The Gulenists love to take photos, especially with their paid-off political buddies. Likewise, they like to snap photos of their adversaries, thinking that by pressing the camera button that their opponents will magically disappear with the flash, as if their photo sessions are the ultimate acts of intimidation.
We saw them come out of the shadows at Gulen’s compound during the anti-Gulen protests --- sneaking out to photograph the protesters. Similarly, they sent “photographers” to snap photos of Sharon Higgin’s protests in California. And today in Chicago, they called the cops on activist Bill Drew as he was handing out flyers for an upcoming discussion on Concept Schools and other charter school irregularities. Bill will be hosting an informational meeting on July 2nd from 6:00 – 7:45 PM at the McKinley Park Library at 1915 W. 35th Street in Chicago. For those close to the Chicago -- try to attend the meeting – it should be a real eye-opener for those who are not yet privy to the Gulenists’ shady activities.
I love looking at photos too -- and am eagerly awaiting the preview of the long anticipated Gulenists photo album – the photo montage of their mug shots…
Now segueing into another topic – but again – one near and dear to my heart, the state educational testing scam that the boys have been actively engaged in since the inception of the massive charter school swindle operation.
In today’s publication, Bill Phillis of Ohio’s E & A daily blog, published former Concept Schools’ teacher Matt Blair’s letter that he sent to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education requesting an investigation into Concept Schools various shady dealings involving state testing and other eye-witness accounts of additional suspect activities. It should be duly noted that Mr. Blair wrote about these activities last December and yet to date – the ODE has failed to address his very serious concerns.
This does not surprise me in the least. Six years ago I personally wrote and sent evidence to the ODE about my suspicions on Concept Schools’ cheating and manipulation of state testing scores (among other criminal activities), and am still awaiting the onset of an investigation into their proclaimed and consistent glorious test scores.
One of the most glaring concerns was the fact that only the Turkish men employed at the schools, handled the final tests before they were sent off to the ODE for testing results. These guys actually created a “position” (filled by Turkish men) that dictated as part of their “duties” that they would be the test proctors and would be in charge of handing out, collecting, and mailing off the tests to ODE. So Matt’s claim that he saw Turkish guys on a Saturday who when questioned about what they were doing with the state standardized tests, replied that they were only there to “Darken in the answers for students who wrote too lightly," does not sound like a fantastical accusation to me.
Holy cheaters, Batman! – that alone should have lit a fire under the ODE’s bureaucratic butts and kicked off a thorough investigation into these suspected illegal activities. But not our politicians, they are way too busy smiling in front of cameras – posing with the fraudsters, stuffing their pockets and mouths with free baklava, trips to Turkey, and campaign contributions.
Maybe – just maybe – now that the feds are on to this group of tax payer - funded charlatans, will the state governments that host these fraudsters, be forced to finally address the concerns that their constituents (those would be the people that vote them into office and pay their salaries), and offer some real explanations as to why the government officials have chosen to ignore the warnings and evidence that so many people have ferried their way -- warnings that are apparently being shoved into the state trash can beneath the empty baklava wrappers.
How many Matt Blair’s have come forward and been ignored – consistently? When will the tax payers get truly fed up and demand that the people who are supposed to be protecting the tax payers and the American education system finally get off of their collectives behinds and do the jobs they are being paid to do? When indeed?
Below is the blog from Bill Phillis’ Ohio E & A update which includes Matt Blair’s letter:
Teacher Matt Blair requests the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education to determine if the Office of Community Schools in the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) had addressed serious issues raised previously.
Matt Blair, on June 23, requested further investigation of serious issues he had witnessed as a teacher in a Concept-managed Gulen charter school. It appears that ODE may have merely whitewashed the matter.
In view of the FBI raid on 19 Gulen charter schools (associated with Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish, Muslim cleric exiled in Saylorsburg, PA), it would seem that the issues raised by this teacher should be thoroughly investigated by ODE.
Below is the letter sent by Mr. Blair. How the State Board of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction handle this request will reveal much about how these state officials relate to the common good and the public common school system.
Dr. Richard Ross
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Ohio Department of Education
25 S. Front St.
Columbus, Ohio
Members of the State Board of Education of Ohio
June 23, 2014
Dr. Ross and Members of the State School Board:
Because I previously taught for Concept Schools, I read with interest about the FBI raids on 19 of their schools (Akron Beacon Journal, June 10, 2014). Unfortunately, this is not the first time that the Gulen-run charter school chain has been investigated for potential criminal actions. It's not likely to be the last.
More troubling, however, is that the political and bureaucratic will to curb charter school abuses in Ohio so far has been largely nonexistent.
In December 2013, I wrote an article outlining unethical behavior that I personally witnessed while teaching at a Concept School (Voices of Change). Copies circulated among officials at the Office of Community Schools in Columbus. The officials in charge of oversight responded by asking Concept Schools' sponsoring organization softball questions, even telling the sponsor to "feel welcome to keep [their] responses brief and 'positive'" (January 15 e-mail, Office of Community Schools, ODE, Re: HSA Article). No one contacted me for further details, clarification, or questions.
The issues I raised were serious: mold in classrooms; exposed wiring in hallways; officials pulling at-risk students out of class during standardized testing; Turkish men who came in on a Saturday to darken "in the answers for students who wrote too lightly" on standardized tests.
The US Departments of Labor and Education, the Federal Communications Commission, and the FBI all have discovered that Concept Schools operate fraudulently. Countless teachers, parents, and children have learned that many charter schools abandon children. Unfortunately, oversight officials and too many charter school operators fail to see the necessity of following good educational practices, let alone the law.
The purpose of this letter is to ask members of the State Board of Education to do the following:
I am attaching a copy of my 2013 article and the state's response to it. I am willing to be of any assistance.
Sincerely,
Matt Blair
Kettering, Ohio
(937) 643-9351
[email protected]
cc: Akron Beacon Journal
Associated Press
Canton Repository
Cincinnati Enquirer
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Columbus Dispatch
Dayton Daily News
Toledo Blade
Youngstown Vindicator
William Phillis
Ohio E & A
We saw them come out of the shadows at Gulen’s compound during the anti-Gulen protests --- sneaking out to photograph the protesters. Similarly, they sent “photographers” to snap photos of Sharon Higgin’s protests in California. And today in Chicago, they called the cops on activist Bill Drew as he was handing out flyers for an upcoming discussion on Concept Schools and other charter school irregularities. Bill will be hosting an informational meeting on July 2nd from 6:00 – 7:45 PM at the McKinley Park Library at 1915 W. 35th Street in Chicago. For those close to the Chicago -- try to attend the meeting – it should be a real eye-opener for those who are not yet privy to the Gulenists’ shady activities.
I love looking at photos too -- and am eagerly awaiting the preview of the long anticipated Gulenists photo album – the photo montage of their mug shots…
Now segueing into another topic – but again – one near and dear to my heart, the state educational testing scam that the boys have been actively engaged in since the inception of the massive charter school swindle operation.
In today’s publication, Bill Phillis of Ohio’s E & A daily blog, published former Concept Schools’ teacher Matt Blair’s letter that he sent to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education requesting an investigation into Concept Schools various shady dealings involving state testing and other eye-witness accounts of additional suspect activities. It should be duly noted that Mr. Blair wrote about these activities last December and yet to date – the ODE has failed to address his very serious concerns.
This does not surprise me in the least. Six years ago I personally wrote and sent evidence to the ODE about my suspicions on Concept Schools’ cheating and manipulation of state testing scores (among other criminal activities), and am still awaiting the onset of an investigation into their proclaimed and consistent glorious test scores.
One of the most glaring concerns was the fact that only the Turkish men employed at the schools, handled the final tests before they were sent off to the ODE for testing results. These guys actually created a “position” (filled by Turkish men) that dictated as part of their “duties” that they would be the test proctors and would be in charge of handing out, collecting, and mailing off the tests to ODE. So Matt’s claim that he saw Turkish guys on a Saturday who when questioned about what they were doing with the state standardized tests, replied that they were only there to “Darken in the answers for students who wrote too lightly," does not sound like a fantastical accusation to me.
Holy cheaters, Batman! – that alone should have lit a fire under the ODE’s bureaucratic butts and kicked off a thorough investigation into these suspected illegal activities. But not our politicians, they are way too busy smiling in front of cameras – posing with the fraudsters, stuffing their pockets and mouths with free baklava, trips to Turkey, and campaign contributions.
Maybe – just maybe – now that the feds are on to this group of tax payer - funded charlatans, will the state governments that host these fraudsters, be forced to finally address the concerns that their constituents (those would be the people that vote them into office and pay their salaries), and offer some real explanations as to why the government officials have chosen to ignore the warnings and evidence that so many people have ferried their way -- warnings that are apparently being shoved into the state trash can beneath the empty baklava wrappers.
How many Matt Blair’s have come forward and been ignored – consistently? When will the tax payers get truly fed up and demand that the people who are supposed to be protecting the tax payers and the American education system finally get off of their collectives behinds and do the jobs they are being paid to do? When indeed?
Below is the blog from Bill Phillis’ Ohio E & A update which includes Matt Blair’s letter:
Teacher Matt Blair requests the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education to determine if the Office of Community Schools in the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) had addressed serious issues raised previously.
Matt Blair, on June 23, requested further investigation of serious issues he had witnessed as a teacher in a Concept-managed Gulen charter school. It appears that ODE may have merely whitewashed the matter.
In view of the FBI raid on 19 Gulen charter schools (associated with Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish, Muslim cleric exiled in Saylorsburg, PA), it would seem that the issues raised by this teacher should be thoroughly investigated by ODE.
Below is the letter sent by Mr. Blair. How the State Board of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction handle this request will reveal much about how these state officials relate to the common good and the public common school system.
Dr. Richard Ross
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Ohio Department of Education
25 S. Front St.
Columbus, Ohio
Members of the State Board of Education of Ohio
June 23, 2014
Dr. Ross and Members of the State School Board:
Because I previously taught for Concept Schools, I read with interest about the FBI raids on 19 of their schools (Akron Beacon Journal, June 10, 2014). Unfortunately, this is not the first time that the Gulen-run charter school chain has been investigated for potential criminal actions. It's not likely to be the last.
More troubling, however, is that the political and bureaucratic will to curb charter school abuses in Ohio so far has been largely nonexistent.
In December 2013, I wrote an article outlining unethical behavior that I personally witnessed while teaching at a Concept School (Voices of Change). Copies circulated among officials at the Office of Community Schools in Columbus. The officials in charge of oversight responded by asking Concept Schools' sponsoring organization softball questions, even telling the sponsor to "feel welcome to keep [their] responses brief and 'positive'" (January 15 e-mail, Office of Community Schools, ODE, Re: HSA Article). No one contacted me for further details, clarification, or questions.
The issues I raised were serious: mold in classrooms; exposed wiring in hallways; officials pulling at-risk students out of class during standardized testing; Turkish men who came in on a Saturday to darken "in the answers for students who wrote too lightly" on standardized tests.
The US Departments of Labor and Education, the Federal Communications Commission, and the FBI all have discovered that Concept Schools operate fraudulently. Countless teachers, parents, and children have learned that many charter schools abandon children. Unfortunately, oversight officials and too many charter school operators fail to see the necessity of following good educational practices, let alone the law.
The purpose of this letter is to ask members of the State Board of Education to do the following:
- Determine whether the apparent cheating and other irregularities I witnessed were properly investigated and whether they continue today;
- Determine who wrote the softball questions that clearly were intended to discourage an independent investigation;
- Mend Ohio's flawed system of overseeing charter schools in a way that allows a thorough analysis of the deficiencies of these charter school chains and demand that schools remedy any deficiencies that undermine student success.
I am attaching a copy of my 2013 article and the state's response to it. I am willing to be of any assistance.
Sincerely,
Matt Blair
Kettering, Ohio
(937) 643-9351
[email protected]
cc: Akron Beacon Journal
Associated Press
Canton Repository
Cincinnati Enquirer
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Columbus Dispatch
Dayton Daily News
Toledo Blade
Youngstown Vindicator
William Phillis
Ohio E & A
