Magnolia Science Academy is without a doubt a Gulen Managed charter school

The Gulen Movement is fantastic at advertising, PR, and bestwowing fake honors on their students, politicians, local media and academia. The Parents4Magnolia blog is NOT American parents it is members of the Gulen Movement in damage control mode. Magnolia Science Academy, Pacific Technology School and Bay Area Technology is the name of their California schools. They are under several Gulen NGOs: Pacifica Institute, Willow Education, Magnolia Educaiton Foundation, Accord Institute, Bay Area Cultural Connection. Hizmet aka Gulen Movement will shamelessly act like satisifed American parents or students. They will lie, cajole, manipulate, bribe, blackmail, threaten, intimidate to get their way which is to expand the Gulen charter schools. If this doesn't work they play victim and cry "islamophobia". Beware of the Gulen propagandists and Gulen owned media outlets. DISCLAIMER: if you find some videos are disabled this is the work of the Gulen censorship which has filed fake copyright infringement complaints to Utube



Sunday, June 26, 2011

Magnolia Science Academy-A Gulen Charter School, Turkey ranks the lowest in higher education


Wall Street Journal article explores the sagging educational system in Germany and mentions their large Turkish population.  Also note the country ranking included with the article how Turkey is ranked at the bottom in percentage of higher education graduates.
Can someone explain how the Gulen Movement has conned local school districts in the USA that Turkey has some sort of superior education?  BALONEY!!!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304066504576341353566196300.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
JUNE 27, 2011
In Search of a New Course
Germany's once-lauded education system is under fire. But fixing it hasn't been easy.
Germany, the birthplace of kindergarten and the modern university, has long been admired for its commitment to education and for good reason: For generations its specialized schools produced more than their share of Nobel Prize winners, as well as the highest skilled tradesmen—high-octane fuel for Europe's economic powerhouse.
Journal Report
Read the complete Germany report.
Today, however, Germany is coming to grips with a much different report card—that of an academic underachiever. Almost one-fifth of Germany's 15-year-olds can't read proficiently, and just 29.8% of young adults have a higher-education degree, below the European Union average of 33.6%. Many students who attend the country's lower-tier high schools don't leave with the skills they need to get additional training in a trade, according to the government's 2010 education report.
For a country whose primary asset is brain power, Germany can hardly afford to lag behind in education. Fearing that large swaths of the future work force may soon be too uneducated to maintain Germany's export-driven economy, much less support its fast-aging population, policy makers have wrestled with a range of reforms in recent years despite deep support within society for the current educational system.
"Being just OK is not good enough for a country with high living standards, wages and technology," says Jörg Dräger, board member responsible for education programs at the Bertelsmann Foundation, a German think tank.
Many policy makers believe Germany's early-selection school system—one of the few in Europe that splits children up at around age 10—is at the heart of the problem. After four years of primary school in most German regions, the smartest go on to Gymnasien, top-level high schools for university-bound students, while average students are directed to Realschulen, a path usually to white-collar or technical trades. Those with the lowest grades go to Hauptschulen, schools traditionally meant to prepare students for mid-to lower-level vocational training but that over time have become reservoirs for immigrant children and others who have fallen through the cracks.
More than in most other developed countries, however, the biggest determinant of a German child's educational track appears to be his or her family's socioeconomic status. Even with similar grades, children with college-educated parents are at least three times more likely to go on to Gymnasien than those from working-class families, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
That's of particular concern as Germany's poorly assimilated immigrant population swells—some 20% of Germany's school children come from Turkish or other immigrant families. While the rest of the system scores average or better in many education standards, "the 20% or so that gets lost is a catastrophe," says Mr. Dräger.
Nevertheless, the three-track system continues to have deep support within society, partly because of Germany's past education and economic success. Most prized—and staunchly defended—are Germany's academically rigorous Gymnasien.
"The idea is that homogenous learning groups are better at helping children perform," says Katharina Spiess, education and family research director at the German Institute for Economic Research, of the early-selection system.
But Germany received a rude shock nearly a decade ago, when its teens unexpectedly scored in the bottom third of a widely watched OECD study, well behind many European peers.
German states, which control the education system, have made modest changes, and academic improvement, since then. In some regions, Hauptschulen arebeing combined with Realschulen, and in most cases, students at the combined secondary schools still have the option of pursuing a course toward a diploma that would allow them to attend a university.
But the collapse of a plan to reform schools in the port city-state of Hamburg last year underscores the difficulty of pushing through bolder reform. There, the city's conservative-Green ruling coalition pitched a plan to extend primary school by two years, waiting until after the sixth grade to divide children into different schools. The idea was to give children more time to determine the best education path, and let poorer and slower learners benefit from mixing longer with faster ones.
The result was a fierce backlash, especially among university-educated parents who feared their children's education would suffer by shortening the Gymnasium phase of it. Voters decisively rejected the plan in a referendum last July, leading to the resignation of Hamburg's mayor.
The defeat has discouraged political leaders in other German states from broaching more radical school reform. North-Rhine Westphalia sought to sidestep a similar battle by allowing individual municipalities to decide whether to form schools that kept children together until up to the 10th grade as part of a pilot project.
That didn't stop protests among some parents and teachers. In April, a judge blocked one of the first moves to form a so-called community school, putting the effort in legal limbo.
Still, many Germans argue its education system needs to become less rigid to adapt to an ever more global economy and give its people more opportunities to broaden their skills.
Sabine Lochner-Zerbe, a 51-year-old mother of two in Berlin, learned firsthand the difficulties of changing education course when as a youth she was sent to Realschule.
"I had the grades, but my father didn't think it was so necessary for girls to go to Gymnasium," she says. After training to become a florist, she realized she wanted to go to college. To do so, however, she had to go back for three years of high school to get the necessary diploma. At age 25, she began her university studies, eventually receiving a physics degree in Scotland.
But her tenacious efforts to pursue a higher degree haven't always been looked upon favorably. "People just view it as indecision," she says.
In Berlin, children already wait until after the sixth grade to take a specific school path. Ms. Lochner-Zerbe's 10-year-old daughter will learn next year whether her primary school recommends her for Gymnasium—"a lot of stress," she adds. "But I think it's better that they have more time than I did."
Ms. Fuhrmans is a reporter for The Wall Street Journal in Berlin. She can be reached at vanessa.fuhrmans@wsj.com.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Magnolia Science Academy-Turkish Education System lacks in many aspects..

Only 1 percent of Turkish students were found to be at the required level for their age group in science and literature



Hey Hizmet, don't you think you should try and fix your schools in Turkey before trying to dictate what is right for other country's educational systems?  But then, it's never been about education has it.


Turkish education system lacks in many aspects, report says

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Children are not only suffering from the current exam system, but also from an inefficient learning process, as nearly half of students under 15 years old are unable to solve basic math problems, according to an annual education report.
Entitled “Monitoring education system report 2010,” the report released Tuesday said that despite some new policies implemented by the Ministry of Education, imbalanced conditions remain in every aspect of the system and the university exams, language of the education, as well training programs for teachers.
The exams are the most obvious problem, but there are deeper issues in the education system disabling students from reaching information and their potential, said Batuhan Aydagül, a coordinator at the Education Reform Enterprise, or ERG, that prepared the report.
“According to International OECD Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, Turkey is ranked 32nd in scientific literacy among 34 countries,” said the report.
Only 1 percent of Turkish students were found to be at the required level for their age group in science and literature, the PISA report said, adding that 30 percent of the students are unable to use their skills to answer basic questions in these subjects.
Calling on the authorities to escape temporary solutions on the issue, the report emphasized that one of the problems of the Turkish education system is to find sufficient teachers. Teachers need to be provided with more extensive and improved training and need to be supported regularly in order to reach the most efficient results, the report said.
Experts, while targeting policies of the Ministry of Education, said that despite spending billions of Turkish Liras on education technologies, new policies did not help to improve the main philosophy to develop the structure. “Between 1.5 million and 3 million liras were spent on the project called ‘The Increasing Opportunities and Improvement of Technology Movement,’ or Fatih, however as they settled the technology without researching how these projects could merge with the current education programs,” said Aytuğ Şaşmaz one of the project specialist, during the conference.
Professor Üstün Ergüder, the director of the ERG said education in mother tongue should be allowed as their report indicated some students quit secondary school education due to the language problem.
“Many students cannot be trained in Turkish as they speak Kurdish at home causing these people to quit their education,” said Ergüder.
According to Aydagül, the school administrations should be decentralized to help problems be solved in the easiest way. “Ankara is trying to solve a heating problem in one of the schools dwelling the Eastern province of Elazığ, which is absurd,” said Aydagül.
Professor Ergüder said the central administration straitjackets school administrations by not giving freedom to the school managers or teachers to develop solutions against the problems that they face with.
Urging the Ministry of Education to be transparent on the developments, Ergüder said these reports will improve the structure of the education system.


Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Magnolia Science Academy connections to other Gulen Charter Schools in the USA

The Gulen Charter Schools in the USA constantly deny their affilation with one another however the schools interchange teachers, principals, staff throughout the USA.  Timur "Tim" Saka, the principal of  Magnolia Science Academy Santa Clara was instrumental in founding Beehive Science Academy (BSA)in Holiday, UT.  BSA was put on probation last year because of financial and academic short commings.  Timmy Boy was also instrumental in founding the Gulen ran Lotus School of Excellence in Aurora, CO, which was recently DENIED an expansion in Longmont, CO for good reasons.    Keep up the lying Timmy Boy, and you might not get an increase in your paltry enrollment which we are told is below 65 and you and your brethren WANT to open another Magnolia Science Academy in Milpitas, CA?   Keep dreaming you are only fooling yourselves, Americans must be told the truth.

Founders of Lotus School

Lotus School for Excellence (LSE) is predicated on the understanding that the need for highly trained people in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is great and will become greater in the years ahead. LSE responds to the call by the legislature for schools focused on increasing STEM knowledge and skills as outlined in the C.R.S. 22-81-102:

“The general assembly further finds that increasing the mathematics, science, and technology educational opportunities for Pre-K-16 students and teachers fosters an educational system whereby the needed problem-solving skills and the critical and creative thinking skills necessary for productive participation in an increasingly technological age.”
Name of DirectorTitleFunction
Matt YapanelSpeech Development Researcher, Ph.D.Community Member and Board President
Bill TemelRetired Superintendent and Physics TeacherFounder, Parent and Board Treasurer
Zhandos UtegulovResearcher at NIST, Ph.D in PhysicsParent and Board Secretary
Hakan BatanBusinessman, Mechanical Engineer Ph.D.Founder, Parent and Board Member
Lisa C. ConstenzaBilingual Special Ed Teacher, Ph.D.Founder, Community and Board Member
Zeynep KaraogluArhitect, M.S in RestorationParent and Board Member
Jeff QuiggleRetired Bilingual Special Ed TeacherFounder, Community Member
Rinaldo ValenzuelaIndustrial & Electrical Engineer, Spanish Teacher, BusinessmanFounder, Parent
Todd McMahonArcheologistFounder, Parent
Tim SakaEnglish and Computer Teacher, M.A. in Library ScienceFounder, Community Member
Ike KocakESL/ELL Teacher, M.A. in English as a Second Language EducationStartup Coordinator
Jeannette AzarLead Physical TherapistFounder, Parent

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Gulen Charter School Magnolia Science Academy fails to make the top 10 in California


LOS ANGELES, June 15, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A USC report issued to strengthen accountability among California charter schools includes for the first time a list of the state's top 10 charter campuses.
The fifth annual "USC School Performance Dashboard" (formerly CSI-USC) was released Wednesday by the Center on Educational Governance at the USC Rossier School of Education.
"It's a way to take the data collected for accountability purposes and transform it into information that will help parents, teachers and investors," said lead author Priscilla Wohlstetter, director of the Center on Educational Governance.
"We were really struck by the diversity of the schools in the top 10," Wohlstetter said. "There's not one model of schooling that is dominant: they are large and small, urban and suburban, high schools and elementary schools."
While most of the top 10 schools are stand-alone campuses, three are affiliated with a charter management organization – Aspire Public Schools.
The top charter schools were chosen based on academic ratings - including an index based on various state test scores - and school productivity indicators that rate a school's academic success based on its per-student spending.
For a full copy of the report and an accompanying interactive database, go to school-performance.usc.edu.
The top 10 California charter school performers are (listed in order):
1.    Heritage K-8 Charter School, Escondido (San Diego County)
2.    Rocklin Academy, Rocklin (Placer County)
3.    Temecula Valley Charter School, Winchester (Riverside County)
4.    Aspire Vincent Shalvey Academy, Stockton (San Joaquin County)
5.    Aspire River Oaks Charter School, Stockton (San Joaquin County)
6.    Willow Creek Academy, Sausalito (Marin County)
7.    Orange County High School of the Arts, Santa Ana (Orange County)
8.    St. HOPE Public School 7, Sacramento (Sacramento County)
9.    Aspire East Palo Alto Charter School, East Palo Alto (San Mateo County)
10.  Wilder's Preparatory Academy Charter, Inglewood (Los Angeles County)

Across the United States, the number of charter schools has continued to grow. In fall 2010, California – home to 807 charters, more than any other state – opened 90 new charter schools: an 8 percent growth.
At the same time, organizations that authorize charter school campuses have raised their standards, closing 160 charter schools nationally during the 2009-10 school year due to problems with finance, management or poor student performance.
"This kind of report can provide some early warning signs for schools that may not be as stable or healthy financially or academically as they need to be," Wohlstetter said.
The report also includes snapshots comparing charter and non-charter public campuses during the 2009-10 school year. Among the most notable findings are:
- Charter schools have nearly twice as many black students (13.1 percent) than non-charter public schools (6.8 percent). Still, the majority of charter school staff members are white (65.7 percent), with only 5.4 percent of staffers who identify as black.
- Charter schools' average enrollment (398 students) is smaller than that of non-charter public schools (610 students). Enrollment on charter campuses has increased from last year's average of 382 students.
- Non-charter public schools have a higher student to computer ratio – 11.4 students per computer – than do charter schools (9.3 students per computer). Last year, charter schools had about seven students per computer.
Major funding for the "USC School Performance Dashboard 2011" was provided by the Los Angeles-based Ahmanson Foundation, Ralph M. Parsons Foundation and the Weingart Foundation.
The Center on Educational Governance researches the linkages between policy, governance and the improvement of urban schools and systems. Its interdisciplinary approach offers policy solutions to the educational challenges posed by an increasingly global society.
Current Center on Educational Governance research includes education reform, school and district governance and public-private partnerships, improving the quality of school systems, increasing accountability, and spreading innovation across states, districts, and between traditional public and charter schools.
SOURCE USC Rossier School of Education

Friday, June 17, 2011

Gulen Charter Schools- "Monkey See Monkey Do"

Not only do the Gulen Charter Schools in the USA steal or plagerize information out of student handbooks, mission statements, curriculum, etc.,  They are now starting to imitate each other.
It seems the Gulen Movement Harmony Science Academies in order to sound more a part of the American mainstream traditional schools are now calling themselves "Harmony Public Schools"
Then their Gulen Charter sister school in California Magnolia Science Academy is now dubbing themselves "Magnolia Public Schools"
Here are more "Monkey See  Monkey Do"  The Gulen Movement doesn't have a creative brain in their head.

Alas the Harmony Science Academy, Magnolia Science Academy, Horizon Science Academy, Sonoran Science Academy..........ALL sing the same tune of denial.  Can you be any more obvious?

1. The discovery that the Gulen movement-operated Horizon Science Academy schools (operated by the 25-school, Ohio-based Concept Schools) had copied KIPP’s famous Five Pillars was first made by C.A.S.I.L.I.P.S. However, this is not the only case where the showcase elements of KIPP's educational philosophy have been used without attribution. St. HOPE Public Schools, the three-school CMO founded by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson (Michelle Rhee's fiancé) also has Five Pillars which are near-identical to KIPP’s. Click on the images at the very bottom to see for yourself. 
Q: In this world where business model-like competition is the whole point, don't these people copyright their intellectual material?

2. The Horizon Science Academy – Cleveland High School has been highly acclaimed, even winning a U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award in 2009. In addition to containing the KIPP-originated Five Essentials which were noted above, the school’s Annual Report 2008-2009 contains more phrasing which has been copied from other schools, and/or from which other charter schools have copied. For instance,

==>  A phrase in Our Guiding Principals (“belief that each child has an inherent curiosity and love of learning; and that each child has a unique intelligence, level of capability, and learning style”) is used by
==>  A phrase in Our Mission (“construct a program, which engages and motivates students to  invest  their  talents, energy, and enthusiasm  in completing  their  schoolwork  in an exemplary manner”) is also used for at least seven other Gulen charter schools
More complete info here:
Cut, paste and fill in the blank


Saturday, June 11, 2011

Magnolia Science Academy and the rest of the Gulen Charter Schools - advertising on CRAIG'S LIST for teachers

How serious are the Gulen Charter Schools in finding good American teachers when they advertise in online rags like Craig's List for teachers?  We have discussed this many times, the Craig's List is only the Gulenist way to prove they attempted to find American teachers so they could then bring in their brethren via h1-b Visas.  Maybe this is why they had a few perverts working at their schools like the teacher arrested at Harmony Science Academy in Waco, TX for diddling an underage student.  Shame Shame!!!!  Check out the backgrounds of your teachers.

Middle School Band or Orchestra Instructor/Director (Sn Diego, San Carlos Area)

Date: 2011-06-09, 7:08PM PDT
Reply to: hr_msasd@magnoliafoundation.org
[Errors when replying to ads?]


Magnolia Science Academy - San Diego (MSA SD) will hire a PT band or orchestra instructor/director for the 2011-12 academic year.
MSA SD is a 6-8 gr. public charter school that offers high standards in education.
We will start band or orchestra program for the first time at our school. So the instructor will need to have leadership skills
to help our school establish the program.
Please e-mail your resume to hr_msasd@magnoliafoundation.org
For information regarding Magnolia Science Academy please visit
www.magnoliapublicschools.org
sandiego.magnoliascience.org
·         Location: Sn Diego, San Carlos Area
·         Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
·         Please, no phone calls about this job!
·         Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.


PostingID: 2431452743

Monday, June 6, 2011

Magnolia Science Academy marketing machine at it again, with their "college acceptance" record.

Tactics of Islam, conquering America from within
Fethullah Gulen Missionaries

well, well, another fluff piece by the Gulen Movement.  First of all, when a student APPLIES to a college, jr. college and community college they are usually 100% accepted.  don't get fooled by the marketing of the Gulen Movement.
Magnolia Science Academy in Reseda Ranks 13th in CA in Preparing Students for College
Charter school also ranked 114th nationally by the Washington Post's High School Challenge Index
By Magnolia Public Schools
Published: Monday, Jun. 6, 2011 - 6:38 am
LOS ANGELES, June 6, 2011 -- /PRNewswire/ -- The Magnolia Science Academy in Reseda was ranked 13th among California schools in the Washington Post's High School Challenge Index, which measures how well schools prepare students for college.
"Of our high school seniors, 70% are first generation college students," said David Yilmaz, Chief Academic Officer of Magnolia Public Schools. "Our goal is to provide a wide selection of AP Courses for all students at each of our schools, in order to prepare them to succeed in college."
Magnolia Science Academy – Reseda, is a college-preparatory public charter school with a curricular focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The school is situated in the San Fernando Valley and serves 480 students in grades 6-12 from predominately underserved socioeconomic backgrounds.  In 2009, it was awarded the Silver Medal by US News & World Report in its ranking of 'America's Best High Schools.'
The Washington Post's Challenge Index measures whether a school is preparing students for college by dividing the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or other college-level tests a school gave in 2010 by the number of graduating seniors. While not a measure of the overall quality of the school, the rating can reveal the level of a high school's commitment to preparing average students for college. Find out more and see the full rankings (http://apps.washingtonpost.com/highschoolchallenge/schools/2011/list/california-schools/)
The Magnolia Educational and Research Foundation is a non-profit educational organization that has been developing high-quality charter schools in California since 2002. Currently, there are 12 Magnolia Science Academies and Pacific Technology Schools throughout the State of California, eight of them situated within the County of Los Angeles.  Parents interested in enrollment opportunities at Magnolia Public Schools can obtain information at www.magnoliapublicschools.org or by calling (714) 892-5066.



Saturday, June 4, 2011

Magnolia Science Academy-The Gülen Movement: A New Islamic World Order? - CBN.com



SAYLORSBURG, Pa. -- Fetullah Gülen has been called the world's top public intellectual and the face of moderate Islam. He has held court with Pope John Paul II and received praise from former President Bill Clinton.
"You're contributing to the promotion of the ideals of tolerance and interfaith dialogue inspired by Fetullah Gülen and his transnational social movement," Clinton told audience members during a video address at the World Rumi Forum in 2010.
Yet others have branded Gülen a wolf in sheep's clothing and a modern day Ayatollah Khomeini. CBN News recently took a closer look at the the life of the reclusive imam who directs a global Islamic movement from the Pennsylvania mountains.
Master Teacher or Deceiver?
Gülen's story takes him from a small town in Turkey to founder of a multi-billion dollar Islamic movement bearing his name.
Despite a grade school-level education, the Turkish imam leads a worldwide following of some 5 million devotees. They refer to him as "Hoca Efendi," or master teacher.
"What is the endgame of this movement, which constitutes a multi-billion dollar budget, which constitutes thousands of high schools all around the world, to universities, NGOs, markets, banks?" Turkish journalist Tulin Daloglu asked, voicing a question many have raised.
Gülen claims to represent a moderate brand of Islam compatible with the modern world. He emphasizes interfaith dialogue and the pursuit of science.
Yet one expert told CBN News there's much more to the story.
"It's not just a religious movement; it's the Fetullah Gülen movement. They call themselves that. So it is, you can say, a cult. It is a highly personalized movement," Ariel Cohen, a Middle East analyst with the Heritage Foundation, said. Cohen has been tracking the Gülen movement closely.
"This is clearly the world according to the Koran, the world according to Islam, the world according to Fetullah Gülen," he told CBN News. "But what he's talking about is not the caliphate, is not the sharia state--he calls it the New World Islamic Order."
Far from Mainstream?
Cohen said some in the U.S. government and academia support reaching out to Gülen's followers as a way to counter al Qaeda and other jihadist groups.
"The idea being, just like people who say that we should have a good relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, that these are 'mainstream Islamists,'" he explained.
But according to leading French-Turkish scholar Bayram Balci, Gülen's ideas are anything but "mainstream" for a Western society.
Balci writes that the movement "serve(s) to accomplish three intellectual goals: the Islamization of the Turkish nationalist ideology; the Turkification of Islam; and the Islamization of modernity."
"And therefore, (Gülen) wishes to revive the link between the state, religion, and society," he writes.
Critics claim Gülen wants Islam to play a more active role in societies, breaking down barries between mosque and state while also promoting Turkish nationalism and identity.
Country Club for Islam
The Golden Generation Worship and Retreat Center, the worldwide headquarters of the Gülen movement, is located not in Ankara or Istanbul, but on 25 scenic acres of the Pocono Mountains in rural Pennsylvania.
CBN News toured the compound with a staffer but were not permitted to film or to meet Gülen. The 70-year-old leader is in poor health and rarely gives interviews.
Gülen came to America in 1998, reportedly to seek medical treatment. Since then, he's directed his global empire from Pennsylvania. A federal judge granted him a green card in 2008.
Shortly after he left for America, a series of secretly recorded sermons featuring Gülen aired on Turkish television. In one of them, he told his followers:
"You must move in the arteries of the system without anyone noticing your existence until you reach all the power centers...You must wait for the time when you are complete and conditions are ripe, until we can shoulder the entire world and carry it..."
"You must wait until such time as you have gotten all the state power, until you have brought to your side all the power of the constitutional institutions in Turkey … Now, I have expressed my feelings and thoughts to you all in confidence. Know that when you leave here -- as you discard your empty juice boxes, you must discard the thoughts and the feelings that I expressed here."
After the tapes aired, Turkish authorities indicted Gülen on charges that he was plotting to overthrow the secular government of Turkey. The charges were eventually dropped.
Targeting America's Youth
Meanwhile, the Gülen movement continues to expand its influence through the construction of schools worldwide, including in America.
Currently, there are about 125 Gülen schools spread out over 25 states. One school in Philadelphia receives some $3 million annually in taxpayer money.
"They work through the education system. Their main tool is educating kids," Cohen told CBN News.
Gülen charter schools have nondescript names, like "Truebright Science Academy," and focus heavily on math and science.
Many of the teachers hail from Turkey. Federal authorities are reportedly investigating whether some employees kick back a portion of their salaries to the Gülen movement.
Classified documents released by WikiLeaks show that U.S. officials have concerns about the Gülen schools.
"We have multiple reliable reports that the Gülenists use their school network (including dozens of schools in the U.S.) to cherry pick students they think are susceptible to being molded as proselytizers," U.S. Embassy officials in Ankara said in a 2005 report.
"And we have steadily heard reports about how the schools indoctrinate boarding students," they said.
Meanwhile, in its birthplace of Turkey, the movement continues to grow. Gülen followers are said to make up at least 70 percent of Turkey's federal police force, ostensibly devoted to their master teacher half a world away in the Pocono Mountains.

*Originally broadcast on Jun 1, 2011.