Quest Academy (Utah)

“Former teacher to stand trial for sex abuse of student.” ABC4 (UT), 5/14/2013

FARMINGTON Utah (ABC 4 Utah) - A high school teacher will stand trial for sexually abusing a student.

Steve Niedzwiecki was fired from his teaching position at a charter school in West Haven...

Soldier Hollow Charter School

“Ex-principal pleads guilty to sexually abusing former student.” Deseret News (UT), 4/2/2013

HEBER CITY — A former charter school principal pleaded guilty Tuesday to sexually abusing a former male student.

Valley Academy Charter School

“Hurricane teacher arrested on sex charges.” St. George Daily Spectrum (UT), 10/30/2012

ST. GEORGE — A former violin teacher at Valley Academy Charter School in Hurricane was arrested Tuesday on four counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony, following allegations made against him by four students at the school.

Lynn R. Lundstrom, 62, of Ivins, was arrested following an investigation by the Hurricane Police Department. Four students reported being touched inappropriately by Lundstrom during class...

Legacy Preparatory Academy

“Charter school director pleads guilty to program theft.” Salt Lake Tribune (UT), 5/31/2011

The principal of a North Salt Lake charter high school, one of the state’s largest, has resigned after pleading guilty to mishandling federal education money in Pennsylvania.

Dennis Bruno, 59, was director of secondary education at Legacy Preparatory Academy until Thursday. The K-12 school has 876 students, including 409 in grades six through 12...

... The guilty plea comes one month after James A. Stokes, a former teacher at Legacy, was sentenced to jail and probation for sexual abuse of a 14-year-old female student...

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“Bruno pleads guilty to charges.” Altoona Mirror (PA), 5/10/2011

JOHNSTOWN - Glendale School District's former superintendent faces the possibility of years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines after admitting in federal court he mishandled education funds.

Dennis Bruno, 59, now a school official in North Salt Lake, Utah, appeared Monday before U.S. District Court Judge Kim Gibson, pleading guilty to one count of federal program theft, admitting he intentionally misappropriated $49,600 in federal Improvement in Education funds in late 2005 - money the district received for school enhancements...

In a press release Monday, U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton said the charge carries up to a decade in federal prison and fines up to $250,000, although criminal history - or in Bruno's case, the lack of one prior to this charge - would be weighed at sentencing.

Prosecutors indicated that Bruno also admitted he was part of a conspiracy to acquire $414,000 from the Federal Communications Commission's E-Rate Program, that were directed to the district for Internet upgrades and telecommunication improvements. Such technology upgrades put tiny, rural Glendale on the map a decade ago, with Bruno often leading the way in finding grants for the school.

An audit revealed Bruno awarded contracts without board approval and inappropriately spent and obtained funding during his final years in office.

Bruno was suspended in 2008 and abruptly resigned months later...

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“Former drama teacher gets jail for fondling student, and forgiveness from victim's family.” Deseret News (UT), 4/6/2011

FARMINGTON — A former Woods Cross drama teacher accused of fondling a 14-year-old student was sentenced to a year in jail Wednesday after an extraordinary display of forgiveness by the victim's family.

A 2nd District judge ordered James D. Stokes to complete treatment at the Northern Utah Community Correctional Center, a halfway house in Ogden for sex offenders, as soon as space is available.

Stokes, 62, pleaded guilty in February to one count of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony. In exchange, prosecutors dropped a second identical charge, but Stokes still faced a prison term of up to 15 years, which Judge John Morris agreed to suspend.

The victim and her father spoke in court Wednesday of their desire for Stokes to get treatment so he does not abuse anyone else. They noted the other victims of his crime, including other students and his own family...

Stokes was the drama teacher at the Legacy Preparatory Academy charter school in Woods Cross when he was accused of molesting a 14-year-old student. Prosecutors say he twice molested the girl in his car.

After a play rehearsal in January 2010, Stokes offered the girl a ride home and drove her to a remote area in Centerville, where the assaults occurred, police said. The girl told her parents what had happened in July, and Stokes was arrested the next month, just days before school was to start...

Northstar Academy

“Rolly: Utah’s charter schools get special treatment.” Paul Rolly, Salt Lake Tribune columnist 14 June 2011 

When it comes to applying rules to the public-education system in Utah, some schools are more equal than others.

People take for granted the fact that elementary schools have open playgrounds for children in the neighborhood to enjoy at any time.

But some charter schools, which also are public schools supported by taxpayer dollars, lock up their playgrounds so kids not enrolled in those schools can’t play on the monkey bars, go down the slippery slide or swing.

That’s because, when the Utah State Legislature defined schools as “community centers,” it exempted charter schools.

Community centers, as it applies to schools, are where civic groups can meet, sports clubs can play and little kids can enjoy the school’s play area.

Some neighbors of Northstar Academy, a charter school in Bluffdale, noticed that the school’s playground is fenced and locked. It struck them as strange, since most public schools’ playgrounds are open to the neighborhood.

Chris Bleak of the Utah Association of Public Charter Schools said Northstar and other charter schools have chosen to lock their play areas to keep out vandals.

Another reason they lock them is because they can.

It’s another example in what appears to be the charter-school ethic of taking all the advantages of being a public school while getting to act like a private school. Backed by the Legislature, the mantra seems to be: What’s ours is ours, and what’s yours is ours.

Gulen charter schools in Utah

STATE	# ACTIVE	# PENDING	# INACTIVE*	TOTAL
UT	1	0	0	1

* Denied, withdrawn, closed, or unknown status

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TOTAL ENROLLMENT IN 2010-2011 = 233 STUDENTS

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SCHOOLS

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BEEHIVE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ACADEMY
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2005-2006
Management	Beehive Educational Services
Authorizer	Utah State Charter School Board
Location/District	830 E. 9400 So., Sandy (this is the third location in seven years) / Canyons School District
Website	http://www.beehiveacademy.org/
Enrollment	Grades 7-12; 233 students in 2010-2011
Notes	Yavuz Durmas, executive director (2010-11); In April 2010, BSTA’s charter was revoked because of poor financial management. The decision was appealed and the authorizer permitted the school to remain open under probation.

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MANAGEMENT

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BEEHIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES
Federal Tax ID	EIN 200912672; “Beehive Educational Services dba Beehive Science & Technology Academy”
Website	None
History	The founding board members were Murat Ozoglu, Abdullah Tulek, and Bekir S. Gur. Ozoglu and Gur were graduate students in the same department at Utah State University. Telek was a graduate student at the University of Utah. All returned to Turkey following the completion of their PhDs.
Individuals involved	Abdullah Tulek, Alper Genc, Bekir S. Gur, Buyamin Karaduman, Crystal Peterson, Muhammet “Frank” Erdogan, Gulfidan Can, Kelly Wayment, Marie Jess, Mehmet A. Dogan, Murat Biyik, Murat Citir, Murat Ozoglu, Mustafa Keskin, Omer Odabasoglu, Randal Ross, Remzi Oten, Rolland Lee, Suleyman Bahceci, Terry Smith, William Tandy, Yavus Durmas, and Zekeriya Kiyma (source: IRS Form 990s for 2004-2009).
Notes	Kelly Wayment was the only board member with a non-Turkish surname from 2005 to 2007. He was removed from the board after publicly expressing his suspicions about Gulen movement connections. Wayment is quoted in articles about the “Turkish” charter schools which appeared in local, national, and international press http://www.charterschoolwatchdog.com/a-rare-breed----indeed---the-american-on-the-board.html. Board member Jess was added to the board in 2008. Members Lee, Ross, Peterson, Tandy, and Smith were added in 2009.

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SERVICE PROVIDER

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ACCORD INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH
Federal Tax ID	EIN 260658913
Website	http//www.accordeducation.org/
Location	13950 Milton Ave. Suite 200A, Westminster, CA (same address as the Magnolia Educational and Research Foundation, operator of Magnolia Public Schools in CA).
Services	The schools purchase program development, curriculum, professional development, and financial services from AIER. The fee is not known.
Individuals involved	Adem Oksuz, Ali Korkmaz, Ertan Salik, Faruk Taban, Hasan Deniz, Murat Arbas, Osman Sen, Suat Utku Ay, Carol Barkley, Suleyman Bahceci, and Yasin Cetindilin (source: IRS Form 990s for 2007 and 2008, and website accessed May 2011)

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NOTE: Learn more about Beehive Science and Technology Academy HERE.

Red Apple Entheos Academy

TEACHER CHARGED IN THEFT; Aug 17, 2010; Salt Lake Tribune (UT) 

A charter school teacher is accused of stealing $4,277 from his school’s bank account.

The teacher, 34, allegedly went to a Wells Fargo Bank and emptied the bank account of the Red Apple Entheos Academy in Kearns. He did not have permission to make the withdrawal, police wrote.

The teacher is charged with third-degree felony theft.

American Preparatory Academy

CHARTER SCHOOLS’ FAMILY TIES SPARK QUESTIONS; November 13, 2010; Salt Lake Tribune (UT)

A state school board member is questioning whether family members should be allowed to contract with one another to run charter schools, calling the relationship between a charter-school academy and its management company “not right.”

But the practice of family members running charter schools together is not unique to one school. Charter schools are independently run public schools often started by groups of parents.

Outgoing state school board member Denis Morrill raised the issue at a board meeting this month as the board considered American Preparatory Academy’s request to expand beyond its current plans. The academy pays a charter school management company $986 a year per student to run its two schools, according to the management agreement. The company is owned by sisters of the chairman of the academy’s board.

“I’m not willing to approve and watch expand something that puts another $920 a year in the pocket of the sister of the person who’s asking for the expansion,” Morrill said.

With about 1,140 students enrolled in American Preparatory Academy’s two schools, the for-profit management company, led by Carolyn Sharette, receives more than $1 million a year, she said. Sharette’s brother, Howard Headlee, chairs the American Preparatory board, which hired Sharette’s company. The academy is opening a third campus in the fall with another 720 students.

Sharette, Headlee and their sister Laura Campbell opened the first school together in 2003. Sharette and Campbell worked at the school and later created the charter management company, called American Preparatory Schools Inc…

Joel Coleman, a founder and board member of Monticello Academy charter school, won Morrill’s seat this month. Coleman’s wife had served as director of Monticello until the state Charter School Board ousted her last year after an investigation spurred by complaints from parents about low teacher morale and efforts to block parental involvement in the school’s management, which they said was paralyzed by conflicts of interest.

Kim Coleman is now suing a number of state Charter School Board members and other education officials for more than $5 million for allegedly unlawfully removing her from her post, among other allegations…

Monticello Academy

OUSTED CHARTER SCHOOL LEADER SUES EDUCATION OFFICIALS, October 28, 2010, Salt Lake Tribune (UT)

Charter school founder Kim Coleman has renewed her legal quarrel with Utah education officials in a multimillion-dollar suit alleging that the State Charter School Board violated state and federal law in ousting her last year as director of West Valley City’s Monticello Academy.

The board acted “maliciously” when it barred Coleman from serving Monticello in any capacity, according to Coleman’s suit, filed Tuesday in Salt Lake City’s 3rd District Court. In formal findings issued in early 2009, the board found that Coleman failed to adequately provide special-education services and withheld pertinent information during a compliance review. Coleman, whose husband, Joel Coleman, hopes to be elected to the State Board of Education next week, alleges those findings have no basis in fact or law…

At the time Coleman was ousted, parents of Monticello students had complained that families and teachers were leaving the school and Coleman was too closely tied to the governing board, which included her husband, also a school founder. The state falsely accused him of failing to recuse himself when the Monticello board voted to hire Coleman as director, according to the lawsuit…

He said Monticello is not helping finance his wife’s current lawsuit, although the school did help cover her past legal expenses when she was still a school official.

Coleman’s 71-page suit contends the school thrived under her leadership. It seeks damages totalling more than $5 million under various causes of action, including libel, unlawfully removing her from her post, constitutional violations, and interference with family relations and economic opportunity. The suit seeks an injunction allowing her to resume her spot on the Monticello board and be eligible for employment at the school.

Utah charter schools (inadequate oversight)

UTAH CHARTER SCHOOLS IN NEED OF GREATER OVERSIGHT, AUDIT SAYS, October 22, 2010, Salt Lake Tribune (UT)

The State Charter School Board needs to polish its practices to more effectively regulate Utah’s growing number of charter schools, according to a legislative audit released Thursday.

The number of charter schools in Utah has surged from 7 in 2001 to 76 this year with no increase in the charter board’s support staff at the Utah State Office of Education. In fact, the six-member staff has been cut to five.
The report highlights the board’s handling last year of financial struggles at Beehive Science and Technology Academy in Holladay. The board voted to revoke Beehive’s charter but later reversed that decision because of its own “ambiguous standards” for charter finances, the audit states. 

The report recommends the board establish and apply clear financial standards for all charter schools. The board also needs to clarify procedures for disciplinary actions and school closures…

The audit also found the State Board of Education approved more loans to charter schools last year than is allowed by statute. The cap is set at $2 million, but the board awarded 21 loans totalling $3.8 million in the 2008-09 school year. The report recommends better tracking of loans and for the Legislature to clarify how loan money can be spent…

Excelsior Academy

CHARTER SCHOOL LOSES HALF ITS TEACHERS AFTER BUMPY FIRST YEAR, July 29, 2010, Salt Lake Tribune (UT)

Excelsior Academy, Tooele County's first public charter school, will start its second school year on Aug. 24 with only 50 percent of its teachers returning from 2009-10.
The K-8 school in Erda had a rocky start. After its director resigned in February, Excelsior's board contracted with American Preparatory Schools to bring in new management. Many teachers clashed with the new leadership over issues ranging from performance reviews to instruction style…

Noah Webster Academy

PARENTS, SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS HAVE STANDOFF AT NOAH WEBSTER ACADEMY, January 10, 2007, The Daily Herald (Utah)

Police were called to a meeting at an Orem charter school last week after several heated exchanges, and parents who were soliciting signatures demanding a no-confidence vote of the school's board were ordered off school property.

Noah Webster Academy's headmaster, Kennan Beckstrand, was fired on Dec. 20. In a letter to him, board members cited Beckstrand with insubordination and mistreating an autistic student who refused to come to class after recess…

Orem police Lt. Doug Edwards said he could not immediately confirm what had happened at the meeting.

Merrill Oveson, the father of two students at Noah Webster Academy, said board members asked a police officer at the meeting to remove the microphone from his hand as he demanded that a representative elected by parents be allowed on the school's board. Parents spoke for and against the board at the meeting…

Oveson said he's upset for other reasons, too. He said the school's new headmaster has no school management credentials and has not taught school in more than 30 years. Also, board members told parents the state-funded school is "not a democracy" but a private organization.

"The term 'not a democracy' is a polite way of saying 'We are a dictatorship,' and they have been acting as dictators with all the classic examples -- there is no communication between the board and the parents, no parental input," he said…

Beehive Science and Technology Academy

NOTE: The Beehive Science and Technology Academy has been identified as a Gulen charter school.

CHARTER SCHOOL BOARD REVERSES DECISION ON BEEHIVE ACADEMY, June 11, 2010, KSL news

HOLLADAY -- A charter school in Holladay that was supposed to be closed this year will stay open after all.

The Utah Charter School Board voted in April to revoke the charter for Beehive Science and Technology Academy because of poor financial management.

The school's administrators argued the decision was based on old reports and asked for an opportunity to provide updated information. The board agreed Thursday to put Beehive Academy on probation.

A meeting to discuss exact terms of the probation is scheduled for July 15.

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UTAH'S BEEHIVE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CHARTER SCHOOL SHUT DOWN BECAUSE OF FINANCIAL PROBLEMS; APPEAL IS PLANNED: FINANCIAL TROUBLES, POSSIBLE TIES TO TERRORISM ARE CITED, May 4, 2010, Deseret News (Salt Lake City, UT)

For the first time since the charter school movement began, the Utah State Charter School Board moved Thursday to shut down an operational school.

The vote to revoke the Beehive Science & Technology charter, a state contract that grants the independently run school public education dollars, was unanimous. Barring a successful appeal, the Salt Lake City school at 1011 Murray Holladay Road will close its doors at the end of this school year.

"This is not something I wanted to do," said Brian Allen, chairman of the State Charter School Board, after the meeting Thursday. "This is an academically strong school, and I really wanted things to work out, but at the end of the day, it's our public duty as a board to hold charter schools accountable to the taxpayers."

Allen said the board couldn't foresee a viable future for Beehive, which started the school year $33,000 in the red. The 5-year-old-school has continuously failed to meet "accepted standards of fiscal management," he said.

Beehive's troubles came to the board's attention in July 2009, when a former board member accused the school of having clandestine ties to a controversial Turkish Muslim preacher. Fethullah Gülen, who doesn't recognize al-Qaida as a terrorist organization, was exiled from Turkey in 1998 for reportedly working to overthrow the secular government. His international network of schools, universities and businesses — known as the Gülen Movement — has been accused of promoting the preacher's agenda. While the State Charter School Board concluded Beehive was innocent of preaching Turkish nationalism, their investigation revealed a tangled web of troubling business practices...

The board also criticized the school for "routinely" hiring employees from Turkey and paying out thousands of dollars to relocate the teachers and their families to Utah. One-third of the school's 15 employees are Turkish nationals. Beehive sponsored the teachers' work visas, which cost $820 per person and must be renewed every three years.

Furthermore, a number of Beehive's out-of-country teachers are not licensed to teach in Utah. While charter schools are allowed to hire unlicensed teachers, once hired, employees must seek certification.

"This isn't a one-time slip up," Allen said. "This is a case of chronic business mismanagement."

The board was unaware of the school's troubles because Beehive did not turn in monthly or quarterly financial reports as is required by the State Office of Education. Though Beehive is not the only charter school to shrug off intermediate financial reporting, the State Charter School Board does not penalize schools that don't turn in their financial figures, Kanth said...

The school also collected more than $55,500 in private donations. All of Beehive's personal loans — totaling about $100,000 — have been forgiven...

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"UTAH CHARTER SCHOOL'S TIES TO TURKEY DRAW SCRUTINY: COMPLAINTS ABOUT BEEHIVE ACADEMY'S HIRING AND FINANCES PROMPT INVESTIGATION." Salt Lake Tribune (UT), 7/17/2009

When Principal Muhammet "Frank" Erdogan stocked the school library shelves, he agonized over whether to include the Koran alongside the Bible and other religious texts.

"I don't have the luxury to make a mistake here. I have to be careful all the time," Erdogan said of his by-the-book efforts to build Beehive Science & Technology Academy in Holladay.

Founded and financially supported by a group of Turkish-American scholars, Beehive advertises itself as a public charter school offering college-bound seventh through 12th graders a foundation in math and science. But a former teacher and a disaffected parent allege the school has another mission: to advance and promote certain Islamic beliefs.

They point to questionable financial transactions and hiring practices as proof of the school's covert ties to Turkish Muslim preacher Fethullah Gülen. Their complaints have prodded an investigation by the Utah State Charter Board.

Gülen is a preacher, author and educator living in Pennsylvania. He is the founder and leader of the Gülen movement, an international network of schools, and in Turkey, some universities, businesses and television networks...

Erdogan, a Muslim from Azerbaijan, said he supports Gülen's ideas, but wouldn't describe himself as a "follower."

Many of Beehive's teachers and founders also support Gülen's ideals," acknowledged Erodgan. But he said there's no formal tie...

Not unlike other public charter schools in Utah, Beehive struggles financially.

The school has steadily grown since it's inception in August 2005 and that means more state funding, which is awarded on a per-student basis. Its budget now exceeds $1 million.

But the school is losing money. With growth comes the need for more teachers and classroom space. The old office building the school occupies isn't ideal and needs renovation. There is no gymnasium nor auditorium. The building could use new carpet and fresh coat of paint...

But there's been dissension among parents.

Jess replaced Kelly Wayment, a parent of three Beehive students and once a staunch supporter. Wayment was removed from the board this spring after he e-mailed other parents about his concerns that Beehive might belong to the Fethullah Gülen movement. He was threatened with legal action and accused of using his seat on the board for "sectarian purposes," suggesting he was anti-Islam.

But Wayment contends he never suggested ties to terrorism nor Islamic extremists. He says he harbors no ill will against Muslims and has been with Beehive from the beginning, dined at teachers' homes and has traveled with the school to Europe and Turkey. His primary concern is lack of transparency. Even as a board member, he says he felt "out of the loop" and was often was the lone dissenting vote on spending decisions he found irresponsible...

...Wayment says employee turnover is high and teachers are often recruited from other charter schools which he believes are part of a larger network.

These recruits tend to be from Turkey and central Asian republics living here on work visas, he says, and they're often promoted above teachers with more experience and tenure, Wayment adds...

In 2007, Beehive received a $61,000 loan from Murat Biyik, who at the time was the school's vice principal. The loan was equivalent to Biyik's salary. Biyik is now principal at Magnolia Science Academy in Hollywood, Calif., part of a chain of charter schools once overseen by Erdogan.

And the foundation overseeing the Magnolia schools is home to another Beehive benefactor, Mustafa Keskin. Keskin is secretary of the foundation and loaned Beehive $49,000.

Other loans to Beehive include $20,000 from Buyamin Karaduman, and $30,000 from Suleyman Bahceci, who both work for the Accord Institute in Tustin, Calif. The institute contracts with Beehive on curriculum design and performs teacher evaluations for the school...

Dual Immersion Academy

Parents protest at Salt Lake charter school: Academy's board stands behind administrator, despite parents' allegations. (Salt Lake Tribune, May 7, 2010)

Dual Immersion Academy's board has thrown its support behind a beleaguered administrator who resigned earlier this week amid parents' financial mismanagement allegations.

At a meeting Friday evening, board members voted to reject DIA director Laurencio Peña's Wednesday resignation, saying his contract expires June 30 and they will renegotiate his employment then.

The board passed a resolution expressing support for Peña, who denied he has mismanaged the public charter school's budget.

Parents' statements about the school's budget are "exaggerations." Like all schools, DIA is feeling budgetary strains and must be careful with its money, Peña said.

The board's action angered parents. Earlier in the day, several dozen staged a protest at the school to highlight what they see as DIA's problems.

Parent Shannon Wilson was near tears Friday evening...

...Parents had called for Peña to resign, alleging that employee paychecks have been late, ineligible employees are on the school's health insurance program and that teachers too often must buy their own supplies, among other concerns.

Teaching assistant Carmen Thompson said teachers are afraid to voice concerns due to an "energy of control" from the administration.

The Utah State Office of Education also has received complaints about the school, said Marlies Burns, state charter schools director. Auditors have reviewed school financial documents and spoken with administrators and board members. Audit results likely will be announced next week…

Stay tuned...