From the Land of Oz

We are off to the Wizard...

Below is an email sent to our website from some staff members alerting us about what is happening at the Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania Charter School. The concerns expressed are not only legitimate, but are also par for the course with these guys. They continue to plant their Turkish guys into positions that they are not qualified for, filling the positions with their cronies instead of hiring qualified, credentialed American teachers.

As previously stated by our website (many times) this is a common practice of outright discrimination and a clear violation of the United States immigration and Department of Labor laws. And as we have also stated (many times), we are puzzled as to how and why the "guys" have been allowed to operate in this fashion for the past 10 years.

Why are Gulen's boys exempt from following American laws? It is incredulous to us that they consistently violate our laws while continuing to open their schools at warp speed. Where are the government watchdogs (drinking tea with Gulen perhaps)?

Again, feel free to submit more information to our website. We applaud the people that have the courage to come forward, realizing that only a concerted effort will stop this. We will keep your name(s) confidential and rest assured, the evidence that you help gather will be forwarded to the appropriate authorities (after the tea party that is).

And as a side note, it is pretty obvious to us, that the Wizard's (Oz) mysterious and sudden "promotion" was so that the school could sponsor him for a green card. That's part of the pattern -- promote and sponsor the Turks, in lieu of hiring Americans. Feel free to request a copy of his citizen status under the public documents laws, and let us know what you find (just follow the yellow brick road).

“Mr. Oz is another of those AKAs. His name apparently is Ozdogan but we didn't find that initially. Our school is Young Scholars of Central PA. Yes, Oz was added as a math teacher in the beginning of the 2008/09 school year when they expanded to a K-7. It was also the first year that the assistant principal left, a Mrs. Smutz, who was a credentialed American. They did not replace her but kept Dr. Tarman (Bulent Tarman) as the Principal/CEO even though he held absolutely no administration credentials - and we don't think teaching ones either.

They added two new Turkish teachers that year, a math and a science. The science teacher left and the math teacher, Mr. Oz, was given a dual title of Math/Dean of Academics half- way through that year even though he did not hold administrative or academic credentials for that position . Darcy was much more qualified but wasn't even interviewed.

Also, that year they added a tech assistant who they sponsored on an HB-1 visa. The current tech guy at the time was given the $52,000+ grant money for his Ph.D project that we found on the Land resume. He then left at the end of last year and the assistant guy replaced him in full-time capacity as the tech guy so they didn't look for a qualified local tech guy because they had their Turkish guy already in place.

It was the same with our new Principal/CEO this year, Mr. Levent Kaya, courtesy of Buffaflo Science Academy. We didn't know we were getting a new Principal and that Tarman was heading back to Turkey. Oh, he still sits on our board though. And Kaya does not have administrative credentials either so Darcy would have been a better fit for his job too!”

With her permission, we are publishing the Curriculum Vitae of a very qualified candidate who applied for an administrative position at YSCP. She is the candidate referred to in the above referenced email. As indicated in the email, she was never seriously considered for the position. Could it be that it is because she is not Turkish, male, and under 40 -- just a wild guess here?

After reviewing her qualifications, it should be crystal clear that this educator is far more qualified than the Wizard and his munchkins.

Forget about teaching -- with her credentials -- she needs to run for political office -- maybe then we could get someone to send Oz back to Kansas...or Turkey.

DARCY (Last name and other personal information omitted)

Curriculum Vitae

EDUCATION

Ph.D. Penn State University, University Park, PA (August 1999)

Major Area: Education Theory & Policy

Dissertationtitle: “They Took It All From Me”: Croatian Adolescent Refugees and Their Identity Development in War and Peace

                Ed.M. Smith College, Northampton, MA (May 1991)

                Major Area: Elementary Education

                Certified in Elementary Education in Georgia, Connecticut and Massachusetts

                B.A.: Smith College, Northampton, MA (May 1983)

                Major: Economics

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Lycoming College(2005-June 2009)

                Assistant Professor & Director of Teacher Education, Department of Education

                                Develop and teach three (3) different courses per semester

                                Advise students pursuing teacher certification program

                                Elected Faculty Secretary for the 2007-2008 academic year

                                Served on Faculty Executive Committee, 2007-2008

Penn State Public Broadcasting (2002-2005)

                Director of PreK-12 Educational Outreach

                                Responsible for all PreK-12 educational initiatives of the station

                                Participated in fundraising activities including grant research, donor visits with development

                                staff and on-air fund drives

                                Created and taught numerous in-service courses central Pennsylvania teachers

                                Maintain & extend the federal programs Ready to Learn and TeacherLine

Executive Producer – Scholastic Scrimmage, involved in all creative, supervisory and administrative decisions.

Penn State Harrisburg – School of Behavioral Science and Education (1999-2002)

                Assistant Professor.

Taught graduate and undergraduate philosophy of education classes

                Maintained an independent research agenda

                Served on department search committees for new faculty members

Pennsylvania State University – Department of Education Policy Studies (1998-1999)

                Teaching Assistant:            Education Theory and Policy

Organized two discussion sections for required undergraduate course

(enrollment – 300)

Supported faculty with research agendas

The University of Georgia – Department of Elementary Education (1996-1997)

                Graduate Assistant:             Middle Grades Education

Taught Middle Grades Curriculum Course (enrollment 25)

Supervised Student Teachers during practicums

Assisted faculty with research programs

Piedmont College – Athens, GA (1996-1997)

                Adjunct Faculty

                Courses Taught:

                                Introduction to Instructional Technology (Graduate)

                                Introduction to Reading Methods (Undergraduate)

                                Introduction to Social Studies Methods (Undergraduate)

Clarke County Public Schools – Clarke Middle School, Athens, GA (1993-1996)

                Grade 6: Language Arts and Science

Piloted Integrated Science program for the district

Participated in the National Teacher Training Institute for instructional video Chosen as 6th grade school representative for district’s Instructional Committee

Assessed applicants for National Certification in Language Arts conducted by the

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

New Canaan Public Schools – West School, New Canaan, CT (1991-1993)

                Grades 4 & 5: All Subjects

Developed cross-curriculum units for literature and social studies

Collaborated and team taught with special education teachers

Served on school’s Staff Development Committee

FELLOWSHIPS AND GRANTS

Graduate Student Research Initiation Grant - 1998

                College of Education Alumni Society, Pennsylvania State University

Fulbright Fellowship – 1997–1998

                Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Croatia

University Assistantship – 1997

                University of Georgia, Athens, GA

AWARDS

Vice President’s Award - Penn State University, Outreach Division February 2004

For Learning and Community

General Manager’s Award – Penn State Public Broadcasting, May 2004

                For innovative and entrepreneurial leadership skills in reinventing Penn State Public Broadcasting’s educational services and building relationships with schools throughout the 29 county coverage area.

Community Service Award (Co-Winner) – Penn State Public Broadcasting, May 2004

                For the early childhood literacy program Ready to Learn.

PUBLICATIONS

Darcy (2000) Refugee Education in Croatia: Ethnic Conflict and Ethnic Identity. Special Issue on Minority Education Policy, International Journal of Educational Research. Vol. 3, #6 (611-620).

Gerald K. LeTendre, Darcy , Bonnie Johnson (2000) Conclusion: national educational policies and the formation of a “minority status”. Special Issue on Minority Education Policy, International Journal of Educational Research. Vol. 3, #6 (649-655)

Darcy A., Andelka Peko, Ph.D., Bozica Stumfol. (1998) Support for Returnees and Displaced Students in Education: A Case Study. The Quality in Education and Teaching, An International Scientific Colloquium. Rijeka, Croatia.

K.Denise Muth, Laurie E. Hart, Gerald LeTendre, Ruth Ferrence and Darcy A. (1998) Middle Grades in Education in the 21st Century: The Role of Cross-Disciplinary research in Practice and Policy.   Research in Middle Level Education Quarterly.

INTERNATIONAL PRESENTATIONS

The Changing Demands on Teacher Education: A comparison between Croatia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Darcy. To be presented at the XXIII Comparative Education Society in Europe, Athens, Greece, July 2008.

Finding their place in the world: Refugees and the Development of a Global Identity. Darcy. Presented at the European Conference for Education Research, Edinburgh, Scotland, September 2000.

Croatian Adolescent Refugees and their search for Identity. Darcy. Presented at the Comparative and International Education Society Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, March 1999.

Education of Displaced and Returnee Children in Eastern Slavonia. Andelka Peko, Ph.D., Irena Vodopija Ph.D., Darcy A.. Presented at the European Conference for Education Research, Ljubljanja, Slovenia, September 1998.

Middle School Teaching Teams: Implications for European Teachers. Darcy and Katherine Finch Thompson. Presented at the European Conference for Education Research, Frankfurt, Germany, 1997.

Traditional and Nontraditional Middle School Teaching Teams: Implications for Research and Practice. Darcy A., Katherine Finch Thompson, and Suzanne S. McCotter. Presented at the British Education Research Association annual conference, York, England, September 1997.

NATIONAL PRESENTATIONS

Instructional Technology and Public Television: Next steps in educational outreach, Darcy, Moderator, Amy Shaw, Gene Broderson, Danny Henley. Presented at The National Center for Outreach 2003 Annual Conference, New Orleans, April 12, 2003.

Symposium: Modeling Exemplary Assessment Techniques in Higher Education, Colleen Willard-Holt, Denise G. Meister, Steven Melnick, Rachel Grant, Darcy, Caroline Owens. Presented at the American Education Research Association 2001 Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA , April, 2001.

Where Are We Going?: Comparative and International Education in the 21st Century, Symposium. David P. Baker, Darcy, Co-Coordinators. Presented at the Comparative and International Education Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. March 15-18, 2001.

Modeling Best Practices in Assessment in Teacher Education Classes. Denise G. Meister, Steven Melnick, Colleen Willard-Holt, Rachel Grant, Darcy, Caroline Owens. Presented at the Association of Teacher Educators 2001 Annual Meeting, New Orleans, February 17-21, 2001.

Traditional and Nontraditional Teaching Teams: Successes and Difficulties in Middle Schools. Katherine Finch Thompson and Darcy A. Presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, March 1997.

Implementing a Schools of Choice Program and its impact on classroom teachers. Darcy A., Katherine Finch Thompson, and Suzanne S. McCotter. Presented at the National Middle School Association Annual Conference, Baltimore, Maryland, November 1996.

Teachers on middle school teams: The effects of two to five member teams. Katherine Finch Thompson, Suzanne S. McCotter, and Darcy A. Presented at the National Middle School Association Annual Conference, Baltimore, Maryland, November 1996.

Doctoral education and the development of expert teachers of young adolescents. Laurie Hart, K. Denise Muth, Bryan Sorohan, Gerald LeTendre, Ruth Ferrence, Darcy A. Presented at the National Middle School Association Annual Conference, Baltimore, Maryland, November 1996.

References available upon request