Gulen Charter Schools
C.A.S.I.L.I.P.S.
  • Gulen Charter Schools
  • How the schools serve the Gulen Movement
  • Why it's wrong
  • Proposed Gulen charter schools
  • SITE INDEX
  • Flier: Print and Handout
  • How to get involved - Sample letters
  • Renewal schedule
  • Hearings on new applications, expansions, etc
  • How school chains evolve
  • Harmony Science Academy: Denials and Evidence
  • Sonoran Science Academy - Denials and Evidence
  • Quest Charter Academy - Denials and Evidence
  • Memphis School of Excellence - Denials and Evidence
  • Are the schools connected to Gulen?
  • Are the schools connected to Gulen? Part 2
  • Organic Ties
  • More organic ties
  • Organic Ties - Part 3
  • Gulenist Self-Empretzelment
  • [Generic] Science Academy - cut, paste, fill in the blank
  • TIE: Coordination across schools
  • TIE and Accord overhead
  • Skimming a percentage off 400 million
  • Total Revenue 2011-12
  • Audits & Financial Statements
  • Charter schools offer numerous business opportunities
  • Charter schools offer numerous business opportunities Part 2
  • Charter schools offer numerous business opportunities, Part 3
  • Blue Ocean Construction
  • Financial links between charter schools and Gulen Movement
  • Financial links between charter schools and Gulen Movement, ctd
  • Charter bond financing - the next subprime crisis?
  • Bonds for Gulen Charters
  • BayTech & Willow Education
  • Bergen Arts and Science Charter School
  • Brookside-Frontier School
  • Buffalo Academy of Science
  • Central Jersey College Prep
  • Chesapeake Science Point
  • Chesapeake Science Point: Timeline & Information
  • Concept Schools; Horizon Science Academy; CMSA etc
  • Concept Schools: now a multinational school management corporation
  • Concept Schools promotes patently false nationalistic propaganda
  • Concept Schools Favored Vendors
  • Coral Academy of Science
  • Dove Science Academy
  • Florida Schools: Orlando, River City, Sweetwater, Stars, New Springs
  • Fulton Science Academy
  • Fulton Science Academy, Cape Fear Board Member: "Yes, I am a Fethullah follower"
  • Fulton students at Gulenist, religious school in Turkey
  • Fulton Science Academy - letter from parent
  • Fulton Science Academy: comparing college prep with district
  • Fulton Science Academy: Charter Renewal 2011
  • Fulton 2015 Charter Renewal
  • GREEN Charter School
  • Harmony Science Academy, Cosmos Foundation
  • How the Harmony schools serve the Gulen Movement
  • LISA Academy
  • Lotus School for Excellence
  • Lotus School for Excellence - some restrictions apply
  • Magnolia Science Academy
  • Magnolia Science Academy ctd
  • Massachusetts schools: Hampden & Pioneer
  • Paterson Charter School of Science and Technology
  • Paterson Charter School, ctd.
  • Paterson Charter School for Science & Technology - Related-Party Deals
  • Rochester Academy Charter School
  • School of Science and Technology
  • Sonoran Science Academy
  • Syracuse Academy of Science
  • Thomas Edison EnergySmart Charter School
  • Triad Math and Science Academy
  • Triangle Math & Science Academy Related-Party Deals
  • Truebright Science Academy
  • Utica Academy of Science
  • Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania
  • Young Scholars of Western Pennsylvania
  • Wisconsin Career Academy
  • Principals of Gulen schools
  • Maps
  • Proposed ABECS school
  • Proposed ABECS School - Denials & Evidence
  • New schools and expansions 2012-13
  • Enrollment
  • News articles 2013 - Gulen charter schools
  • News articles 2014 - Gulen charter schools
  • News articles 2015 - Gulen charter schools
  • Growth of enrollment
  • Gulenist hijrah (migration)
  • ISWEEEP
  • Harmony Schools Fact-Checking
  • Harmony's anomalous at-risk increase
  • Vanishing High School Students
  • Vanishing High School Students, Pt 2
  • Standardized tests
  • Standardized tests, ctd
  • Application forms
  • Application forms ctd
  • Borrowed texts
  • From Massachusetts to Pakistan: More borrowed texts
  • Text strings copy-paste
  • Grants to Gulen schools
  • Federal grants for teaching Turkish
  • Importing English teachers from Turkey
  • Schools paying for visas, immigration
  • Reform Laws Needed
  • Authorizers, Auditors and Accreditors: Concerns
  • Financial Incentives to Ignore Abuse
  • Discrimination
  • Special education
  • Favoritism and Disorganization: Evidence from Sonoran Science Academy Phoenix
  • Report from Concept Schools staff member
  • Culture of secrecy
  • Fraudulent Application or False Denial?
  • Missing information on school websites
  • Charter school authorization: Lack of public input and transparency
  • Lawsuits against Gulen charters
  • Lawsuit: J.R. Johnson v. Cosmos Foundation and Solidarity
  • American enablers
  • Who is responsible?
  • Manipulation tactics
  • Waiting for the government
  • Comments on 60 Minutes Segment
  • Legal threats: a Gulenist intimidation tactic
  • Collecting information on students - where does it go?
  • International schools provide insight
  • Research tools
    • How to find school report cards
    • Charter school law
  • Pioneer Academy of Science
  • Brooklyn Amity School (private)
  • Brief updates
  • The Stem Sell Problem
  • Submit information
  • Return to Guide to the Gulen Movement's Activities site
  • For Turkish speakers - Türkçe konuşanlar için

Introduction to Gulen charter schools


by C.A.S.I.L.I.P.S. - Citizens Against Special Interest Lobbying in Public Schools  CASILIPS on Twitter, Slideshare
Note that this website has two companion websites:
A Guide to the Gulen Movement's Activities in the US      and     Gulen in the International Press


What is a Gulen charter school? 

A Gulen charter school is a publicly-funded charter school that was founded and is run by individuals who are secretly followers of a Turkish imam named Fethullah Gulen.  Gulen's followers are called Gulenists, and collectively they form a worldwide covert network called the Gulen Movement.  The key defining feature of Gulen charter schools is that control of the schools' policies and (most importantly) finances lies entirely in the hands of Gulenists.  This allows the Gulenists to use the schools in ways that further the Gulen Movement's goals.  The infiltration of the Gulen Movement into our publicly-funded education system has been made possible by a perfect storm of very lax charter school regulation; the current political climate favoring expansion of charter schools; the Gulenists' unparalleled skills at marketing, deception, and intimidation; the presence of influential sympathizers in our government and in academia; and an extreme reluctance on the part of many journalists, academicians and government officials to involve themselves in this issue for fear they might be labeled as Islamophobic or xenophobic. 

Where are the Gulen charter schools, and how many are there?

The list of names of Gulen charter schools currently in operation in the US is given here at our companion site, which is about the Gulen Movement.  Another blogger is also keeping count of the number of schools.  At last count (Jan 12, 2014) 139 are currently in operation, in 26 different states, and the Gulenists are actively proposing and founding new ones (at least 18 are currently in the works, and another 121 are known to have been attempted but never materialized).

What sort of information can I find here?

One of the most controversial aspects of these schools has been the public denials made by Gulenist administrators that there is any connection with the Gulen Movement.  Many of the pages here are compilations of evidence that a strong connection exists.  Other pages explore additional issues of concern about these publicly-funded schools.  Our companion site, A Guide to the Gulen Movement's Activities in the US, has more information about the Gulen Movement in general, as the charter schools are only one aspect of this movement's growing influence in our country and around the world.  For updates, follow CASILIPS on Twitter.

What are the characteristics of Gulen charter schools?

The following characteristics apply to nearly all of the over 100 Gulen charter schools across the country.  Some exceptions exist; for example, the Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania charter school appears to emphasize languages instead of the usual math/science emphasis.  Some of the newer Harmony schools in Texas have names suggesting themes such as art, nature or political science.  Nevertheless, there are strong commonalities among all these schools.


  • Emphasis on math
  • School advertised as emphasizing science, yet laboratory facilities are inferior to comparable schools and science classes have minimal or nonexistent experimental component
  • Small select group of students receives intense math coaching and attends numerous math competitions, including Mathcounts; awards generate much positive publicity for school
  • Free after-school tutoring; in a few cases Gulenist teachers tutor in students' homes
  • Automated online information system for students' grades and assignments is highly touted as allowing for parental involvement, yet system is not kept current, and may be inconsistent, inaccurate or difficult to navigate
  • Emphasis on science fairs; for most students science project is mandatory
  • Students encouraged to participate in ISWEEEP (Gulenist-run science fair); hotel stay in Houston paid by school.  Similar for the GENIUS competition in Oswego.
  • Students have much higher chance of winning awards at Gulenist competitions (ISWEEEP, GENIUS, others) than students from schools unaffiliated with the Gulen Movement
  • Robotics clubs; participation in robotics competitions
  • Home visits offered to all families
  • Major emphasis on awards, mostly won by small fraction of the students
  • Unusually high scores on standardized tests, even with very challenging student demographics
  • Classes divided according to ability in math
  • Turkish language classes; Turkish mandatory in some grade levels; very limited selection of foreign language classes besides Turkish
  • Turkish culture emphasis, e.g., Turkish dance clubs
  • School-sponsored Turkey trips
  • Large number of Turkish/Turkic teachers
  • Participation of students in Turkish Language Olympics
  • Unusually high number of H1B visa applications
  • Many teachers have poor English skills
  • High teacher turnover
  • Gulenist teachers spend unusual amounts of time with students in extracurricular activities or socializing
  • Sleepovers, especially for select group of students participating in math competitions
  • In communications with parents, school awards and achievements are relentlessly emphasized and not put into perspective relative to other non-Gulenist schools
  • Chronic problems with special education compliance
  • Turkish/Turkic teachers and administrators have no work experience in education outside of the Gulen school network
  • School not under local control
  • Application forms are excessively detailed, requiring information that legally cannot be used to determine admission
  • Relentless promotion of school through frequent press releases 
  • Press releases and news articles emphasize the activities of small group of students in after-school clubs or extracurricular activities; no mention that most students do not participate in these activities and have a very different experience in the regular classroom
  • Continual courting of public officials by administration
  • School administration nearly exclusively Gulenist males of Turkish or Turkic ethnicity
  • Hiring practices favor Gulenists over equally qualified American teachers or administrators
  • Achievements of female teachers minimized or ignored
  • Opportunities for career development much greater for Gulenist teachers and administrators than for American employees
  • Parental involvement encouraged in principle, but steered towards fundraising and supporting school; administration is authoritarian while attempting to appear otherwise
  • Character education classes
  • School inaccurately claims to have few or no discipline or bullying problems
  • Gulenist teachers often highly inexperienced in classroom management
  • In some schools, excessive use of out-of-school suspensions for discipline
  • No trained school counselors
  • School uniforms required; must be purchased from school
  • Dwindling enrollment with each successive year of high school
  • Sophisticated school security systems in established schools
  • In geographical areas where chain of schools has been established, flagship school is usually of higher quality
  • Administrators persistently deny any connection to Gulen and the Gulen Movement, despite massive evidence showing this connection
  • Administrators persistently deny Connections to the nationwide network of Gulen charter schools and worldwide network of Gulen schools, despite massive evidence showing this connection


C.A.S.I.L.I.P.S. - Citizens Against Special Interest Lobbying in Public Schools  See also here
CASILIPS on Twitter, Slideshare
This website has two companion websites:  A Guide to the Gulen Movement's Activities in the US    and    Gulen in the International Press