Concept Schools’ Superintendent, Salim Ucan, likes to talk – a lot. In fact, it’s likely he suffers from some form of “foot and mouth” disease – in particular -- his inability to keep his foot out of his mouth.
The clowns at Concept are spending thousands of of our tax dollars on a public relations firm to revamp their reputation, and yet, the public relations firm allows Ucan to keep on talking. And each and every time that Ucan opens his mouth to “explain” away a criticism, he just makes it worse. So either they need to duct tape Ucan’s mouth shut or get their money back from the PR firm, because something’s not working here. Either way, it’s an outrage that our taxes are paying for this traveling circus.
Yesterday, Concepts Schools sponsored a “rally” at the Ohio State Capitol, allegedly to share in the glory of their successes. It’s a sure bet that the taxpayers – via state and federal funding – paid for the 400 “guests,” that were bused to Columbus for the rally and also fed lunch. And on a side note, why weren’t the kids in school, after all – the school was being paid for their attendance, right?
But let’s back up here… exactly what successes were they bragging about?
The results of the recently released 2012-13 Ohio Department of Education’s Report Card show that cumulatively, the 18 Ohio Concept Schools were given the following grades: 42 F’s (the greatest majority in the Gap Closing – reading, math, and graduation rates, and Achievement categories), 25 D’s, 18 C’s, 8 B’s, and 12 A’s. Maybe Ucan thinks that F stands for fabulous, but for the mainstream population -- F means fail (not succeed, fall short, not make the grade, not pass, unsuccessful…)
So the next time that Ucan and his cronies decide to further waste our tax funds by taking a propaganda road trip, perhaps they should at least have something valid to brag about.
When Ucan was questioned by a reporter about Concept’s association with Fethullah Gulen, Ucan finally admitted that he and some of the other employees “followed” Gulen’s teachings but that they schools were not associated with the movement. Ucan also likened Gulen to American education reformer Horace Mann.
Is he joking?
Mann was valedictorian of his graduating class Brown University, went on to law school, and was elected a United States senator. Further, Mann believed in non-sectarian (no religious preferences or influences in public education), and that “education should be provided by well-trained, professional teachers,” (e.g. teachers that can actually read, write, and speak English and have bona-fide teaching credentials).
Gulen on the other hand, is an exiled Islamic Iman, has a 4th grade education, and fled his own country before he could be indicted and arrested on charges of plotting to overthrow the Turkish government.
And tell us again Ucan – what are the comparison similarities here?
However, despite Ucan and the newly hired public relations firm’s best efforts – it did rain a bit on their parade. Apparently and unknown to Ucan (until he was told by a reporter), The Ohio Department of Education has initiated new investigations into two more Concept Schools, in addition to the ones already being investigated as a result of teacher complaints who alleged that some of the schools’ were involved in “ sex games, test tampering and other potentially criminal misdeeds.”
Below is a link to Jackie Borchardt’s story on the rally, published on September 16, 2014.
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2014/09/horizon_charter_school_parents.html
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- More than 400 supporters of Concept charter schools in Ohio rallied here Tuesday to speak against allegations of sexual harassment, cheating and other inappropriate behavior at the charter operator's Ohio schools.
Concept Schools, a Chicago-based charter management company, paid for charter buses to bring parents, including many from Northeast Ohio, to the Statehouse rally and to provide them with lunch.
Seven supporters spoke in front of the state Board of Education during the public comment portion of its regular meeting here. The board asked questions of the supporters but made no decisions.
In July, four former Concept schools teachers appeared before the board, alleging misconduct by teachers and administrators at Dayton-area Horizon schools.
The board called for a full investigation of the claims.
Ohio Department of Education spokesman John Charlton said Tuesday the department is determining what should be investigated. Charlton said the department turned the allegations into formal complaints and forwarded them to the appropriate offices within ODE, as is done with any complaints made to the department.
"We do this every day," Charlton said in an interview. "We don't need to have the board say, 'you need to investigate this.'"
Charlton said two new complaints were added -- one each from schools in Columbus and Cincinnati -- about testing issues after the department reached out to the schools for additional complaints.
Concept Schools operates 17 charter schools in Ohio. Its Horizon and Noble Academy schools are public charter schools -- public schools that receive state funding.
Salim Ucan, vice president of Concept schools
Salim Ucan, vice president of Concept Schools, said the rally was intended to celebrate the success of the schools and they did not plan to lobby lawmakers, as two state representatives said Monday.
"Today we had about 400 parents, some of whom traveled three hours to be here, to let their voices be heard and let the public define our organization and our schools by their experiences, not by four or five former disgruntled employees' experiences," Ucan said.
Ucan said Concept is cooperating with ODE and federal authorities. A federal investigation concerns a federal grant for technology, he said.
Marie Bonilla, a parent of two students at Horizon Science Academy Lorain, testified before the state board. Bonilla said she is happy with her children's schools and thinks the allegations are little more than rumor.
"If you knew our teachers, you'd understand that there is no cheating there. Those teachers don't put up with that nonsense," Bonilla said in an interview. "These teachers go above and beyond to help these kids. I just don't understand why they're giving them such a hard time."
Anita Beck, retired public school teacher Anita Beck, retired public school teacher, talks about why the Concept charter school rally in Columbus concerns her.
About a dozen public school advocates also attended the rally, handing out packets detailing the Ohio allegations and federal investigation and noting the schools' poor high school graduation rate.
Retired teacher Anita Beck said Concept shouldn't be allowed to spend money -- some of which it gets from state coffers -- on a positive public relations campaign.
"Local public schools and educators do not hire luxury charter buses and pay for luncheons and have TV advertisement and print material printed on cars and solicit to students," Beck said. "The charter industry here is not."
The clowns at Concept are spending thousands of of our tax dollars on a public relations firm to revamp their reputation, and yet, the public relations firm allows Ucan to keep on talking. And each and every time that Ucan opens his mouth to “explain” away a criticism, he just makes it worse. So either they need to duct tape Ucan’s mouth shut or get their money back from the PR firm, because something’s not working here. Either way, it’s an outrage that our taxes are paying for this traveling circus.
Yesterday, Concepts Schools sponsored a “rally” at the Ohio State Capitol, allegedly to share in the glory of their successes. It’s a sure bet that the taxpayers – via state and federal funding – paid for the 400 “guests,” that were bused to Columbus for the rally and also fed lunch. And on a side note, why weren’t the kids in school, after all – the school was being paid for their attendance, right?
But let’s back up here… exactly what successes were they bragging about?
The results of the recently released 2012-13 Ohio Department of Education’s Report Card show that cumulatively, the 18 Ohio Concept Schools were given the following grades: 42 F’s (the greatest majority in the Gap Closing – reading, math, and graduation rates, and Achievement categories), 25 D’s, 18 C’s, 8 B’s, and 12 A’s. Maybe Ucan thinks that F stands for fabulous, but for the mainstream population -- F means fail (not succeed, fall short, not make the grade, not pass, unsuccessful…)
So the next time that Ucan and his cronies decide to further waste our tax funds by taking a propaganda road trip, perhaps they should at least have something valid to brag about.
When Ucan was questioned by a reporter about Concept’s association with Fethullah Gulen, Ucan finally admitted that he and some of the other employees “followed” Gulen’s teachings but that they schools were not associated with the movement. Ucan also likened Gulen to American education reformer Horace Mann.
Is he joking?
Mann was valedictorian of his graduating class Brown University, went on to law school, and was elected a United States senator. Further, Mann believed in non-sectarian (no religious preferences or influences in public education), and that “education should be provided by well-trained, professional teachers,” (e.g. teachers that can actually read, write, and speak English and have bona-fide teaching credentials).
Gulen on the other hand, is an exiled Islamic Iman, has a 4th grade education, and fled his own country before he could be indicted and arrested on charges of plotting to overthrow the Turkish government.
And tell us again Ucan – what are the comparison similarities here?
However, despite Ucan and the newly hired public relations firm’s best efforts – it did rain a bit on their parade. Apparently and unknown to Ucan (until he was told by a reporter), The Ohio Department of Education has initiated new investigations into two more Concept Schools, in addition to the ones already being investigated as a result of teacher complaints who alleged that some of the schools’ were involved in “ sex games, test tampering and other potentially criminal misdeeds.”
Below is a link to Jackie Borchardt’s story on the rally, published on September 16, 2014.
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2014/09/horizon_charter_school_parents.html
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- More than 400 supporters of Concept charter schools in Ohio rallied here Tuesday to speak against allegations of sexual harassment, cheating and other inappropriate behavior at the charter operator's Ohio schools.
Concept Schools, a Chicago-based charter management company, paid for charter buses to bring parents, including many from Northeast Ohio, to the Statehouse rally and to provide them with lunch.
Seven supporters spoke in front of the state Board of Education during the public comment portion of its regular meeting here. The board asked questions of the supporters but made no decisions.
In July, four former Concept schools teachers appeared before the board, alleging misconduct by teachers and administrators at Dayton-area Horizon schools.
The board called for a full investigation of the claims.
Ohio Department of Education spokesman John Charlton said Tuesday the department is determining what should be investigated. Charlton said the department turned the allegations into formal complaints and forwarded them to the appropriate offices within ODE, as is done with any complaints made to the department.
"We do this every day," Charlton said in an interview. "We don't need to have the board say, 'you need to investigate this.'"
Charlton said two new complaints were added -- one each from schools in Columbus and Cincinnati -- about testing issues after the department reached out to the schools for additional complaints.
Concept Schools operates 17 charter schools in Ohio. Its Horizon and Noble Academy schools are public charter schools -- public schools that receive state funding.
Salim Ucan, vice president of Concept schools
Salim Ucan, vice president of Concept Schools, said the rally was intended to celebrate the success of the schools and they did not plan to lobby lawmakers, as two state representatives said Monday.
"Today we had about 400 parents, some of whom traveled three hours to be here, to let their voices be heard and let the public define our organization and our schools by their experiences, not by four or five former disgruntled employees' experiences," Ucan said.
Ucan said Concept is cooperating with ODE and federal authorities. A federal investigation concerns a federal grant for technology, he said.
Marie Bonilla, a parent of two students at Horizon Science Academy Lorain, testified before the state board. Bonilla said she is happy with her children's schools and thinks the allegations are little more than rumor.
"If you knew our teachers, you'd understand that there is no cheating there. Those teachers don't put up with that nonsense," Bonilla said in an interview. "These teachers go above and beyond to help these kids. I just don't understand why they're giving them such a hard time."
Anita Beck, retired public school teacher Anita Beck, retired public school teacher, talks about why the Concept charter school rally in Columbus concerns her.
About a dozen public school advocates also attended the rally, handing out packets detailing the Ohio allegations and federal investigation and noting the schools' poor high school graduation rate.
Retired teacher Anita Beck said Concept shouldn't be allowed to spend money -- some of which it gets from state coffers -- on a positive public relations campaign.
"Local public schools and educators do not hire luxury charter buses and pay for luncheons and have TV advertisement and print material printed on cars and solicit to students," Beck said. "The charter industry here is not."
