A Stellar Story...
http://azstarnet.com/news/science/environment/article_dec199db-be3f-5519-be3d-f6ad970db1f8.html
Here's an excerpt from a "stellar" story written by Tim Steller, of the Arizona Daily Star. Please go to the above website for the complete story:
Sonoran Science Academy cites shortage of adequate teachers in hiring many Turks
Foreigners fill ranks of local charter- school chain
By Tim Steller Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Sunday, April 25, 2010 12:00 am |
Tucson's Sonoran Science Academy and its sister schools import an unusually large proportion of their staff from foreign countries, especially Turkey, in a practice that parallels the customs of an important Turkish religious-political movement.
The five Sonoran Science Academy charter schools and their parent company, Daisy Education Corp., received U.S. Labor Department certification to fill 39 teaching and administrative jobs with foreigners last year, federal data show. From 2002 through 2009, the schools have received certifications for 120 H-1B visas.
That's more certifications than any comparable school in Arizona received in that eight-year period - and more than the six biggest school districts in Southern Arizona combined.
Sonoran Science Academy schools and Daisy Education requested so many visas because they have been unable to find adequate math and science teachers in the United States, because Daisy Education is adding schools fast, and because, in some cases, multiple applications were filed for the same person or position, Superintendent Ozkur Yildiz said via e-mail.
Yildiz also noted the schools' high test scores and many awards, and that the Arizona Charter Schools Association named the northwest-side school 2009 Charter School of the Year.
But some parents and former teachers question the practice, especially in a time of teacher layoffs.
"I don't understand why we're not hiring teachers from our areas here. I'm sure our teachers are just as qualified," said Sonoran Science parent Julie Festerling, who works as a substitute teacher at other schools.
Some experts point to a different possible explanation: that Sonoran Science Academy is part of a loose global network of Turkish-run schools - 100 or more in the United States - inspired by Fethullah Gülen, who lives in exile in Pennsylvania. Worldwide, "Gülen schools" tend to hire teachers from Turkey and the broader "Turkic" world, including Central Asia, and their schools emphasize math, science and Turkish culture, scholars said.
(Read the complete story ..... @ http://azstarnet.com/news/science/environment/article_dec199db-be3f-5519-be3d-f6ad970db1f8.html
Schools spread
Three Turkish professionals living in Tucson founded Sonoran Science Academy in 2001. One, Nasuhi Yurt, was studying optical sciences at the University of Arizona at the time.
"It occurred to us we could help in the community while I was there," he said. "We heard about this charter school idea, a couple friends got together."
The result was Sonoran Science Academy.
It may seem a singular story, but Turkish scholars, scientists and technology professionals were doing the same thing around the United States in the last decade. Harmony Science Academy was born in Texas, Magnolia Science Academy in California, Coral Academy of Science in Nevada and Beehive Science & Technology Academy in Utah, among many others.
The Turkish-run schools in the West, including Sonoran Science Academy, contract with the Accord Institute, a nonprofit in Tustin, Calif., also run by Turks, for curriculum and other services. Turkish teachers and administrators circulate frequently among the schools.
Ercan Aydogdu, the Sonoran Science Academy principal who opened a school last year at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, now is principal at the Turkish-run Bay Area Technology School in Oakland, Calif.
Murat Biyik was a math teacher at Sonoran Science Academy, moved on to Beehive Academy in Utah, went to the Magnolia school in Hollywood, Calif., then to the Accord Institute near Los Angeles, and now is back at Beehive Academy.
Fatih Karatas, principal of Sonoran Science Academy's campus at 2325 W. Sunset Road, came from Magnolia Science Academy's Reseda campus in Los Angeles.
Contact reporter Tim Steller at [email protected] .
Here's an excerpt from a "stellar" story written by Tim Steller, of the Arizona Daily Star. Please go to the above website for the complete story:
Sonoran Science Academy cites shortage of adequate teachers in hiring many Turks
Foreigners fill ranks of local charter- school chain
By Tim Steller Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Sunday, April 25, 2010 12:00 am |
Tucson's Sonoran Science Academy and its sister schools import an unusually large proportion of their staff from foreign countries, especially Turkey, in a practice that parallels the customs of an important Turkish religious-political movement.
The five Sonoran Science Academy charter schools and their parent company, Daisy Education Corp., received U.S. Labor Department certification to fill 39 teaching and administrative jobs with foreigners last year, federal data show. From 2002 through 2009, the schools have received certifications for 120 H-1B visas.
That's more certifications than any comparable school in Arizona received in that eight-year period - and more than the six biggest school districts in Southern Arizona combined.
Sonoran Science Academy schools and Daisy Education requested so many visas because they have been unable to find adequate math and science teachers in the United States, because Daisy Education is adding schools fast, and because, in some cases, multiple applications were filed for the same person or position, Superintendent Ozkur Yildiz said via e-mail.
Yildiz also noted the schools' high test scores and many awards, and that the Arizona Charter Schools Association named the northwest-side school 2009 Charter School of the Year.
But some parents and former teachers question the practice, especially in a time of teacher layoffs.
"I don't understand why we're not hiring teachers from our areas here. I'm sure our teachers are just as qualified," said Sonoran Science parent Julie Festerling, who works as a substitute teacher at other schools.
Some experts point to a different possible explanation: that Sonoran Science Academy is part of a loose global network of Turkish-run schools - 100 or more in the United States - inspired by Fethullah Gülen, who lives in exile in Pennsylvania. Worldwide, "Gülen schools" tend to hire teachers from Turkey and the broader "Turkic" world, including Central Asia, and their schools emphasize math, science and Turkish culture, scholars said.
(Read the complete story ..... @ http://azstarnet.com/news/science/environment/article_dec199db-be3f-5519-be3d-f6ad970db1f8.html
Schools spread
Three Turkish professionals living in Tucson founded Sonoran Science Academy in 2001. One, Nasuhi Yurt, was studying optical sciences at the University of Arizona at the time.
"It occurred to us we could help in the community while I was there," he said. "We heard about this charter school idea, a couple friends got together."
The result was Sonoran Science Academy.
It may seem a singular story, but Turkish scholars, scientists and technology professionals were doing the same thing around the United States in the last decade. Harmony Science Academy was born in Texas, Magnolia Science Academy in California, Coral Academy of Science in Nevada and Beehive Science & Technology Academy in Utah, among many others.
The Turkish-run schools in the West, including Sonoran Science Academy, contract with the Accord Institute, a nonprofit in Tustin, Calif., also run by Turks, for curriculum and other services. Turkish teachers and administrators circulate frequently among the schools.
Ercan Aydogdu, the Sonoran Science Academy principal who opened a school last year at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, now is principal at the Turkish-run Bay Area Technology School in Oakland, Calif.
Murat Biyik was a math teacher at Sonoran Science Academy, moved on to Beehive Academy in Utah, went to the Magnolia school in Hollywood, Calif., then to the Accord Institute near Los Angeles, and now is back at Beehive Academy.
Fatih Karatas, principal of Sonoran Science Academy's campus at 2325 W. Sunset Road, came from Magnolia Science Academy's Reseda campus in Los Angeles.
Contact reporter Tim Steller at [email protected] .
