And running for cover
We’ve been following the efforts of a faction of concerned citizens in Loudon County Virginia who are refusing to simply sign over a blank check to the Gulenites as they attempt to open yet another Gulen-inspired charter school -- the Loudon Math and IT school.
This group of concerned parents, educators, and community citizens has continually and carefully choreographed its way into the Loudon County School Board meetings, tapping into a bevy of public and not so public information that they have disseminated to the public at large in an effort to both inform the public and prevent LMIT’s proposed opening.
Likewise, this determined group has been leaning heavy on board members, and local and state politicians who had simply endorsed the Gulen boys and their charter school plans without fully investigating the boys, their true agenda, and the not so stellar “school management” history of the boys, and in particular -- their track record in Maryland.
As a result, a few of the God bless Gulen and his schools, supporters have backtracked and withdrawn their support for the boys’ school and its accompanying shady and nefarious agenda.
Virginia Senator Richard Black made a quick reversal and withdrew his support by sending a letter to the school board requesting that they “withdraw his letter of support.” It seems, according to Black, that he was “Not fully apprised of certain misgivings expressed by the public regarding this proposal.” Look Sen. Black, we get that you are a “junior” senator and have a learning curve, but when the public is expected to pay out $8 million to a group of Turkish thugs, it might be more prudent to do a little research before and not after you pen a letter of support.
Another guy that decided he might be kissing his political career goodbye by endorsing the boys, Loudoun County Board of Supervisor, Geary M. Higgins (R-Catoctin), also did an about face and withdrew his support.
Although, the fickle and dissenting politicians deserve some credit, if it had not been for the relentless efforts of the Loudon County watchdog group, the boys would have once again been given free reign to pilfer the county and state coffers, benefitting Gulen’s cause and cult, at the expense of American taxpayers.
Education blogger, Valerie Strauss, of The Washington Post, published a blog on the oops – we better change our mind quickly politicians on January 8, 2012, and below is the blog in its entirety:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/01/08/va-legislator-withdraws-support-from-controversial-loudoun-charter-school-proposal/
Va. legislator withdraws support from controversial Loudoun charter school proposal
Posted by Valerie Strauss on January 8, 2013 at 12:25 pm
A Virginia state senator has withdrawn support from a proposed charter school — which would be the first in Loudoun and possibly in Northern Virginia if allowed to open — because of public “misgivings” and other concerns.
The application to open the Loudoun Math & IT Academy has sparked controversy in the Northern Virginia county. A three-member select committee of the Loudoun School Board voted recently against recommending that the full panel approve the school because of questions involving curriculum and other operational issues. In hearings, the applicants were unable to answer basic questions about curriculum, student transportation and other subjects to the satisfaction of the members. The full board will vote in late February on the application. The legislature does not have a role in the process.
An undated letter from state Sen. Richard H. Black (R-Leesburg), posted on the school system’s Web site, says he is withdrawing support for the proposed charter for another reason. It says in part:
…Unfortunately, I was not fully apprised of certain misgivings expressed by the public regarding this proposal.
Questions have been raised about whether other charter schools associated with this particular network have experienced high rates of failure and poor financial management.
Since $8 million will be diverted from the Loudoun County Public School System for the proposed school, I am reluctant to endorse a proposal submitted from a group whose management does not enjoy a solid level of public trust and confidence…
The “particular network” to which he is referring is a group of charter schools around the country that have been opened by supporters of of a reclusive Turkish Islamic preacher named Fethullah Gulen, who lives in seclusion in Pennsylvania. There are believed to be about 135 charter schools in this network, and a number of them have come under investigation from state and federal officials for various issues, including connections to the Gulen Movement.
Gulen himself won a green card in 2008 to emigrate to the United States after the Department of Homeland Security initially denied his request for a special visa. A 2007 lawsuit he filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia said that he was “head of the Gulen Movement,” and an important educational figure who had “overseen” the creation of a network of schools in the United States as well as in other countries, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported in this story.
The Turkish men who are applying to open the academy have said they are not connected to Gulen though critics say there are connections between them and other Gulen-connected schools. I recently asked Sinan Yildirim, listed as one of the members of the proposed school’s initial governing board, whether he and his fellow applicants are connected to the preacher as critics have said and he answered: “We said no. They said yes. If they claim something they have to prove. And they can’t prove it.”
Some of the applicants run the Chesapeake Science Point Public Charter School in Anne Arundel County, which has had academic success but has clashed repeatedly with Anne Arundel education officials. The school is suing the district, alleging that it has been underfunded. The school won a three-year extension on its contract last summer even though Superintendent Kevin Maxwell cited enormous problems. In a June post I noted:
Maxwell wants the school, among other things, to hire qualified and fully certified teachers, allow parents to elect the board of directors “to reflect the community it serves,” use appropriate procurement and bidding processes for outside contracts, use the same data system that other public schools in the country use, follow board policy for the hiring of foreign nationals, and agree not to allow any of its contractors or subcontractors to “knowingly employ” anybody who has been investigated for criminal activity.
A member of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, Geary M. Higgins (R-Catoctin), recently sent a letter to Superintendent Edgar Hatrick III and the Loudoun School Board withdrawing his earlier support for the academy.
State legislators and county supervisors are not officially involved in the application process, but it is interesting that both Higgins and Black are charter school supporters who initially supported the proposed academy.
Higgins’ letter said in part:
“I fully support the concept of charter schools. I also believe that enhanced STEM opportunities for Loudoun students could be of great benefit to the community. However, controversy has arisen around this application such that a closer evaluation is warranted.
Concerns about accounting practices, provision of special education students, hiring practices, and lack of accountability have all been brought to my attention. As a result of the worries raised to me by numerous citizens, I made direct inquiries to Anne Arundel County Public Schools — home to Chesapeake Science Point, which served as the model for LMITA — to check on those concerns. Unfortunately, some of these claims do not appear to be unfounded.”
This group of concerned parents, educators, and community citizens has continually and carefully choreographed its way into the Loudon County School Board meetings, tapping into a bevy of public and not so public information that they have disseminated to the public at large in an effort to both inform the public and prevent LMIT’s proposed opening.
Likewise, this determined group has been leaning heavy on board members, and local and state politicians who had simply endorsed the Gulen boys and their charter school plans without fully investigating the boys, their true agenda, and the not so stellar “school management” history of the boys, and in particular -- their track record in Maryland.
As a result, a few of the God bless Gulen and his schools, supporters have backtracked and withdrawn their support for the boys’ school and its accompanying shady and nefarious agenda.
Virginia Senator Richard Black made a quick reversal and withdrew his support by sending a letter to the school board requesting that they “withdraw his letter of support.” It seems, according to Black, that he was “Not fully apprised of certain misgivings expressed by the public regarding this proposal.” Look Sen. Black, we get that you are a “junior” senator and have a learning curve, but when the public is expected to pay out $8 million to a group of Turkish thugs, it might be more prudent to do a little research before and not after you pen a letter of support.
Another guy that decided he might be kissing his political career goodbye by endorsing the boys, Loudoun County Board of Supervisor, Geary M. Higgins (R-Catoctin), also did an about face and withdrew his support.
Although, the fickle and dissenting politicians deserve some credit, if it had not been for the relentless efforts of the Loudon County watchdog group, the boys would have once again been given free reign to pilfer the county and state coffers, benefitting Gulen’s cause and cult, at the expense of American taxpayers.
Education blogger, Valerie Strauss, of The Washington Post, published a blog on the oops – we better change our mind quickly politicians on January 8, 2012, and below is the blog in its entirety:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/01/08/va-legislator-withdraws-support-from-controversial-loudoun-charter-school-proposal/
Va. legislator withdraws support from controversial Loudoun charter school proposal
Posted by Valerie Strauss on January 8, 2013 at 12:25 pm
A Virginia state senator has withdrawn support from a proposed charter school — which would be the first in Loudoun and possibly in Northern Virginia if allowed to open — because of public “misgivings” and other concerns.
The application to open the Loudoun Math & IT Academy has sparked controversy in the Northern Virginia county. A three-member select committee of the Loudoun School Board voted recently against recommending that the full panel approve the school because of questions involving curriculum and other operational issues. In hearings, the applicants were unable to answer basic questions about curriculum, student transportation and other subjects to the satisfaction of the members. The full board will vote in late February on the application. The legislature does not have a role in the process.
An undated letter from state Sen. Richard H. Black (R-Leesburg), posted on the school system’s Web site, says he is withdrawing support for the proposed charter for another reason. It says in part:
…Unfortunately, I was not fully apprised of certain misgivings expressed by the public regarding this proposal.
Questions have been raised about whether other charter schools associated with this particular network have experienced high rates of failure and poor financial management.
Since $8 million will be diverted from the Loudoun County Public School System for the proposed school, I am reluctant to endorse a proposal submitted from a group whose management does not enjoy a solid level of public trust and confidence…
The “particular network” to which he is referring is a group of charter schools around the country that have been opened by supporters of of a reclusive Turkish Islamic preacher named Fethullah Gulen, who lives in seclusion in Pennsylvania. There are believed to be about 135 charter schools in this network, and a number of them have come under investigation from state and federal officials for various issues, including connections to the Gulen Movement.
Gulen himself won a green card in 2008 to emigrate to the United States after the Department of Homeland Security initially denied his request for a special visa. A 2007 lawsuit he filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia said that he was “head of the Gulen Movement,” and an important educational figure who had “overseen” the creation of a network of schools in the United States as well as in other countries, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported in this story.
The Turkish men who are applying to open the academy have said they are not connected to Gulen though critics say there are connections between them and other Gulen-connected schools. I recently asked Sinan Yildirim, listed as one of the members of the proposed school’s initial governing board, whether he and his fellow applicants are connected to the preacher as critics have said and he answered: “We said no. They said yes. If they claim something they have to prove. And they can’t prove it.”
Some of the applicants run the Chesapeake Science Point Public Charter School in Anne Arundel County, which has had academic success but has clashed repeatedly with Anne Arundel education officials. The school is suing the district, alleging that it has been underfunded. The school won a three-year extension on its contract last summer even though Superintendent Kevin Maxwell cited enormous problems. In a June post I noted:
Maxwell wants the school, among other things, to hire qualified and fully certified teachers, allow parents to elect the board of directors “to reflect the community it serves,” use appropriate procurement and bidding processes for outside contracts, use the same data system that other public schools in the country use, follow board policy for the hiring of foreign nationals, and agree not to allow any of its contractors or subcontractors to “knowingly employ” anybody who has been investigated for criminal activity.
A member of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, Geary M. Higgins (R-Catoctin), recently sent a letter to Superintendent Edgar Hatrick III and the Loudoun School Board withdrawing his earlier support for the academy.
State legislators and county supervisors are not officially involved in the application process, but it is interesting that both Higgins and Black are charter school supporters who initially supported the proposed academy.
Higgins’ letter said in part:
“I fully support the concept of charter schools. I also believe that enhanced STEM opportunities for Loudoun students could be of great benefit to the community. However, controversy has arisen around this application such that a closer evaluation is warranted.
Concerns about accounting practices, provision of special education students, hiring practices, and lack of accountability have all been brought to my attention. As a result of the worries raised to me by numerous citizens, I made direct inquiries to Anne Arundel County Public Schools — home to Chesapeake Science Point, which served as the model for LMITA — to check on those concerns. Unfortunately, some of these claims do not appear to be unfounded.”
