Where can I learn more?


Page created June 2010; last updated Feb 16, 2014

  • Our companion site "Gulen Charter Schools" has more detailed information on the publicly funded Gulen charter schools in the United States.  Many of the pages list connections between the schools and the Gulen Movement, refuting denials that school administrators have made of their affiliation.
  • We post notification of updates to all our sites, as well as other brief updates, here: http://twitter.com/CASILIPS
  • This slideshare presentation has detailed information on the Cosmos Foundation schools (Harmony Science Academy, etc): www.slideshare.net/CASILIPS/rapid-expansion-harmony
  • Here is the link to another slideshare presentation entitled "Concept Schools - Success in Education or Success in Marketing?"  It's about the Gulen charter schools in the Midwest, run by Concept Schools, including Chicago Math and Science Academy and the Horizon Science Academy chain. http://www.slideshare.net/CASILIPS/concept-schools-success-in-education-or-success-in-marketing
  • The European press has been far more bold than the US media at reporting on the Gulen Movement, at stating unequivocally that it is connected to certain schools, and at discussing the concerns about it.  Some articles have been collected here, and more will be added: http://gulenforeignmedia.weebly.com

Other useful independent sources:

It is recommended to follow notdeleted, sharonoak, and tbfurman on Twitter, as they regularly post highly informative material on this issue:
http://twitter.com/#!/notdeleted
http://twitter.com/#!/sharonoak
http://twitter.com/#!/tbfurman

CHARTER SCHOOL WATCHDOG
This site has inside information relating to hiring practices and treatment of teachers in US Gulen charter schools that cannot be found anywhere else:
http://www.charterschoolwatchdog.com/
The pages showing internal school emails of administrators are particularly worth viewing.

DR. ED FULLER
Professor Ed Fuller, an education researcher, has performed some very interesting analyses relating to education, some on Gulen charter schools in Texas.  Here are links to some excellent blog posts on the Harmony Public Schools:
August 23, 2012  Middle School Charters in Texas: An Examination of Student Characteristics and Achievement Levels of Entrants and Leavers
June 6, 2011  Harmony Charter School Graduation Rates: Fact or Fiction?
June 1, 2011  PR on Steriods and Pleasing the Market, Not Parents

PERIMETER PRIMATE / CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS
This meticulous blogger (very deservedly named a Parent Hero of Education by Diane Ravitch) does excellent research on charter schools, including a large amount of material on the Gulen charter schools:
http://charterschoolscandals.blogspot.com/
Some of her relevant pages are:
Gulen Charter Schools State by State
Gulen Charter Schools in Arizona
Gulen Charter Schools in Colorado
Gulen Charter Schools in Florida
Gulen Charter Schools in Hawaii
Gulen Charter Schools in Nevada
Gulen Charter Schools in Oregon
Gulen Charter Schools in New York
Gulen Charter Schools in Texas
Gulen Charter Schools in Utah
Gulen Schools and their Booming H-1B Visa Applications

GEORGIACHARTERSCHOOLDISGRACE.COM
A former Fulton Science Academy parent runs this highly recommended website on education issues in Georgia, including the controversy regarding FSA's connection to the Gulen Movement:
http://georgiacharterschooldisgrace.com/

NOTDELETED
Citizens in the Netherlands are also concerned about the Gulen Movement, which is very active in that country.  An excellent source of information can be found at   http://notdeleted.net/

DANI RODRIK
Harvard professor, author, and renowned economist Dani Rodrik has written several commentaries as well as newspaper columns that touch on the Gulen Movement. Here are links to some:
Nov 22, 2011: Project Syndicate - Turkey's Democratic Dusk
May 21, 2012: Why do we accuse the Gulen Movement?
June 15, 2012: An interview with Dani Rodrik on Erdogan, Gulen, and the future of Turkish politics
Nov 5, 2012: Fethullah Gulen, the Jews, and Hypocrisy
Nov 13, 2012: Fethullah Gulen on the Clash of Civilizations – then and now

"MIRACLE SCHOOLS"
The Wikispaces website on "Miracle schools" uses hard data to examine hyperbole about schools (Newsweek list of "Miracle schools" 2011):
http://miracleschools.wikispaces.com/
Some of the schools analyzed there are Gulen charter schools.

Kaan Beşinci / eksi_b612
An individual with screen name Kaan Beşinci (eksi_b612 on Twitter) has posted two extremely informative comments
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/comments/9582
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/comments/9601
about some of Gulen's very controversial past statements, both in published books and in videos.  These are also available on this individual's website
http://reddump.wordpress.com/
While the original statements were all in Turkish, Kaan Beşinci provides some translations, and has also posted images from several of Gulen's published books online as proof of the authenticity of the quotes mentioned:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eksib612/sets/72157631747801352/
This information is invaluable for understanding the inconsistencies and insincerity of the Gulen Movement.

DIANE RAVITCH
Highly-respected education historian Diane Ravitch, a former Assistant Secretary of Education, has posted several pieces about the Gulen charter schools:
Oct 11, 2012  Georgia Parent: vote NO on Constitutional Amendment
July 30, 2012   The Largest Charter Chain in the U.S. Is…?
July 28, 2012  Minneapolis Charter Doesn’t Want Special Needs Students
June 7, 2012  Gulen (Or Not) Charter Schools in the News
May 14, 2012  60 Minutes on the Gulen charters

TIM FURMAN (CHICAGO)
This excellent and very perceptive author of "Rogers Park Neighbors For Public Schools" now identifies himself as a #GulenCharterSchool-watcher on Twitter.  Here are some of his posts on Gulen charter schools:
Feb 15, 2014  Today's Gulen Charter School News (link)
Feb 9, 2014  Eyes wide shut in Illinois (link)
Feb 7, 2014  About that unauthorized invitation (link)
Feb 3, 2014  How does it all start? (link)
Feb 1, 2014  Think about this for a moment (link)
Jan 31, 2014  When Does The Gulen Mess in Illinois Become A Scandal? (link)
Jan 29, 2014  The Tribune and the Gulen Movement (link)
Jan 27, 2014  About that BBC Gulen interview (link)
Jan 24, 2014  Webinar: Gulen 101 with Sharon Higgins (link)
Jan 18, 2014  The Movement, As Seen By Our Own Foreign Service (link)
Jan 16, 2014   Fellowship Joins With The Movement (link)
Dec 24, 2013  What this Gulen mess is really about (link)
Dec 23, 2013  An Addendum To The Concept Story (link)
Dec 12, 2013  Connecting The Dots In Charter Secrecy (link)

DOUG MARTIN (INDIANA)
Doug Martin has a detailed piece from April 25, 2012 on the Gulen charter schools in Indiana and their political connections:
http://btownerrant.com/2012/04/25/islam-and-the-free-market-of-privatized-education-friending-the-gulen-charter-schools/

ROBERT D SKEELS (LOS ANGELES)
Robert D. Skeels wrote about the cozy relationship between the Board President of Los Angeles Unified School District and the Gulenist Pacifica Institute, and how this Board President has enabled the growth of Gulen Charter Schools in California.
http://www.dailycensored.com/2012/08/05/monica-garcia-champions-the-gulenist-charter-movement-in-lausd/

EDUSHYSTER
The edushyster blogger, based in Massachusetts, has posted several pieces mentioning the Gulen charter schools in that state, Pioneer and Hampden Charter Schools of Science:

UTAH PARENT BLOG
Blog started by parent of former students at Gulen charter school:
http://allthefactsplease.weebly.com/bulletin-board.html