Last week, Mark Hall’s film, Killing Ed, premiered in New York City. Hall’s film exposes some of the many intricacies of the Gulenists’ infiltration into the United States education system, and in particular, tax-funded charter schools.
But here’s the problem – it looks like the very people that should be helping to spread the word on Hall’s film, the media -- are instead – ignoring its existence.
Despite hosting 30 of the Gulenist charter schools in Texas, the Texas media has adopted a “don’t ask, don’t tell,” mentality.
Don’t ask the hard questions –like -- why have so many Texas politicians accepted campaign contributions and free trips to Turkey from the Gulenists, presumably in exchange for allowing the Gulenists free reign over their Texas-based charter schools. The media’s “silent treatment” has essentially subverted the truth and the need to hold the politicians accountable to “tell,” the public why they continue to be complicit in the Gulenists’ wide-ranging and plentiful illegal activities at the taxpayers’ expense.
Anna Clark published a story in the Huffington Post, calling out the lack of media coverage in Texas.
Likewise, the Turkish newspaper, The Daily Sabbah, published an extensive article on the apparent lack of media reporting on the Gulenist charter schools in Texas.
Below are the links and articles to both publications:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anna-clark/killing-ed-the-film-that-_b_9547962.html
By Anna Clark, Published by the Huffington Post on March 28, 2016
Killing Ed: The Film That Texas Doesn’t Want You to See
A new documentary on the Gülen Movement, a mysterious Islamic group operating charter schools throughout the US, premieres today and runs through March 31st at the Cinema Village Theatre in NYC. A pre-release screening earlier this month with translation into Spanish, Korean and Vietnamese drew a diverse crowd of 980 and a standing ovation in L.A. Yet this national film, a bi-coastal sensation, was passed over by Texas’ four largest film festivals and the state’s media.
“It’s very disappointing for me that the first public screening could not happen in Texas, my home state and the epicenter for this issue,” said Mark Hall, the documentary’s independent director and producer. Hall added,This was a very difficult film to make because these people don’t want to be on camera, they wouldn’t be interviewed. The subject of charter schools is also very difficult because most people don’t want to criticize the school ‘reform’ movement. Killing Ed is not necessarily a ‘cinematic’ film, but the purpose of an exposé is to reveal something that the populace needs to be aware of.
A film about the worst-case scenario for privately-owned and operated schools funded by public tax dollars - one that exposes the underbelly of a charter school movement that is apparently funding a known Islamist group’s interests, no less - hits a lot of nerves, which has people in power keeping their distance.
Among the facts uncovered in KILLING ED, the Gülen Movement, which is operated by followers of Turkish Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen, has been identified as a ‘terrorist organization’ by the Turkish government. The movement is under FBI investigation in four states and receives over $500 million in taxpayer-funded revenue each year to operate charter schools in the U.S., which now number more than 150 schools (with 12 new schools applied for) enrolling 60,000 students annually.
Granted, the intent of the film is not to take issue with all charters schools, but rather focuses on the worst-case scenario. But isn’t examination of more than 100 charter schools run by a Turkish imam in the United States warranted as we explore educational reform? After all, the Gülen charter chain is the largest of its kind in America, employing approximately 5,000 Turkish employees brought over on H1-B visas - many of whom are un-certified, untrained teachers - to teach American children.
Gülen charters also use taxpayer dollars to give preferential support to affiliated businesses ranging from catering and construction to school furniture and curriculum development. The schools advertise heavily and sponsor events, creating income for media outlets, lobbyists, and consultants. Perhaps the reason why so few seem interested in reporting on this is that the Gülen Movement has sponsored hundreds of trips to Turkey for politicians and journalists, inciting a congressional investigation yet dampening the urgency to inform the public about a dangerous trend.
“Thousands of people have been on these propaganda trips to Turkey,” said Sharon Higgins, co-founder of Parents Across America and an expert on the Gülen charter schools.
This New York Times article is one of the few major news stories on the Gülen Movement over the past 5 years. In it, Stephanie Saul chronicles the activities concerning just one of the Turkish Gülen-affiliated contractors operating in Texas. In the film, you see the abuses from another contractor, Solidarity Contracting of Houston, which built several schools in the state, including the Harmony School of Political Science and Communication in Austin.
“Solidarity has gone out of business and no one knows what happened to the owner of the company, a Gülen follower named Levent Ulusal,” said Hall.
Since viewing the film, I have my own ideas as to why my fellow Texans would ignore this, but quality isn’t one of them. In its short life, the documentary has garnered acclaim from educated stakeholders and experts in the film industry. KILLING ED has been nominated for a Best Documentary jury prize at the upcoming Julien Dubuque International Film Festival.
Furthermore, in a letter from the director of acquisitions for the Tallgrass Film Festival, Shan Jabara hailed the film “a hit” at Tallgrass. In the following excerpt, Jabara urged the Dallas International Film Festival to screen it:
KILLING ED enjoyed a preview screening at our last festival...and aroused great interest and concern for the subject of the Gulen Movement’s charter schools and their rapid expansion. Most of our audience had no knowledge of this crusade, although there are a handful of local professors who had traveled to Turkey as guests of an organization that is connected to the Gulen Movement. The professors were very supportive of the organization as they were well-treated and there was no attempt at indoctrination. However, they seemed to have no idea that U.S. tax dollars were supporting the Movement’s chartered schools and that they were poorly run, non-student centered and corrupt institutions opening up around the country. We have educators on our prescreening and programming committees that were so appreciative to have a chance to see this film before such a school was attempted in our city (the largest in the state of Kansas.)
As a film enthusiast, I can live with the fact that our state’s film festivals failed to find room for a good documentary. But as a parent, a Texan, and a media advocate, I am astonished by the lack of support for this artful execution of a terrifying systemic problem. And my point of view does not stem from a lack of interest in Islam or education reform. I can get on board with a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives. To name a few examples, I engage in Interfaith dialogue and send my kids to a Catholic school (and I’m not even Catholic).
But looking the other way as funds are diverted from our public education system, which is subject to locally-elected oversight and regulations to protect the public interest, in order to finance charter schools that further sub-par education and fund anti-democratic activities in the US and other nations? That is unconscionable.
The parallel of a society’s reticence to confront an uncomfortable yet dangerous problem hit me while watching Spotlight, the Oscar-nominated film based on the true story of The Boston Globe investigation of priests molesting school children. That film exposed a different problem, but the same sentiment: If it takes a village to raise a child, it also takes a village to abuse one.
On digging deeper, I began to find out why. According to New York University Research Professor of Education Diane Ravitch, “The privatization movement is ‘the perfect storm’.”
In theory, the privatization of education makes sense. The problem is, it still has severe problems in application. As Dr. Ravitch explained,
In 1998 I testified on behalf of charter schools in New York. I become very discouraged because one of the conservative think tanks where I was on the board authorized charters in Ohio and all of them failed. Over time I began looking and saying to myself ‘these things don’t work’. The testing’s not working its not making schools better. The kids are not getting a better education; they’re getting a worse education. They’re losing the arts, they’re losing physical education, they’re losing history. I began to realize that the things I believed in were wrong. When people say why did you change your mind it’s a simple answer: three words: I was wrong.
“You see the politicians looking the other way not wanting to acknowledge the problems they know,” said Hall. “You see the same thing with the foundations of billionaires, like Bill & Melinda Gates, that are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to push through a school policy agenda that most Americans may not want.”
Keeping Texas Dumb
The Gülen movement informally operates schools internationally under the cover of various foundations and brand names. Here in Texas, Harmony Public Schools operates nearly 40 campuses around the state, often branded or positioned as science academies or STEM-related in major and secondary metropolitan areas.
KILLING ED features several teachers who were willing to go on record concerning the drawbacks of the Harmony charter school chain, the largest chain of charter schools in the state.
“The Turkish administrators do most of the planning on what is going to be implemented in our schools,” said Harmony educator Amy Warren. She added that she’s not qualified to teach health and was encouraged to take the kids to recess.
Another Harmony teacher in Lubbock, who kept anonymous in the film to prevent reprisals from the Gülen Movement read from her diary, “I think at this point we have more un-certified teachers than certified.”
In Houston, a covert camera shows the “special ed” student sitting outside of three different classes during his day.
The privatization movement postulates that the broken school system will benefit from competition. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who advocates for privatizing education using a voucher system, claims that parents aren’t complaining so he’s not worried.
“We have over 500 campuses. We have 215 charters, so if you have a charter and you’re successful, you can replicate,” said Patrick. However, in a clip from KILLING ED, Patrick mentions Harmony among the models, even though its operations are clearly problematic.
As a parent, I can see this from both sides. No question that our public school system has its challenges. My own urban neighborhood’s public school is 98 percent low-income and serves a predominantly Spanish-speaking community. After some of our neighborhood’s most committed parents made a go of making the public school work, many gave up over frustrations with school administrators and other issues. The options these parents faced were to home school, choose a private or charter school or move. We opted to stay and selected a local private school.
The benefits we enjoy by supporting our local Catholic school include a warm and diverse community, an accountable principal, certified teachers, engaged parents, and a transparent system - essentially the same benefits I would expect from a well-performing public school. It is a shame that we have to pay to get the benefits that many suburban families get in their public schools, and that the lack of more viable options prevents more families from staying in town.
As a Texan, when it comes time to pay my property taxes each year, I don’t complain because I know this contribution helps fund the public school system that should provide the quality of education that every child deserves. In the real world, words like “should” may sound idealistic, but supporting public education is an ideal worth pursuing if we want America to remain a superpower.
Privatization is a much larger issue than one shady school system, but the Gülen movement exemplifies the perils of diverting funds from public education to subsidize a system that serves special interests over those of our children.
Texas can do better. At least I hope we can.
http://www.dailysabah.com/nation/2016/03/30/documentary-on-gulenist-schools-faces-veiled-censorship-in-us
Published in the Daily Sabbah on March 30, 2016
Documentary on Gülenist schools faces veiled censorship in US
‘Killing Ed,’ a U.S.-made documentary on charter schools that exposes corruption at schools linked to Gülenists, a group designated as a terrorist organization in Turkey, was passed over by film festivals and media in Texas
A recent documentary film on Gülenist charter schools in the United States has been ignored by local media and Texas state film festivals where the charter schools in question are located. A recent article by writer Anna Clark in the Huffington Post says though the film was well received in other states, it was "passed over by Texas' four largest film festivals and the state's media."
"Killing Ed" is about "charter schools, corruption and the Gülen Movement in America," according to the filmmakers behind the documentary. The Gülen Movement is behind FETÖ or the Gülenist Terror Organization, described as "a national threat" by the Turkish state and the entity behind a series of wrongdoings, from two coup attempts to money laundering and illegal wiretapping.
"It's very disappointing for me that the first public screening could not happen in Texas, my home state and the epicenter for this issue," Clark quotes Mark Hall, the documentary's producer and director. "A film about the worst-case scenario for privately-owned and operated schools funded by public tax dollars – one that exposes the underbelly of a charter school movement that is apparently funding a known group's interests, no less – hits a lot of nerves, which has people in power keeping their distance."
"Killing Ed" offers "a shocking, first-hand look inside the schools while revealing the corruption of those attempting to privatize public schools through education reform in America," says the documentary's official website, while describing "questionable academic labor" practices at schools operated by the Gülen Movement as the "worst-case scenario for taxpayer-funded charter schools."
Charter schools linked to Gülenists in the United States are already facing several probes by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in four states, although the FBI is quiet on the process of the probes, reportedly focused on shady business practices by the charter school chains run by Gülenists, allegedly the largest of their kind in the country. Clark says the Gülen Movement "receives over $500 million in taxpayer-funded revenue each year to operate charter schools in the U.S., which now number more than 150 schools (with 12 new schools applied for) enrolling 60,000 students annually." Charter schools linked to Gülenists were recently the subject of a report by an Oklahoma state auditor.
Auditor Gary Jones said in his report that Dove Charter Schools were supposed to receive financial endorsements from the Sky Foundation as a subsidiary but instead functioned in the opposite manner, with the charter school chain supporting the Sky Foundation in a breach of state regulations.
According to the report, the Sky Foundation did not operate as a school sponsor, but rather as the managing nonprofit for the Dove Charter Schools, making the foundation and the schools "one and the same." "We did not find any evidence that the foundation solicited funds on behalf of the schools or donated funds to the schools. It appears that the schools were supporting [the] Sky [Foundation] instead of vice-versa," read the report. It also said Dove Science Academy paid the Sky Foundation approximately $3,182,000 in lease payments – exceeding the original purchase price of their property.
In addition to suspicious money flow, the report indicates that the Sky Foundation spent public funds on out-of-state sponsorships for events that were not attended by students from Dove schools – a direct violation of charter school regulations. The report found that Dove schools redirected funds to the Sky Foundation for the purpose of obtaining loans.
U.S. media reports also point to an alleged $5 million fraud scheme to funnel federal grant money to Gülenists. A Chicago Sun-Times report, based on court records, revealed that executives from the Concept Schools Company were the masterminds of a laundering scheme to transfer federal grant money to executive-affiliated companies – with at least $20,000 alleged to have been transferred from a company account to a bank account in Turkey. A court document submitted by a special agent from the inspector general's office for the U.S. Department of Education revealed that Concept Schools directed large portions of money linked to the E-rate program – established by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to provide discounts to schools for acquiring affordable telecommunications equipment and Internet access in the U.S. – away from the charter schools to "related vendors" who paid more than $5 million to several companies linked to school executives.
In another court document, the account of a former Concept Schools official showed that the company accepted bids from contractors who had "close ties" with Gülenists and rigged the grant scheme by awarding contracts to companies set up by members of the movement.
Despite their mysterious and illegal activities, Clark underscores why few have reported on the Gülenist movement: "Perhaps the reason why so few seem interested in reporting on this is that the Gülen Movement has sponsored hundreds of trips to Turkey for politicians and journalists, inciting a congressional investigation yet dampening the urgency to inform the public about a dangerous trend."
"Killing Ed" includes interviews with Sharon Higgins, an activist known for her work on charter schools, as well as Dr. Diane Ravitch, a professor of education known for her staunch opposition to charter schools. The filmmakers also interviewed Amy Warren, a former teacher at a Gülenist-run school who claimed wage and gender discrimination were prevalent in those schools, as well as Mary Addi, another former teacher who exposed problems at Gülenist schools. Addi is the wife of Mustafa Emanet, a Turkish citizen who worked at one of those schools and the man behind one of the first FBI inquiries into alleged wrongdoings at charter schools. Emanet, who briefly returned to Turkey in 2009, has claimed his Istanbul home was raided by police linked to Gülenists, and he was accused of drug possession, a charge he was later cleared of. Emanet told Daily Sabah in an earlier interview that Gülenists had great clout in the U.S. and claimed to come across documents proving fraud at a school chain, ranging from cuts in teachers' salaries to fund the movement to school funds diverted to companies linked to Gülenists.
Fethullah Gülen, the retired preacher who leads the Gülen Movement, is among Turkey's most wanted, with the country exerting a tremendous effort to obtain an international arrest warrant for him. He lives in a compound owned by his movement in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania. Ankara is seeking to secure his extradition from the U.S.
The Gülen Movement, which has seen members and sympathizers purged from state institutions, including the police and judiciary over the past three years, was designated by Turkish authorities as a national threat, a classification for terrorist organizations. A string of judicial inquiries over the past two years has revealed the seedier side of the movement promotes itself as a charity group that runs schools and works for interfaith dialogue.
Gülenists are accused of illegally wiretapping thousands of people, from the prime minister to journalists and other prominent figures. They are also accused of imprisoning critics or anyone seen as an obstacle to the movement's attempts to gain further clout through sham trials. Hundreds of generals, academics and others were detained for years in cases in which they were accused of attempting to stage coups. It was later revealed that they were detained on charges based on false evidence planted by Gülenist members of law enforcement.
But here’s the problem – it looks like the very people that should be helping to spread the word on Hall’s film, the media -- are instead – ignoring its existence.
Despite hosting 30 of the Gulenist charter schools in Texas, the Texas media has adopted a “don’t ask, don’t tell,” mentality.
Don’t ask the hard questions –like -- why have so many Texas politicians accepted campaign contributions and free trips to Turkey from the Gulenists, presumably in exchange for allowing the Gulenists free reign over their Texas-based charter schools. The media’s “silent treatment” has essentially subverted the truth and the need to hold the politicians accountable to “tell,” the public why they continue to be complicit in the Gulenists’ wide-ranging and plentiful illegal activities at the taxpayers’ expense.
Anna Clark published a story in the Huffington Post, calling out the lack of media coverage in Texas.
Likewise, the Turkish newspaper, The Daily Sabbah, published an extensive article on the apparent lack of media reporting on the Gulenist charter schools in Texas.
Below are the links and articles to both publications:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anna-clark/killing-ed-the-film-that-_b_9547962.html
By Anna Clark, Published by the Huffington Post on March 28, 2016
Killing Ed: The Film That Texas Doesn’t Want You to See
A new documentary on the Gülen Movement, a mysterious Islamic group operating charter schools throughout the US, premieres today and runs through March 31st at the Cinema Village Theatre in NYC. A pre-release screening earlier this month with translation into Spanish, Korean and Vietnamese drew a diverse crowd of 980 and a standing ovation in L.A. Yet this national film, a bi-coastal sensation, was passed over by Texas’ four largest film festivals and the state’s media.
“It’s very disappointing for me that the first public screening could not happen in Texas, my home state and the epicenter for this issue,” said Mark Hall, the documentary’s independent director and producer. Hall added,This was a very difficult film to make because these people don’t want to be on camera, they wouldn’t be interviewed. The subject of charter schools is also very difficult because most people don’t want to criticize the school ‘reform’ movement. Killing Ed is not necessarily a ‘cinematic’ film, but the purpose of an exposé is to reveal something that the populace needs to be aware of.
A film about the worst-case scenario for privately-owned and operated schools funded by public tax dollars - one that exposes the underbelly of a charter school movement that is apparently funding a known Islamist group’s interests, no less - hits a lot of nerves, which has people in power keeping their distance.
Among the facts uncovered in KILLING ED, the Gülen Movement, which is operated by followers of Turkish Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen, has been identified as a ‘terrorist organization’ by the Turkish government. The movement is under FBI investigation in four states and receives over $500 million in taxpayer-funded revenue each year to operate charter schools in the U.S., which now number more than 150 schools (with 12 new schools applied for) enrolling 60,000 students annually.
Granted, the intent of the film is not to take issue with all charters schools, but rather focuses on the worst-case scenario. But isn’t examination of more than 100 charter schools run by a Turkish imam in the United States warranted as we explore educational reform? After all, the Gülen charter chain is the largest of its kind in America, employing approximately 5,000 Turkish employees brought over on H1-B visas - many of whom are un-certified, untrained teachers - to teach American children.
Gülen charters also use taxpayer dollars to give preferential support to affiliated businesses ranging from catering and construction to school furniture and curriculum development. The schools advertise heavily and sponsor events, creating income for media outlets, lobbyists, and consultants. Perhaps the reason why so few seem interested in reporting on this is that the Gülen Movement has sponsored hundreds of trips to Turkey for politicians and journalists, inciting a congressional investigation yet dampening the urgency to inform the public about a dangerous trend.
“Thousands of people have been on these propaganda trips to Turkey,” said Sharon Higgins, co-founder of Parents Across America and an expert on the Gülen charter schools.
This New York Times article is one of the few major news stories on the Gülen Movement over the past 5 years. In it, Stephanie Saul chronicles the activities concerning just one of the Turkish Gülen-affiliated contractors operating in Texas. In the film, you see the abuses from another contractor, Solidarity Contracting of Houston, which built several schools in the state, including the Harmony School of Political Science and Communication in Austin.
“Solidarity has gone out of business and no one knows what happened to the owner of the company, a Gülen follower named Levent Ulusal,” said Hall.
Since viewing the film, I have my own ideas as to why my fellow Texans would ignore this, but quality isn’t one of them. In its short life, the documentary has garnered acclaim from educated stakeholders and experts in the film industry. KILLING ED has been nominated for a Best Documentary jury prize at the upcoming Julien Dubuque International Film Festival.
Furthermore, in a letter from the director of acquisitions for the Tallgrass Film Festival, Shan Jabara hailed the film “a hit” at Tallgrass. In the following excerpt, Jabara urged the Dallas International Film Festival to screen it:
KILLING ED enjoyed a preview screening at our last festival...and aroused great interest and concern for the subject of the Gulen Movement’s charter schools and their rapid expansion. Most of our audience had no knowledge of this crusade, although there are a handful of local professors who had traveled to Turkey as guests of an organization that is connected to the Gulen Movement. The professors were very supportive of the organization as they were well-treated and there was no attempt at indoctrination. However, they seemed to have no idea that U.S. tax dollars were supporting the Movement’s chartered schools and that they were poorly run, non-student centered and corrupt institutions opening up around the country. We have educators on our prescreening and programming committees that were so appreciative to have a chance to see this film before such a school was attempted in our city (the largest in the state of Kansas.)
As a film enthusiast, I can live with the fact that our state’s film festivals failed to find room for a good documentary. But as a parent, a Texan, and a media advocate, I am astonished by the lack of support for this artful execution of a terrifying systemic problem. And my point of view does not stem from a lack of interest in Islam or education reform. I can get on board with a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives. To name a few examples, I engage in Interfaith dialogue and send my kids to a Catholic school (and I’m not even Catholic).
But looking the other way as funds are diverted from our public education system, which is subject to locally-elected oversight and regulations to protect the public interest, in order to finance charter schools that further sub-par education and fund anti-democratic activities in the US and other nations? That is unconscionable.
The parallel of a society’s reticence to confront an uncomfortable yet dangerous problem hit me while watching Spotlight, the Oscar-nominated film based on the true story of The Boston Globe investigation of priests molesting school children. That film exposed a different problem, but the same sentiment: If it takes a village to raise a child, it also takes a village to abuse one.
On digging deeper, I began to find out why. According to New York University Research Professor of Education Diane Ravitch, “The privatization movement is ‘the perfect storm’.”
In theory, the privatization of education makes sense. The problem is, it still has severe problems in application. As Dr. Ravitch explained,
In 1998 I testified on behalf of charter schools in New York. I become very discouraged because one of the conservative think tanks where I was on the board authorized charters in Ohio and all of them failed. Over time I began looking and saying to myself ‘these things don’t work’. The testing’s not working its not making schools better. The kids are not getting a better education; they’re getting a worse education. They’re losing the arts, they’re losing physical education, they’re losing history. I began to realize that the things I believed in were wrong. When people say why did you change your mind it’s a simple answer: three words: I was wrong.
“You see the politicians looking the other way not wanting to acknowledge the problems they know,” said Hall. “You see the same thing with the foundations of billionaires, like Bill & Melinda Gates, that are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to push through a school policy agenda that most Americans may not want.”
Keeping Texas Dumb
The Gülen movement informally operates schools internationally under the cover of various foundations and brand names. Here in Texas, Harmony Public Schools operates nearly 40 campuses around the state, often branded or positioned as science academies or STEM-related in major and secondary metropolitan areas.
KILLING ED features several teachers who were willing to go on record concerning the drawbacks of the Harmony charter school chain, the largest chain of charter schools in the state.
“The Turkish administrators do most of the planning on what is going to be implemented in our schools,” said Harmony educator Amy Warren. She added that she’s not qualified to teach health and was encouraged to take the kids to recess.
Another Harmony teacher in Lubbock, who kept anonymous in the film to prevent reprisals from the Gülen Movement read from her diary, “I think at this point we have more un-certified teachers than certified.”
In Houston, a covert camera shows the “special ed” student sitting outside of three different classes during his day.
The privatization movement postulates that the broken school system will benefit from competition. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who advocates for privatizing education using a voucher system, claims that parents aren’t complaining so he’s not worried.
“We have over 500 campuses. We have 215 charters, so if you have a charter and you’re successful, you can replicate,” said Patrick. However, in a clip from KILLING ED, Patrick mentions Harmony among the models, even though its operations are clearly problematic.
As a parent, I can see this from both sides. No question that our public school system has its challenges. My own urban neighborhood’s public school is 98 percent low-income and serves a predominantly Spanish-speaking community. After some of our neighborhood’s most committed parents made a go of making the public school work, many gave up over frustrations with school administrators and other issues. The options these parents faced were to home school, choose a private or charter school or move. We opted to stay and selected a local private school.
The benefits we enjoy by supporting our local Catholic school include a warm and diverse community, an accountable principal, certified teachers, engaged parents, and a transparent system - essentially the same benefits I would expect from a well-performing public school. It is a shame that we have to pay to get the benefits that many suburban families get in their public schools, and that the lack of more viable options prevents more families from staying in town.
As a Texan, when it comes time to pay my property taxes each year, I don’t complain because I know this contribution helps fund the public school system that should provide the quality of education that every child deserves. In the real world, words like “should” may sound idealistic, but supporting public education is an ideal worth pursuing if we want America to remain a superpower.
Privatization is a much larger issue than one shady school system, but the Gülen movement exemplifies the perils of diverting funds from public education to subsidize a system that serves special interests over those of our children.
Texas can do better. At least I hope we can.
http://www.dailysabah.com/nation/2016/03/30/documentary-on-gulenist-schools-faces-veiled-censorship-in-us
Published in the Daily Sabbah on March 30, 2016
Documentary on Gülenist schools faces veiled censorship in US
‘Killing Ed,’ a U.S.-made documentary on charter schools that exposes corruption at schools linked to Gülenists, a group designated as a terrorist organization in Turkey, was passed over by film festivals and media in Texas
A recent documentary film on Gülenist charter schools in the United States has been ignored by local media and Texas state film festivals where the charter schools in question are located. A recent article by writer Anna Clark in the Huffington Post says though the film was well received in other states, it was "passed over by Texas' four largest film festivals and the state's media."
"Killing Ed" is about "charter schools, corruption and the Gülen Movement in America," according to the filmmakers behind the documentary. The Gülen Movement is behind FETÖ or the Gülenist Terror Organization, described as "a national threat" by the Turkish state and the entity behind a series of wrongdoings, from two coup attempts to money laundering and illegal wiretapping.
"It's very disappointing for me that the first public screening could not happen in Texas, my home state and the epicenter for this issue," Clark quotes Mark Hall, the documentary's producer and director. "A film about the worst-case scenario for privately-owned and operated schools funded by public tax dollars – one that exposes the underbelly of a charter school movement that is apparently funding a known group's interests, no less – hits a lot of nerves, which has people in power keeping their distance."
"Killing Ed" offers "a shocking, first-hand look inside the schools while revealing the corruption of those attempting to privatize public schools through education reform in America," says the documentary's official website, while describing "questionable academic labor" practices at schools operated by the Gülen Movement as the "worst-case scenario for taxpayer-funded charter schools."
Charter schools linked to Gülenists in the United States are already facing several probes by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in four states, although the FBI is quiet on the process of the probes, reportedly focused on shady business practices by the charter school chains run by Gülenists, allegedly the largest of their kind in the country. Clark says the Gülen Movement "receives over $500 million in taxpayer-funded revenue each year to operate charter schools in the U.S., which now number more than 150 schools (with 12 new schools applied for) enrolling 60,000 students annually." Charter schools linked to Gülenists were recently the subject of a report by an Oklahoma state auditor.
Auditor Gary Jones said in his report that Dove Charter Schools were supposed to receive financial endorsements from the Sky Foundation as a subsidiary but instead functioned in the opposite manner, with the charter school chain supporting the Sky Foundation in a breach of state regulations.
According to the report, the Sky Foundation did not operate as a school sponsor, but rather as the managing nonprofit for the Dove Charter Schools, making the foundation and the schools "one and the same." "We did not find any evidence that the foundation solicited funds on behalf of the schools or donated funds to the schools. It appears that the schools were supporting [the] Sky [Foundation] instead of vice-versa," read the report. It also said Dove Science Academy paid the Sky Foundation approximately $3,182,000 in lease payments – exceeding the original purchase price of their property.
In addition to suspicious money flow, the report indicates that the Sky Foundation spent public funds on out-of-state sponsorships for events that were not attended by students from Dove schools – a direct violation of charter school regulations. The report found that Dove schools redirected funds to the Sky Foundation for the purpose of obtaining loans.
U.S. media reports also point to an alleged $5 million fraud scheme to funnel federal grant money to Gülenists. A Chicago Sun-Times report, based on court records, revealed that executives from the Concept Schools Company were the masterminds of a laundering scheme to transfer federal grant money to executive-affiliated companies – with at least $20,000 alleged to have been transferred from a company account to a bank account in Turkey. A court document submitted by a special agent from the inspector general's office for the U.S. Department of Education revealed that Concept Schools directed large portions of money linked to the E-rate program – established by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to provide discounts to schools for acquiring affordable telecommunications equipment and Internet access in the U.S. – away from the charter schools to "related vendors" who paid more than $5 million to several companies linked to school executives.
In another court document, the account of a former Concept Schools official showed that the company accepted bids from contractors who had "close ties" with Gülenists and rigged the grant scheme by awarding contracts to companies set up by members of the movement.
Despite their mysterious and illegal activities, Clark underscores why few have reported on the Gülenist movement: "Perhaps the reason why so few seem interested in reporting on this is that the Gülen Movement has sponsored hundreds of trips to Turkey for politicians and journalists, inciting a congressional investigation yet dampening the urgency to inform the public about a dangerous trend."
"Killing Ed" includes interviews with Sharon Higgins, an activist known for her work on charter schools, as well as Dr. Diane Ravitch, a professor of education known for her staunch opposition to charter schools. The filmmakers also interviewed Amy Warren, a former teacher at a Gülenist-run school who claimed wage and gender discrimination were prevalent in those schools, as well as Mary Addi, another former teacher who exposed problems at Gülenist schools. Addi is the wife of Mustafa Emanet, a Turkish citizen who worked at one of those schools and the man behind one of the first FBI inquiries into alleged wrongdoings at charter schools. Emanet, who briefly returned to Turkey in 2009, has claimed his Istanbul home was raided by police linked to Gülenists, and he was accused of drug possession, a charge he was later cleared of. Emanet told Daily Sabah in an earlier interview that Gülenists had great clout in the U.S. and claimed to come across documents proving fraud at a school chain, ranging from cuts in teachers' salaries to fund the movement to school funds diverted to companies linked to Gülenists.
Fethullah Gülen, the retired preacher who leads the Gülen Movement, is among Turkey's most wanted, with the country exerting a tremendous effort to obtain an international arrest warrant for him. He lives in a compound owned by his movement in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania. Ankara is seeking to secure his extradition from the U.S.
The Gülen Movement, which has seen members and sympathizers purged from state institutions, including the police and judiciary over the past three years, was designated by Turkish authorities as a national threat, a classification for terrorist organizations. A string of judicial inquiries over the past two years has revealed the seedier side of the movement promotes itself as a charity group that runs schools and works for interfaith dialogue.
Gülenists are accused of illegally wiretapping thousands of people, from the prime minister to journalists and other prominent figures. They are also accused of imprisoning critics or anyone seen as an obstacle to the movement's attempts to gain further clout through sham trials. Hundreds of generals, academics and others were detained for years in cases in which they were accused of attempting to stage coups. It was later revealed that they were detained on charges based on false evidence planted by Gülenist members of law enforcement.
