Truebright Science Academy Charter School

“SRC begins process to shut 3 charter schools.” Philadelphia Inquirer (PA), 4/19/2012   

For the first time in four years, the Philadelphia School Reform Commission on Thursday night began the process of closing city charter schools.

The commission voted to put three schools on notice that their five-year operating charters would not be renewed: Truebright Science Academy, Arise Academy, and Hope...

The schools will remain open for the 2012-13 academic year...

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“SRC votesnot to renew three charters.” The Notebook (PA), 4/19/2012  

...[Bekir Duz, CEO of Truebright] told the Notebook that his school plans to appeal to the state. Schools can stay open during the appeals process.

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“Allegations raised over N. Phila. charter school run by followers of Turkish imam.” Philadelphia Inquirer (PA), 4/19/2012   

Truebright Science Academy Charter School in North Philadelphia is one of more than 130 charter schools nationwide run by followers of the Turkish imam M. Fetullah Gulen, and federal officials have put it under a microscope.

Not only are the FBI and the Departments of Labor and Education looking into allegations of kickbacks by Turkish teachers at the charters nationwide, according to knowledgeable sources, but at least nine American teachers and administrators at Truebright have filed complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. All allege that they were being paid less than noncertified Turkish staffers.

Now the Philadelphia School District's charter office has recommended to the School Reform Commission that it not renew Truebright's five-year operating charter on several grounds, including academic performance, lack of certified staff, and high turnover of administrators...

The charter school office report does not mention Gulen or note that a third of Truebright's teachers and administrators are from Turkey. Most are working in this country with non-immigrant visas.

Some parents say their children cannot understand their Turkish teachers because their English language skills are deficient. And staffers say the school's operations are shrouded in secrecy, and they risk losing their jobs if they ask too many questions. After The Inquirer reported about federal investigations last year, staffers reported that school officials had shredded documents...

The Rev. James W. Wright Sr., president of Truebright's parent teachers association, said he was embarrassed to learn a statement that school officials persuaded him to read at a recent SRC meeting erroneously claimed that 97 percent of the first senior class had graduated last June. In reality, only 33 of the 50 students who started in ninth grade stayed and received diplomas, according to a former administrator...

In a recent interview, [CEO Bekir Duz] insisted that Truebright was not part of any Turkish network and did not believe it was being investigated. "Truebright is a school that is run independently," Duz said.

He said the fact that 10 of the school's 32 teachers and administrators are from Turkey and have worked at similar charters across the United States does not mean the schools are linked...

He declined to comment on Gulen, a major Islamic political figure in Turkey who lives in self-imposed exile in a Poconos enclave.

In 2008, Gulen obtained a green card by convincing a federal judge in Philadelphia that he was an influential educational figure in the United States and pointed to the charter schools that have been opened across the country by his followers - Turkish scientists, engineers, and businessmen.

Duz said that he didn't want to discuss Gulen because "I'm a public school employee here, and I run this school solely by the charter-school law."

However, in a 2006 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article about a proposed Turkish cultural center in Allegheny County, he talked about Gulen. Duz, who was on the center's board at the time, said members followed the teachings of Gulen, who founded a movement emphasizing education and interfaith dialogue...

Copies of photographs showing shredded documents and a Turkish staffer holding a ladder while another man removed the camera were obtained by The Inquirer...

Truebright was in turmoil in early 2011 when Riza Ulker, the school's founding CEO, disappeared after the Christmas holidays. Board meeting minutes say that Ulker requested a leave to deal with family issues. Current and former staffers believe he returned to Turkey.

Tansu Cidav arrived at Truebright from a Gulen charter in Austin, Texas, to serve as interim head. Truebright's board subsequently hired Duz in August to be permanent CEO. Duz had been a top administrator at Central Jersey College Prep Charter School in Somerset, another charter run by Gulen followers...

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More about Truebright’s Gulen Movement affiliations @ http://gulencharterschools.weebly.com/truebright-science-academy.html