I-SWEEEP 3E Sustainable Future Challenge:
a Gulenist competition
Page created August 30, 2011
by C.A.S.I.L.I.P.S. - Citizens Against Special Interest Lobbying in Public Schools
I-SWEEEP 3E Sustainable Future Challenge, which started in 2011 as an apparent spin-off from the main I-SWEEEP science fair competition, advertises itself as a "national contest for middle school students." The organizer and main sponsor of I-SWEEEP (according to the information on the website in 2011) is the Cosmos Foundation. The Cosmos Foundation is the charter holder of the 38 Harmony Public Schools (the chain of Harmony Science Academy, etc) and has official financial ties in the form of a "Support Service Agreement" with the School of Science and Technology schools in Texas, the Dove/Discovery chain in Oklahoma, the LISA Academy schools in Arkansas, and other schools in New Mexico, Tennessee and Louisiana. Cosmos receives 3-5% of the revenues allocated to these schools from state funds. The connection of Cosmos and the Harmony schools to the Gulen Movement was discussed in a New York Times article of June 6, 2011.
The I-SWEEEP 3E contest has 40 semi-finalists, out of which 10 finalists and a single grand award winner are chosen.
The 3E Grand Award winner (receiving $3000) for 2011 was from Lisa Academy in Arkansas, a Gulen charter school.
Exactly half of the 2011 semi-finalists - 20 out of 40 - came from Gulen charter schools.
In contrast, as noted in connection with the GENIUS olympiad, in 2011 Gulen charter schools accounted for only one prize-winner out of over 1500 participants at ISEF, the world's largest science fair, which has no affiliation with the Gulen Movement.
Note also that of the 20 Gulen charter schools, 11 are part of the Harmony Public Schools chain run by Cosmos, and another 6, including the Grand Award-winning LISA Academy, are schools that have the Support Service Agreement with Cosmos. Thus, Cosmos appears largely to be rewarding its own students.
School affiliations of the semi-finalist projects for 2011, obtained from the I-SWEEEP website http://www.isweeep.org
1. The Classical Academy, Colorado
2. Harmony Science Academy Euless, Texas <---GULEN CHARTER SCHOOL
3. Rocky Mountain Middle School, Utah
4. Sonoran Science Academy, Arizona <---GULEN CHARTER SCHOOL
5. Rocky Mountain Middle School, Utah
6. Harmony Excellence, Texas <---GULEN CHARTER SCHOOL
7. Bay Haven Charter Academy, Florida
8. Harmony School of Discovery, Texas <---GULEN CHARTER SCHOOL
9. Summa Academy South (Whitford Middle School), Oregon
10. Oregon Episcopal School, Oregon
11. Harmony School of Excellence, Texas <---GULEN CHARTER SCHOOL
12. Fontainebleau Junior High, Louisiana
13. Harmony Science Academy - Fort Worth, Texas <---GULEN CHARTER SCHOOL
14. St.Margaret Catholic School, Louisiana
15. Harmony Science Academy San Antonio, Texas <---GULEN CHARTER SCHOOL
16. Harmony Science Academy - Laredo, Texas <---GULEN CHARTER SCHOOL
17. Paragon Science Academy, Arizona <---GULEN CHARTER SCHOOL
18. Dripping Springs Middle School, Texas
19. Oregon Episcopal School, Oregon
20. Dove Science Academy, Oklahoma <---GULEN CHARTER SCHOOL
21. Chesapeake Science Point Public Charter School, Maryland <---GULEN CHARTER SCHOOL
22. Oregon Episcopal School, Oregon
23. St. Raphael, Ohio
24. Midvale Middle School, Utah
25. St. Monica Catholic, Texas
26. Tuscumbia Middle School, Missouri
27. Harmony School of Science, Texas <---GULEN CHARTER SCHOOL
28. Harmony School of Excellence, Texas <---GULEN CHARTER SCHOOL
29. School of Science & Technology--Alamo, Texas <---GULEN CHARTER SCHOOL
30. School of Science and Technology Discovery, Texas <---GULEN CHARTER SCHOOL
31. The Classical Academy, Colorado
32. Harmony Excellence, Texas <---GULEN CHARTER SCHOOL
33. Surfside Middle School, Florida
34. The Classical Academy, Colorado
35. Harmony Excellence, Texas <---GULEN CHARTER SCHOOL
36. School Of Science and Technology Discovery, Texas <---GULEN CHARTER SCHOOL
37. Harmony Science Academy San Antonio, Texas <---GULEN CHARTER SCHOOL
38. All Saints Catholic School, Texas
39. LISA Academy, Arkansas <---GULEN CHARTER SCHOOL
40. Highland Oaks Middle School, Florida