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, February 28, 2016

Gulen Cult Film 'LOVE IS A VERB' Berkeley Protest/STOP Public Funding Of...

Sponsored by Pacifica Institute the lobbying arm of the Gulen Movement

In the beginning of Gulenist Magnolia Science Academy, young and inexperienced applicants

HOW TO GET A CHARTER SCHOOL WITHOUT ANY SORT OF EXPERIENCE

Examining the early days of Magnolia Science Academy, you will scratch your head in bewilderment at how these schools were approved back in 2001

CEO history of the Magnolia organization:

2002 to ~2008: Huseyin Hurmali rotated out of the Gulen education world to become chairman of the West America Turkic Council (WATC), one of the six regional NGOs under the Turkic American Alliance, the Gulen Movement's national US umbrella. By 2012, Hurmali was back in Turkey working for the Journalists and Writers Foundation, a major, and completely acknowledged to be Gulenist public relations NGO (in Turkish: Gazeticiler ve Yazarlar Vakfi, GYV). Today Hurmanli, the first CEO of Magnolia, is the vice president of GYV.
2009 to 2011: Suleyman Bahceci appears in the original 2000 application for the first Harmony school in TX, listed as a member of the charter school development team. Now he's executive VP for a Gulenist university in Virginia. https://www.linkedin.com/in/suleymanbahceci
2012 to 2014 (late summer): Mehmet Argin (returned to Turkey and works at a Gulenist university there.http://p.mevlana.edu.tr/margin/
2014 (late summer to end of year): Murat Biyik, interim CEO (now listed as a board member of the Gulen charter school in UT)
2015 to present: Caprice Young

2. Info about the people involved with the very first Magnolia charter school. Since I've never been able to get hold of the original MSA-Reseda petition submitted to LAUSD in 2001 (would likely list the founding team members), I looked at the board members who appear on the very first tax return for the Dialog Cultural, Scientific & Educational Foundation (the original name of the Magnolia nonprofit). The Dialog Foundation nonprofit was incorporated on 8/28/1997, but I don't know who filed it or if there was a false start before 2001 that we don't know about.

They are:

1. Remzi Oten, president

2. Ertan Salik, vice president

3. Greg Sotzing, director

4. Buket Aktas, director

5. Ali Emre Uyar, director

6. Yusef Ateskan, director

My best summary for what was going on in late 2001 thru 2002:

All of the above were between ~26 and ~30 years old.
Almost all were in graduate school or had obtained graduate degrees very recently.
Five were from Turkey; one was an American who was not even living in California at the time.
The Turkish individuals had been living in the US from one year (or possibly even less) up to 7-10 years.
Two of the six returned to Turkey
Two of the six now live in other states
Two of the six (Oten and Salik) have remained in Southern California
None of the above had experience in US K-12 education

I suspect this is basically the pattern for every Gulen charter school effort made in the early years. Later on, many of the Gulenists who wanted to start charter schools were also able to recruit non-Turkish/Turkic sympathizers and outsiders to be on their founding teams and boards (people who had been on Gulenist-sponsored Turkey trips, etc.).

Details based on information obtained online on 2/24/2016.

1. Remzi Oten (b. ~1972): Came to the US from Turkey between 1992 (the year he obtained a BS in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Bilkent University) and 1995 (the year he entered graduate school at UC-Irvine). Thus Oten had been in the US for seven or so years when he became the ~30 y/o board president for Dialog Cultural, Scientific & Educational Foundation (see Form 990s for 2002 and 2003). What he’s doing today:https://www.linkedin.com/in/remzi-oten-777b43a NOTE: In 2015, Oten returned as a Magnolia board member. In 2012, his wife Tugba (using the name "Michelle Oten") listed herself as "Pacifica Insitute/Outreach Coordinator" on the form for her $1,500 campaign contribution to Loretta Sanchez. On her form for her $1,200 contribution to Alan Lowenthal that year, she called herself Tugba M. Oten.

2. Ertan Salik (b. ~1973): Salik came to the US from Turkey between 1994 (the year he obtained a BS in Physics from Bogazici University) and 1996/1997 (approx. year he started graduate school at the University of Southern California). Thus, when he was pitching the first Magnolia charter school to LAUSD in the fall of 2001, Salik was a ~28 y/o newly minted USC PhD who had only been in the US for four to five years, all of that time in graduate school. He appears on Dialog/Magnolia’s Form 990s for 2002 and 2003 as vice president, and for 2004 and 2006 as president. No Form 990 for 2005 is available. Salik contributes articles to the Gulenist Fountain Magazine (see the photo I took of it being advertised at the Anatolian Fest), What he’s doing today:http://www.cpp.edu/~esalik/members.html

3. Greg Sotzing (b. ~1974): In 1997, Sotzing obtained his PhD from the University of Florida then completed a post doc at the California Institute of Technology, finishing in 1999. Dialog/Magnolia lists him on its tax return (Form 990s for 2002 and 2003), but he was not living in California at the time. As it turns out, Sotzing was working at the University of Connecticut as an Assistant Professor from 1999 to 2004. Of importance is that Sotzing helped establish Putnam Science Academy, a private Gulen school in Connecticut and served as its president starting in 2002. What he’s doing today: http://www.ims.uconn.edu/gregory-a-sotzing/ NOTE: Sotzing married Fatma Selampinar at some point. She is a lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at UConn and they have two children.

4. Buket Aktas (female, birth year not known): In 2001 Aktas came to Los Angeles from Turkey, but then returned in 2003. Although she was in the US for only two years, she was made a board member for the Dialog/Magnolia organization for those years (see Form 990s for 2002 and 2003). What she's doing today is not known.

5. Ali Emre Uyar (b. 1976): Now going by the name Emre Uyar. In 2000, after obtaining his MA in Economics from Bilkent University, Uyar came to the US to start a graduate fellowship at UCLA. By 2002 he was a 26 y/o board member for the Dialog/Magnolia organization (Form 990s for 2002, 2003, and 2007). Uyar completed his PhD in 2007, and then appears at Duke University in 2009. What he’s doing today:https://www.cornerstone.com/Staff/Emre-Uyar

6. Yusef Ateskan (b. ~1974): Ateskan came to the US from Turkey after obtaining his BS in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Middle East Technical University in 1996. By 2001 he had obtained his MS in Electrical Engineering from USC. He appears as a director for Dialog Cultural, Scientific & Educational Foundation on its Form 990s for 2002 and 2003 (~28 y/o at the time). The exact year of his return to Turkey is not known but by 2008 he was working as a senior engineer at Vestel in Izmir. What he’s doing today:http://english.izmir.edu.tr/electronics-and-communication-tech/84-ak/234-yusuf-selcuk-ateskan-cv.html

Sign Magnolia Petition Today

Magnolia Petition click here

Cover letter for COMPLAINT against Magnolia Science Academy

Cover Letter to UCP Complaint against Magnolia Public Schools

Gulen Movement participates in CCSA shit show -Why use a Turk as a speaker?

How does this help to recruit more students when a Gulenist Turk has poor English skills?

One would think that the face and voice of Magnolia Science Academy should be their CEO and Superintendent CAPRICE YOUNG. Instead they use Ibrahim (Abraham) Bayraktar that is connected to the other "Gulen inspired" schools in Arizona - Sonoran Science Academy. Bayraktar is currently the listed with ACCORD INSTITUTE (Accord Education)
But the judge ordered Magnolia Science Academy to severe ties with Accord Insitute

Sounds like another shit show,

Speaker- GULENIST Ibrahim (Abraham) Bayraktar

teaches at the other "Gulen Inspired" school

Sonoran Science Academy in Arizona what is he doing in CALIFORNIA?

WHO IS IBRAHIM BAYRAKTAR?

Ibrahim Bayraktar a.k.a. Abraham Bayraktar

Teacher, Vice Principal, Sonoran Science Academy, Tucson
Accord Institute, Irvine, California (Gulenist organization) http://gulencharterschools.weebly.com/sonoran-science-academy.html

At "RATE MY TEACHER

Ibrahim Bayraktar is a science teacher at Sonoran Science Academy - Tucson located in Tucson, Arizona and part of Daisy Education Corporation Dba Sonoran Science Academy. Ibrahim Bayraktar's 5 teacher ratings contributes to Sonoran Science Academy - Tucson's ranking of 116 in Arizona. Additionally, the average teacher rating at Sonoran Science Academy - Tucson is 4.24 stars.

http://www.ratemyteachers.com/ibrahim-bayraktar/1027868-t

Linked in Profile shows he is currently at Accord

If that is true, what is Ibrahim doing representng Magnolia Science Academy at a CCSA event

July 2014 - Magnolia was ordered to sever "ties" with Accord

At Zoom Info

http://www.zoominfo.com/p/Ibrahim-Bayraktar/581284458

At Accord Conference August 2010

Ibrahim Bayraktar spoke on "Formative Assessment of Science" (August 2 nd)

http://accordeducationconference.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Accord_2010_Schedule.pdf

On the Sonoran Science Academy Alumni Blog

Physical Education classes were held in the parking lot and basketball court, where students ran track, played frisbee golf, and basketball.
Students and faculty celebrate their first day of Sonoran Science Academy with a barbecue.
Notable faculty include: Dr. Ozkur Yildiz, Murat Biyik, Ibrahim Bayraktar, Melik Sayin, Ibrahim Ozcan, Barbara Hill-Flajnik and vice principal Julia Anderson.

http://sonoransciencealumniassociation.blogspot.com/2013/08/alumni-fact-of-week-first-week-of-daisy.html

Friday, February 26, 2016

Killing ED- Gulen charter schools

Trailer for KILLING ED from Visual Truth Projects on Vimeo.
http://killinged.com/ KILLING ED is a new documentary feature film that exposes a shocking truth: that one of the largest networks of taxpayer-funded charter schools in the U.S. are a worst-case-scenario—operated with questionable academic, labor, and H1-B visa standards by members of the “Gülen Movement” – a rapidly expanding, global Islamic group whose leader, Fethullah Gülen, lives in seclusion in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. KILLING ED enlightens its audiences everywhere with a shocking, first-hand look inside the schools while revealing the corruption of those attempting to privatize our public schools through education ‘reform’ in America.

SIGN Petition to demand investigation of Magnolia Schools

Magnolia Petition sign here

Larson O'Brien LLP has been retained by Amsterdam & Partners LLP to serve as local counsel concerning Magnolia Public Schools

2016 03:13 PM Eastern Standard Time

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Larson O’Brien LLP has been retained by Amsterdam & Partners LLP to serve as local counsel and assist in an investigation in California of legal and regulatory issues concerning Magnolia Public Schools and its alleged ties to the organization of charter schools and businesses headed by the Imam Fethullah Gulen.
Gulen, a Turkish national who lives in exile in Pennsylvania, was added to Turkey’s most wanted list in October 2015 and is the subject of a pending extradition request. Larson O’Brien LLP will work directly with Robert Amsterdam of Amsterdam & Partners, an international human rights and anti-corruption law firm based in London
Larson O’Brien LLP is a Los Angeles-based boutique law firm specializing in complex litigation, investigations, appeals, and white collar defense. The firm’s founders include Stephen G. Larson, a former US District Judge and former federal prosecutor, and Robert C. O’Brien, the former California managing partner of a national AMLAW firm and former US Representative to the United Nations General Assembly.

Contacts

Amsterdam & Partners LLP
Robert Amsterdam, +44 20 3617 6640+44 20 3617 6640
amsterdamandpartners.com
or
Larson O’Brien LLP
Stephen Larson, 213-436-4888213-436-4888
press@larsonobrienlaw.com

Sign PETITION demand investigation on Magnolia Science Academy

Magnolia Petition click here

Magnolia petition to encourage state of California to investigate, filed motion and exhibits

Support the Call for Investigation

We, the undersigned, wish to raise our profound concern over the apparent lack of enforcement action by the State of California in response to the results of the 2015 audit of four Magnolia Schools, which discovered, among other alleged unlawful activities, self-dealing to affiliated contractors, non-transparent accounting and missing records for 69% of transactions, and the misappropriation of hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars for immigration lawyers to secure H1-B visa for teachers from Turkey.
As Magnolia has applications open for eight new charter schools in California totaling projected budgets of almost $48 million of taxpayer funds for each school, we believe that these alarming red flags merit scrutiny.
I have read the UCP Complaint against Magnolia Educational & Research Foundation, d.b.a. Magnolia Public Schools, and I am signing this petition to indicate that I adopt this complaint as my own. By signing, I am demanding the State of California and the California Department of Education to review this complaint and conduct a thorough, comprehensive investigation into Magnolia immediately.
http://magnoliacomplaint.com/petition/

Brief in Support of Uniform Complaint Procedure

To download a PDF version of this complaint, please click here.
BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF UNIFORM COMPLAINT PROCEDURE COMPLAINT AGAINST THE MAGNOLIA EDUCATIONAL & RESEARCH FOUNDATION, D.B.A. MAGNOLIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

INTRODUCTION

Complainants Dr. José F. Moreno, Department Chair and Associate Professor of Latino Education and Policy Studies at California State University Long Beach, Tina Andres, math teacher with twenty-eight years in the Santa Ana School District, and Amsterdam & Partners LLP, a law firm based in Washington, D.C. and London, submit this complaint pursuant to the Uniform Complaint Procedure against the Magnolia Educational & Research Foundation, d.b.a. Magnolia Public Schools (collectively “Magnolia”). Dr. Moreno is a California taxpayer and the proud parent of four students, two currently enrolled in the Anaheim Union High School District and two enrolled in Anaheim City School District, both districts Magnolia has targeted for expansion. Ms. Andres is also a California taxpayer, a veteran public school teacher, and the proud parent of two students currently enrolled in the Santa Ana School District, a district with an existing Magnolia charter school.

Amsterdam & Partners LLP is engaged by the Republic of Turkey to investigate Magnolia and certain other charter schools in the United States for, among other things, their suspected ties and illegal funneling of state and federal public funds to an organization of charter schools and other businesses headed by Fethullah Gülen, a reclusive Turkish imam who resides in Saylorsville, Pennsylvania. That organization (referred to in this Complaint as the “Gülen Organization”) is further suspected of employing ill-gotten public funds to facilitate a host of illegal activities in the United States, as well as in Turkey – a NATO ally – and elsewhere internationally. Indeed, Magnolia’s activities appear to be part of, and consistent with, a broad pattern of illegal activity observed at other U.S. charter schools operated for the ultimate benefit of the Gülen Organization.
https://magnoliacomplaint.com/brief-in-support-of-uniform-complaint-procedure/