture along with trips to Turkey for students. It appears that as many as 7 of your 8 Cosmos Foundation/ Harmony schools directors have Turkish names. Perhaps they hold both Turkish and US citizenships. At your earliest convenience please send citizenship information for the following 8 directors: Soner Tarim Oner U Celepcikay Mustafa Atik Kadir Almus Ellen A MacDonald Ibrahim Sel Cengizhan Keskin Bilal Akin Please note that the spellings for the above-named individuals vary slightly on the various Harmony websites. These spellings above are the ones Cosmos Foundation used on its IRS 990 form. Thank you. Peyton Wolcott Publisher, Public Ed Commentary / Founder, National Grassroots School Check Register Movement P.O. Box 9068, Horseshoe Bay, Texas 78657 www.peytonwolcott.com |
| 2011 / #2 Soner, TEA/SBEC certification information pls. for Harmony directors (Cosmos Foundation) (TX) Monday, February 14, 2011 From: "Peyton Wolcott" To: "Soner Tarim Harmony supe (TX)" <starim@harmonytx.org> At the Texas Education Agency I have searched for SBEC information for your 8 Cosmos/Harmony directors (Soner Tarim, Oner U Celepcikay, Mustafa Atik, Kadir Almus, Ellen A MacDonald, Ibrahim Sel, Cengizhan Keskin and Bilal Akinand) and have been able to locate SBEC certification only for Kadir Almus; Kadir's most advanced SBEC certificate is as a Principal (EC-12). At your earliest convenience please send any proof of any certification (US) you might have or possess for any of the other 7 directors: Soner Tarim Oner U Celepcikay Mustafa Atik Ellen A MacDonald Ibrahim Sel Cengizhan Keskin Bilal Akin Please note that the spellings for the above-named individuals vary slightly on the various Harmony websites. These spellings above are the ones Cosmos Foundation used on its IRS 990 form. Thank you. Peyton Wolcott Publisher, Public Ed Commentary / Founder, National Grassroots School Check Register Movement P.O. Box 9068, Horseshoe Bay, Texas 78657 www.peytonwolcott.com |
| 2011 / #1 Soner, bios pls. on Harmony directors (Cosmos Foundation)(TX) Monday, February 14, 2011 From: "Peyton Wolcott" To: "Soner Tarim Harmony supe (TX)" <starim@harmonytx.org> Unlike Texas public schools where trustees are elected by voters who are free to ask questions about candidates, your Harmony charter directors at Cosmos are all appointees. Further, I have been unable to find any biographical information on your 8 directors on any Harmony schools websites; at your earliest opportunity would you please send biographical information on the following persons: Soner Tarim Oner U Celepcikay Mustafa Atik Kadir Almus Ellen A MacDonald Ibrahim Sel Cengizhan Keskin Bilal Akin Please note that the spellings for the above-named individuals vary slightly on the various Harmony websites. These spellings above are the ones Cosmos Foundation used on its IRS 990 form. Thank you. Peyton Wolcott Publisher, Public Ed Commentary / Founder, National Grassroots School Check Register Movement P.O. Box 9068, Horseshoe Bay, Texas 78657 www.peytonwolcott.com |
| 2010 / #1 Harmony Public Schools: (1) Invitation to consuls (2) Contractors hired by Harmony (3) State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) Wednesday, June 2, 2010 From: "Peyton Wolcott" To: starim@harmonytx.org Attention: Soner Tarim, superintendent, Harmony Public Schools (TX) 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 last 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? 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 -- Peyton Wolcott Publisher, Public Ed Commentary Founder, National Grassroots School Check Register Movement P.O. Box 9068, Horseshoe Bay, Texas 78657 www.peytonwolcott.com |
| 2010 / #2: Harmony Public Schools: Teaching of Armenian genocide in Turkey Wednesday, June 2, 2010 From: "Peyton Wolcott" To: starim@harmonytx.org Soner, 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 ? Thank you for your help. Peyton Wolcott Publisher, Public Ed Commentary Founder, National Grassroots School Check Register Movement P.O. Box 9068, Horseshoe Bay, Texas 78657 www.peytonwolcott.com |
| SONER'S PROMISE TO RESPOND -- MADE ON JUNE 5, 2010: RE: Resending: MEDIA QUERIES #1 & #2: Harmony Public Schools (TX) Saturday, June 5, 2010 From: "Soner Tarim" <starim@harmonytx.org> To: "'Peyton Wolcott'" Dear Peyton, 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. Best regards, Soner |
| Soner Tarim |
| Dec. 15, 1915 (below) New York Times on Turkey's "Policy of Extermination" |
| ARMENIAN MASSACRES A series of brutal campaigns conducted against the Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire by Sultan Abdülhamid II in 1894–96 and by the Young Turk government in 1915–16. It is estimated that nearly two million Christian Armenians lived in the Ottoman Empire by the late 1880s. The Armenians in the eastern provinces at that time, encouraged by Russia, began promoting Armenian territorial autonomy. As the movement grew, various political groups were organized, culminating in the formation of two revolutionary parties called Hënchak (“The Bell”) and Dashnaktsutyun (“Union”) in 1887 and 1890, respectively. At the same time, Abdülhamid, intent on suppressing all separatist sentiments in the empire, drastically raised taxes on the Armenians and aroused nationalistic feelings and resentment against them among the neighbouring Kurds. This gave Armenian radicals a pretext to revolt. When the Armenians in Sasun refused to pay the oppressive taxes, Turkish troops and Kurdish tribesmen killed thousands of them and burned their villages (1894). In the hope of calling attention to their cause, Armenian revolutionaries staged another demonstration two years later: they seized the Ottoman Bank in Istanbul. In the mayhem that followed, more than 50,000 Armenians were killed by mobs of Muslim Turks whose actions were apparently coordinated by government troops. The last and deadliest of the massacres occurred during World War I (1914–18). Armenians from the Caucasus region of the Russian Empire formed volunteer battalions to help the Russian army against the Turks. Early in 1915 these battalions recruited Turkish Armenians from behind the Turkish lines. In response, the Turkish government ordered the deportation of about 1,750,000 Armenians to Syria and Mesopotamia. In the course of this forced exodus, about 600,000 Armenians died of starvation or were killed by Turkish soldiers and police while en route in the desert....Hundreds of thousands more were forced into exile. (SOURCE-- Encyclopaedia Britannica) |
| March 2011 |
| 2011 / MEDIA: Soner, question re charter applicant: Ali Yavuz Zeybek Monday, March 28, 2011 6:00 AM\ From: "Peyton Wolcott" To: "Soner Tarim Harmony supe (TX)" <starim@harmonytx.org> Soner, it appears information was not given that was required on his/her application as there is no listing for "Education" before the 2 locations given for doctoral studies, and it's very unusual for someone to start working on a PhD without first obtaining undergrad and grad degrees. And the 2 locations are a bit confusing; does this person mean he/she obtained two PhDs in communications, one at The University of Oklahoma and another PhD at Fort Hays State University? And although the form clearly states "dates" none are included. Interesting that someone who states he/she is president of one of your charter operations would not fill out a required government form completely, as stated. I would appreciate your sending by return email Ali's current contact information so that I might contact him/her directly as soon as possible. Thank you for your help on this. Regards -- Peyton Wolcott Publisher, Public Ed Commentary / Founder, National Grassroots School Check Register Movement P.O. Box 9068, Horseshoe Bay, Texas 78657 www.peytonwolcott.com |
| Follow up from Soner: None. |
| July 2011 |
| 2011 / Soner, hoping you can help me: Harmony student film ("A Changed Muslim") Wednesday, July 6, 2011 8:27 PM From: "Peyton Wolcott" To: "Soner Tarim" <starim@harmonytx.org> Cc: "Karen Hughes" <Karen.Hughes@bm.com> Soner, we've been told often that your charter operation is secular and does not promote the Muslim religion. For example, here's a June 7 quote from The Chronicle of Philanthropy: "Harmony Schools officials say they are careful to avoid teaching about religion." The Harmony School [of] Achievement student film entry in MSA/MIST entitled "A Changed Muslim" would seem to counter this, especially given that "A Changed Muslim" mentions the name of the school in its opening credits and this appears to suggest that this was an "academic school sponsored event." Also, there was an opening prayer at the beginning of the lecture suggested to students for information purposes; it was a quote from the Koran, in Arabic. Is this common at Harmony events, to have a recitation from the Koran in Arabic? Do you also quote from the Bible or the Vedas in English or Spanish or French or Italian at the beginning of Harmony events? I would like to contact the HSA student team and also their teacher and principal as there are some questions readers have sent regarding MSA/MIST plus the theme this year of "Loyalty." Even though the MIST guidelines appear to encourage students to decide whether religious loyalty comes before national loyalty and citizenship, the student in "A Changed Muslim" rejoins his friends because of "loyalty to my faith and my friends and this school." The film does not address or mention loyalty to the United States even though that's part of the original charge. Did Harmony teachers and administrators guide their students towards the conclusions they reached? And could you please send me their email addresses so that I may reach them before they leave for Georgia, if they are still going? Soner, would also appreciate a clarification from you regarding the MIST statement that "nation-state citizenship" is a "new concept." Do you embrace that statement? While it is true that we Americans are a relatively new country, one that opens its friendly arms wide to those who want to come here, we were primarily English citizens for centuries before that. So national citizenship is actually a very old concept in the United States. Just to verify: MSA is the acronym for Muslim Students Association and MIST the acronym for Muslim Interscholastic Tournament? Do any of your schools have corresponding Baptist Students Associations or Zen Students Associations or Hindu Students Associations? And are your students entered in any religious organizations' contests other than the MSA/MIST tourney? Have they produced any student films entitled, "A Changed Catholic" or "A Changed Protestant" or "A Changed Jew" or similar? If so, would very much appreciate concrete examples including dates and events and student names. Thank you as always for your anticipated response. And thank you by the way for posting the names, titles and bios of your board members on your charter operation's website, although wondering what happened to the other two, why and when were they removed from office, etc.? As always, if you find anything factually incorrect on my website, please let me know at your earliest opportunity what you disagree with and I will post your response as soon as possible. I am very tolerant and also very patient, my friend; you promised a response to my initial June 2 queries over a year ago and I'm still waiting. Karen Hughes stated at the bond luncheon she MC'd (would that be the appropriate name for what you did, Karen?) in February at the Omni that the Cosmos charter operation's campuses were "Harmony Public Schools." Public in the United States means out in the open, not hidden. Public in Texas means responding to questions. Public in any land means extending the same kindness to a stranger as to someone you have known a long time. Kind regards -- Peyton Wolcott |
Re-sent:
Resending: 07.06.11/
Soner, hoping you can help me: Harmony student film
("A Changed Muslim")
Friday, July 8, 2011 9:03 AM
From: "Peyton Wolcott"
To: "Soner Tarim" <starim@harmonytx.org>
Cc: "Karen Hughes" <Karen.Hughes@bm.com>,
"Paul Cordasco" <Paul.Cordasco@BM.com>
Resending: 07.06.11/
Soner, hoping you can help me: Harmony student film
("A Changed Muslim")
Friday, July 8, 2011 9:03 AM
From: "Peyton Wolcott"
To: "Soner Tarim" <starim@harmonytx.org>
Cc: "Karen Hughes" <Karen.Hughes@bm.com>,
"Paul Cordasco" <Paul.Cordasco@BM.com>