Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School: evidence of affiliation with Gulen Movement


Page created April 6, 2012; last updated Feb 9, 2013

Buffalo Academy of Science is a publicly-funded charter school located in Buffalo, New York. 

Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School students participate in the Turkish Language Olympiads, a competition run by the Gulen Movement.

The building that Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School currently occupies, at 190 Franklin St. in Buffalo NY, was purchased in 2006 from the YWCA of Western New York Inc. by the Gulenist corporation Apple Educational Services Inc. for $650,000.  Apple then began leasing the building to the Buffalo Academy of Science school.  The 2009-10 Annual Report for Buffalo Academy of Science states that "The School leases its facility under a non-cancelable operating lease that expires August 31, 2021."  The annual payments shown range from $455,260 in 2011 to $468,918 in 2015 (note that this is about 2/3 of the price Apple paid for the building.)   The "total minimum lease payments" sum is reported as $4,837,056 - quite an impressive rate of return for Apple on its initial investment of $650,000.  This lease is a related-party deal and thus violates generally-accepted standards for operation of a charter school.

Buffalo Academy of Science's connections with the Gulen Movement are further evidenced by the multiple affiliations, both past and present, of the following individuals.

Murat Demirbas
  • Board member, Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School
  • Board member, Terra Science and Education, Inc. a.k.a. Terra Science and Education Foundation (Gulenist 501c3 corporation that leases building to Syracuse Academy of Science Gulen charter school; sponsors "GENIUS" Olympiad, a Gulenist competition in Oswego NY)

Mehmet Demirtas
  • Director, Rochester Academy Charter School 2011-12  (Gulen charter school)
  • Physics Teacher, Buffalo Academy of Science 2009  
  • Guide on Gulenist Turkey trip, 2009

Muhammet Yavuz Gecikli, a.k.a. M. Yavuz Gecikli, Yavuz Gecikli
  • 2012-13 Thomas Edison EnergySmart Charter School, NJ (Gulen charter school)
  • 2010-11 Buffalo Academy of Science  
  • Long Island Amity School, NY (now defunct private Gulen school)

Gurban Haydarov
  • Web design for Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School, as employee of Lotus Media Pro (Gulenist business doing web and graphics for several Gulen charter schools)
  • Also performed web design for the following Gulenist entities: Lotus Media Pro, Turkish Cultural Center Maine, Turkish Cultural Center Queens, Red Rose Foundation; Nile Language School; Metropolitan Education; Brooklyn Amity School; Apple Educational Services; Ivy Learning
  • International Turkmen-Turk University  (Gulen institution in Turkmenistan)  
  • The only Google Plus contact (as of April 2012) of Yavuz Baskaya, who attended Bergen Arts and Science Charter School in NJ  (Gulen charter school)

Levent Kaya
  • Former Director, Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School
  • CEO, Principal, Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania Charter School  (Gulen charter school)
  • Worked at Fatih University, Turkey  (run by the Gulen Movement)

Hasan Kose
  • Director, Minnesota School of Science 2011-12 (Gulen charter school)
  • Director, Noble Academy Cleveland OH (Gulen charter school)
  • Director, Horizon Science Academy Dayton OH (Gulen charter school)
  • Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School NY (Gulen charter school)
  • Fatih University, Turkey (Gulenist)
  • Surat Publishing, Turkey (Gulenist)
  • Zhambyl Kazakh-Turkish College of Economics (also spelled Jambyl) (private Gulen school in Kazakhstan)

Yunus Kumek
  • Founder, Board Member, Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School
  • Co-petitioner for proposed Digital Arts and Technology Charter School (DigiTech K-12) in NY in 2011, with Tevfik Kosar (former Pelican Foundation president, involved with Abramson, Kenilworth Gulen charter schools in Louisiana)
  • Giving course "Introduction to Sufizm," Oct 2011-May 2012 at Turkish Cultural Center NY, well-known to be a Gulenist organization (e.g., identified as Gulenist in 2010 doctoral thesis of Isil Anil, City University of New York)

Mucahit Polat
  • Buffalo Academy of Science
  • Brooklyn Amity School  (private Gulen school in NY)
  • Pioneer Academy of Science  (private Gulen school in NJ)

Ismail Unlusoy
  • Deputy Secretary General at Abant Platform of the Journalists and Writers Foundation, Turkey, widely known as Gulenist organization
  • Startup Coordinator at Thomas Edison EnergySmart Charter School  (proposed Gulen charter school in NJ; scheduled to open fall 2012)
  • Director, CEO Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School
  • Math Teacher, Vice Principal (Manager of School Operations) at Paterson Charter School For Science and Technology  (Gulen charter school in NY)
  • Math Teacher, Department Chair at Syracuse Academy of Science Charter School (Gulen charter school in NY)
  • Co-founder and Startup Specialist at Concept Schools  (management organization currently overseeing 27 Gulen charter schools in the Midwest; see Gulen Movement organizational chart on this page)
  • Teacher, Department Chair, Assistant Principal at Horizon Science Academy  (Gulen charter school in OH)