Gulen charter schools in South Carolina


STATE
# ACTIVE
# PENDING
# INACTIVE*
TOTAL ATTEMPTS
FL
1
0
1
2


* Denied, withdrawn, closed, or unknown status
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SCHOOLS
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GREENVILLE RENEWABLE ENERGY (or GREEN) CHARTER SCHOOL
Status
APPROVED: opening Fall 2013
Charter Holder
Not known
Authorizer
South Carolina Public Charter School District (approved April 2013). In 2011 the State Charter School Advisory Committee rejected the application.  
Website
http://greenedcharterschool.org/, designed by Atlantic Wind Productions (designs websites for other Gulen charter schools in the region, as well as other organizations associated with the Gulen movement, e.g. Istanbul Center.
Location/District
1440 Pelham Rd.,Greenville (the first charter school in Greenville County). The school acquired the former Pelham Oaks Shopping Center.
Enrollment
Grades K-12
Individuals involved
Akif Aydin, Baran (aka Barry) Menguloglu, Imtiaz Haque, A. Kadir Yildirim [Abdulkadir Yildirim], and Adem Dokmeci. Project Director [Abdulbasit] Akif Aydin is a co-founder of River City Science Academy, a Gulen charter school in FL. He is also the president of the South Carolina Dialogue Foundation, and was previously director of Amity Turkish Cultural Center in FL where he was also its Turkey trip guide. Baran Menguloglu is a South Carolina Dialogue Foundation board member. Imtiaz Haque traveled to Turkey on a South Carolina Dialogue Foundation-sponsored trip. A. Kadir Yildirim was the chair of the GREEN Charter School Planning Committee. Adem Dokmeci, GREEN Charter School’s principal for 2013-14 was principal of River City Science Academy in Florida during 2012-2013.
Notes
TV news report: “Some parents question GREEN Charter School's curriculum.” 5/2/2013, FOX Carolina http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/22148843/some-parents-question-green-charter-schools-curriculum
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GREENVILLE SCIENCE CHARTER SCHOOL
(originally called GREENVILLE PALMETTO SCIENCE ACADEMY)
Status
DENIED: continuous attempt from 2006 to 2009
Charter Holder
Greenville Science (originally Palmetto Education Corporation)
Authorizer
Greenville County Schools, following initial review by the State Charter School Advisory Committee
Location/District
Greenville area; originally to open fall 2007
Enrollment
For grades 6-12, 480 students
Individuals involved
Names appearing on 2006 application: Ali Ozer (lead), Guven Yucesan, Mevlut Tascan, Ethan E. Ballard, Ruth Augustin. Augustin has been replaced by Joan Breitenbruck in 2008 and 2009 documents.
Notes
SC charter school law required applicants to first submit their charters to the State Charter School Advisory Committee (SCSAC) for review and recommendation, after which the local school board made the final decision. The school’s 5/2006 application was approved by SCSAC, but rejected in 11/2006 by the Greenville County school board (for an unsound financial plan and inadequate evidence for community support). That decision was overturned at the state level because of procedural issues and was remanded for a rehearing. The rehearing took place in 4/2009 and the board rejected the school once again. A PowerPoint presentation by the school held up Fulton Science Academy, TEACH (now FSA High School) in GA, plus River City Science Academy and Sweetwater Branch Academy in FL as models. All four are Gulen charter schools associated w/ Grace Institute (see below).
http://www.boarddocs.com/sc/greenville/Board.nsf/Public (>Meetings>2009>April 17, 2009 special meeting)
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CHARTER HOLDER
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GREENVILLE SCIENCE (ORIGINALLY PALMETTO EDUCATION CORPORATION)
Federal Tax ID
Unknown
Website
None
History
The South Carolina Secretary of State issued a certificate of incorporation for Palmetto Education Corporation as a nonprofit corporation on January 5, 2006. The registered agent for the corporation was Guven Yucesan. Its address was listed as 230 Roper Mountain Road, Greenville, South Carolina 29615. The corporate filing was amended on June 26, 2006 to reflect that the corporate name had been changed to “Greenville Science.”
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SERVICE PROVIDER
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GRACE INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH & RESOURCES (AKA GRACE SCHOOLS)
Federal Tax ID
EIN 262674420
Website/Address
http://graceschools.us/, “5755 Nortpoint [sic] Pkwy, Suite 1, Alpharetta, GA
Services
From the 2010 brochure: “Membership is a contractual agreement where a candidate school Governing Board adopts the Grace Institute standards and pays a per-pupil fee to partake in the Institute’s activities and to benefit from membership services.” Services listed: “Professional development workshops for new administrator and faculty; Standards based teaching, assessment, and evaluation support; Budget development support; Marketing, recruitment, and enrollment support; Curriculum development research and support; Accreditation standards support; Operations support.”
Individuals involved
Board members on 990s for 2007, 2008, 2009: Ali Ozer, Kenar Sener, Namik Sercan, Selim Ozdemir, and Yucel Aktas; w/books in care of Avni Cokavci and Ilbey Budak [see Occonee Science Academy above; probably Ismailcem Budak Arpinar]
Notes
All member schools are in the Gulen movement-identified charter school network. Previously appearing on website: “Current members include these two original schools [FSA Middle and High] as well as (in order of their opening years) Stars Middle School, River City Science Academy Middle and High School, Orlando Science Middle and High School, Sweetwater Branch Academy Middle and High School, New Springs Middle School, Fulton Sunshine Academy Elementary School, River City Science Academy Elementary School, and Sweetwater Branch Academy Elementary School.”
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Read about the Grace Institute and related Florida Gulen charter schools in Florida @ http://gulencharterschools.weebly.com/florida-schools-orlando-river-city-sweetwater-stars-new-springs.html

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What the hell is this crap?

Anonymous said...

Robert Amsterdam will be getting to Greenville very soon.

Roberamsterdam.com