Proposed ABECS
(Academy of Business and Entrepreneurship Charter School)
Lancaster PA
Last updated July 10, 2014
The Academy of Business and Entrepreneurship Charter School (ABECS) is a proposed charter school within the School District of Lancaster in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The planned opening is August 2013, initially with grades K-4, and then adding a grade each year.
This proposed school has encountered very strong and widespread community resistance. An online petition by a local parent opposing the application already had 267 signatures as of March 5, 2013.
On March 19, 2013, the school board will vote on whether to approve the application. While a "no" vote appears likely, this may not be the end of the story. As shown by the example of the Gulen-affiliated Young Scholars of Western Pennsylvania school, would-be charter school founders can appeal at the state level and win, despite significant local opposition. (YSWP's application was rejected by an 8-to-1 vote of the Baldwin-Whitehall school board. The Pennsylvania Department of Education later overruled that decision.)
July 10, 2014 update: A new application was submitted for the 2014 cycle. After being denied by the school board again, the would-be founders are planning to appeal to the state.
See this new 2014 petition opposing the application for many details.
The Academy of Business and Entrepreneurship Charter School (ABECS) is a proposed charter school within the School District of Lancaster in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The planned opening is August 2013, initially with grades K-4, and then adding a grade each year.
This proposed school has encountered very strong and widespread community resistance. An online petition by a local parent opposing the application already had 267 signatures as of March 5, 2013.
On March 19, 2013, the school board will vote on whether to approve the application. While a "no" vote appears likely, this may not be the end of the story. As shown by the example of the Gulen-affiliated Young Scholars of Western Pennsylvania school, would-be charter school founders can appeal at the state level and win, despite significant local opposition. (YSWP's application was rejected by an 8-to-1 vote of the Baldwin-Whitehall school board. The Pennsylvania Department of Education later overruled that decision.)
July 10, 2014 update: A new application was submitted for the 2014 cycle. After being denied by the school board again, the would-be founders are planning to appeal to the state.
See this new 2014 petition opposing the application for many details.
News articles
July 10, 2014 LancasterOnline, Lancaster PA (link)
"Charter school takes Lancaster fight to state"
The would-be school founders are appealing their charter rejection to the Pennsylvania state Department of Education. A petition with signatures was filed on July 3, 2014.
Sep 5, 2013 Intelligencer Journal, Lancaster PA (original link now dead)
"Proposed business charter school to submit new application"
A letter of intent has been submitted indicating that the Academy of Business and Entrepreneurship Charter School applicants intend to resubmit their application in November, for the 2014-15 school year. However, a spokeman for the proposed school says they have not yet decided whether they will proceed with submitting the full application. Locals say that if this happens, they intend to oppose the application again. The school board’s rejection of the application on the previous cycle cited “serious and pervasive deficiencies."
Mar 6, 2013 Intelligencer Journal, Lancaster PA "Charter school proposal draws friends and foes to SDL school board meeting" (link) This article covered the final public hearing for the application. Significantly, Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray spoke out against the proposed school. Lead applicant Sait Onal accused one critic of trying to tie the applicants to a "terrorist group," although this was refuted.
Mar 4, 2013 Intelligencer Journal, Lancaster PA "Charter school friends, foes air their feelings" (link) Lead applicant Sait Onal is quoted as attributing his unseemly behavior at the recent school board hearing to a Red Bull energy drink that he consumed beforehand. Some parents and residents are linking the school to Fethullah Gulen. ABECS' first-year budget would be $2.4 million. The School District of Lancaster's Assistant Superintendent notes that ABECS' application has similarities to other charter school applications.
Feb 20, 2013 Intelligencer Journal, Lancaster PA "Police called to wild school board hearing on charter school proposal" (link) At the public hearing, an assistant superintendent from the School District of Lancaster criticized the proposed curriculum. The meeting got out of hand as would-be founder Sait Onal accused critics of lying. The police were called.
Jan 15, 2013 Intelligencer Journal, Lancaster PA "School District of Lancaster eyes charter school. Backers, foes give opposing views" (link) Public hearings on ABECS' application begin. Ties to Fethullah Gulen are mentioned. Lead applicant Sait Onal attempts to deny this, claiming "We are not associated with anyone, with any group, in any part of the world but here in Lancaster." The proposed curriculum is criticized, with several members of the public, some with teaching experience themselves, saying that a focus on entrepreneurship makes no sense for a K-4 school. Onal accuses the school's critics of "ignorance" and "racism."
Nov 4, 2012 Sunday News, Lancaster PA "Academy of Business & Entrepreneurship Charter School has eye on Lancaster city" (link) ABECS' application is expected by the Nov 15 deadline. It has already sent out solicitations for pre-enrollment to local residents. In October, Adam [a.k.a. Adem] Oksuz sent an email to "many members of the local educational community, asking for letters of support." The article notes that Oksuz was previously superintendent of an Arizona charter school that had been linked to Fethullah Gulen in several news articles.
File meta-data shows connection to Adam Oksuz and Serhat Sen
The connection of Adam Oksuz to the ABECS application was mentioned in the Nov 4, 2012 news article. Oksuz's connection is also shown by the appearance of his name in meta-data of a document on the ABECS website:
http://abecs.org/documents/Pre-enrollment%20Form%20ABECS.pdf
Similarly, the name of Serhat Sen, an individual associated with several Gulen schools, also appears in meta-data of two documents on the ABECS website:
http://abecs.org/documents/LETTER_OF_SUPPORT_ABECS.pdf
http://abecs.org/documents/PRE-ENROLLMENT_FORM%20ABECS.pdf
Adam Oksuz's and Serhat Sen's names in these meta-data are shown in the following images. Note that file metadata for pdf documents can be viewed by right-clicking anywhere on the document and then selecting "Document Properties" from the drop-down menu.
The connection of Adam Oksuz to the ABECS application was mentioned in the Nov 4, 2012 news article. Oksuz's connection is also shown by the appearance of his name in meta-data of a document on the ABECS website:
http://abecs.org/documents/Pre-enrollment%20Form%20ABECS.pdf
Similarly, the name of Serhat Sen, an individual associated with several Gulen schools, also appears in meta-data of two documents on the ABECS website:
http://abecs.org/documents/LETTER_OF_SUPPORT_ABECS.pdf
http://abecs.org/documents/PRE-ENROLLMENT_FORM%20ABECS.pdf
Adam Oksuz's and Serhat Sen's names in these meta-data are shown in the following images. Note that file metadata for pdf documents can be viewed by right-clicking anywhere on the document and then selecting "Document Properties" from the drop-down menu.
Connections of individuals associated with ABECS to the Gulen Movement
The multiple affiliations, both past and present, of some of the applicants or individuals associated with the charter application, show their connection to the Gulen Movement.
Sait Onal
- ABECS
- Secretary, Dream Schools, a Gulenist non-profit involved in establishing Young Scholars of Western Pennsylvania
- Petitioner, Capital Academy of Harrisburg, a.k.a. Capital Academy Charter School, Pennsylvania, 2008 (Sezai "Steve" Sablak was a co-petitioner; Sablak is a board member of the Golden Generation Worship and Retreat Center where Fethullah Gulen resides)
- Petitioner, Lancaster Science Academy, a.k.a. Lancaster Academy of Science charter school, Pennsylvania, 2008 (Sezai "Steve" Sablak was a co-petitioner)
- President, Red Rose Intercultural and Educational Foundation (Gulenist non-profit)
- President, Turkish Cultural Center Pennsylvania (Gulenist non-profit)
- Principal Officer, Wyoming Educational Foundation (this organization runs religious camps near the town of Wyoming, Pennsylvania. Note that the Gulen Movement was known for running religious summer camps for students in Turkey.)
- Author, Fountain Magazine (major publication of Gulen Movement in U.S.; Fethullah Gulen writes lead article for each issue)
Serhat Sen
- ABECS
- Young Scholars of Western Pennsylvania (Gulen charter school in PA)
- Bergen Arts and Science Charter School (Gulen charter school in NJ)
- Pioneer Academy of Science (private Gulen school in NJ)
- Erie Biosciences Academy (proposed Gulen charter school in PA)
Adem Oksuz (a.k.a. Adam Oksuz)
- ABECS
- Applicant, Mokapu STEM School (proposed Gulen charter school in Hawaii, 2011)
- Principal, Superintendent, Sonoran Science Academy (Gulen charter school in AZ)
- Accord Institute, Irvine, California (Gulenist organization; vendor for Gulen charter schools in AZ, CA, NV and UT)
- Foundation for Inter-cultural Dialogue, an Arizona religious non-profit organization that promotes Fethullah Gulen and his ideology, as can be seen clearly from its website (e.g., a quote of Gulen's appears on the top banner of the homepage).
Isa (Emin) Hafalir
- Advisory Board, ABECS
- Board, Young Scholars of Western Pennsylvania
- Founder, Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania
- Nova Education Foundation, Pennsylvania, operator of Magnolia Kids Academy
- President, Dialog Forum at Penn State University (Gulenist)
Confusion with other, supposedly unrelated, charter schools
The letters of support for ABECS and the proposed Erie Biosciences Academy in Erie, Pennsylvania, contain extremely similarly wording (links accessed March 2013).
The Facebook page for Erie Biosciences Academy shows [email protected] as the contact email; this of course is the email for ABECS:
The letters of support for ABECS and the proposed Erie Biosciences Academy in Erie, Pennsylvania, contain extremely similarly wording (links accessed March 2013).
The Facebook page for Erie Biosciences Academy shows [email protected] as the contact email; this of course is the email for ABECS:
The Facebook page for the proposed Business Academy and Entrepreneurship Charter School to be located in Easton, Pennsylvania displays the sentence "Academy of Business and Entrepreneurship Charter School is committed to preparing its students to be successful in life and work in the technology-driven, globally-connected and competitive 21st century" (boldface added). The appearance of ABECS' name here is puzzling.
Apparent plagiarism/copying from other schools
The Education page of the ABECS school website contains sections of text that are verbatim or very near-verbatim identical to that from other websites. This may be plagiarism, a practice found with other Gulen-affiliated schools. Even if the other websites consent to this copying, it is concerning that the proposed school cannot find its own words to explain itself.
The Education page of the ABECS school website contains sections of text that are verbatim or very near-verbatim identical to that from other websites. This may be plagiarism, a practice found with other Gulen-affiliated schools. Even if the other websites consent to this copying, it is concerning that the proposed school cannot find its own words to explain itself.
Website of ABECS
http://abecs.org/education/ "Rigorous Academics: Our students will excel. They will learn to read, write, compute, and think critically. The school’s educational model will draw on the very best of the progressive education tradition balanced with attention to learning the foundational skills and content knowledge students need in order to be successful." |
Website of Bensalem Keystone Academy Charter School (BKACS)
http://keystoneacademia.org/?m=201112 "Rigorous Academics: Our students will excel. They will learn to read, write, compute, and think critically. The school’s educational model will draw on the very best of the progressive education tradition balanced with attention to learning the foundational skills and content knowledge students need in order to be successful..." |
"Teachers: Teachers at the Academy of Business and Entrepreneurship Charter School will be exceptional individuals who will continually challenge themselves and each other to do better, be better, and teach better. Every teacher will model what it is to be a lifelong learner by actively engaging in professional development. Every teacher will model how to cooperate and collaborate in the quest for excellence ..."
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"Teachers: Teachers at Bensalem Keystone Academy Charter School will be exceptional individuals who will continually challenge themselves and each other to do better, be better, and teach better. Every teacher will model to the students and to each other what it is to be a life-long learner. Every teacher will model how to cooperate and collaborate in the quest for excellence."
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"The Academy of Business and Entrepreneurship Charter School takes the development of character very seriously. ... Embedded in the core philosophy of its educational program is the nurturing of character traits that will build scholars and the business leaders of tomorrow. Courage, caring, cooperation, responsibility, integrity, respect of self and others – these will be fostered in everything the child does during the school day."
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"...Bensalem Keystone Academy Charter School takes the development of character very seriously. Embedded in the core philosophy of its educational program is the nurturing of character traits that will build scholars and leaders of tomorrow. Curiosity, courage, compassion, cooperation and integrity will be fostered in everything the student does during the school day."
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Website of ABECS
http://abecs.org/education/ "All students will be supported in their efforts to master the academic curriculum and develop superior critical thinking, social and leadership skills." |
Website of the Chester Fund for Education and the Arts
http://www.thechesterfund.org/ "All students will be supported in their efforts to master the academic curriculum, flourish in the arts, and develop superior critical-thinking, social and leadership skills." |
Website of ABECS
http://abecs.org/education/ "Our students will be engaged in curricular approaches to education that involve both core foundational knowledge and hands-on application of entrepreneurial concepts and experiences." |
Website of Ivy Academia Entrepreneurial Charter School
http://www.ivyacademia.com/about.cfm "Students are engaged in curricular approaches to education that involve both foundational knowledge and hands-on application of entrepreneurial concepts and experiences." |
Concern that political contributions influenced letters of support
The March 4, 2013 article in the Intelligencer Journal of Lancaster PA seems to indicate that State Senator Lloyd Smucker had no intention of withdrawing his letter of support for the school, despite the strong local opposition: "Said state Sen. Lloyd Smucker, who penned a letter supporting the ABECS plan, 'I have absolutely no reason to believe that this is anything other than them being concerned and trying to help the community, trying to provide something they think will benefit the people who live here.'"
A concern is whether campaign contributions made to Sen. Smucker by the applicants and other Gulen-afiliated individuals could have influenced his position.
In the list of contributions to Smucker in the 2011-12 election cycle, the names of two of the ABECS applicants, Sait Onal and Indrit Hoxha, can be seen. Onal donated $1000 on April 25, 2011. On Dec 17, 2011, Onal donated another $500 and Hoxha donated $300.
Interestingly, there was a cluster of donations on Dec 16-17, 2011, all from individuals with Turkish names, except for Indrit Hoxha (who is Albanian) and one "Dona Hon," which might possibly be a corruption of the word "donation" rather than a real name. When this cluster is added to Onal's $1000 from April 25, the total is $7000 (that is 7 percent of Smucker's total take of $99,252 on that cycle). Of the Turkish names shown for Dec 16-17, 2011, several have already been identified as having Gulenist affiliations: Suleyman Denden with BATO, the Burlington American Turkish Organization; Bulent Ozdemir with the Peace Islands Institute; Haci (Mahmut) Tanis with the Red Rose Foundation (he also participated in at least one event organized by the Interfaith Dialog Center, now renamed Peace Islands Institute). It has already been observed that Gulenists often make a cluster of political contributions to the same candidate on the same day or very close to the same day. This may be to ensure that the recipient is aware that the donations are coming from a group; such awareness could prove useful when asking for favors in return. The donations can be verified at the Follow the Money website.
One further point of interest is that Indrit Hoxha's donation to Lloyd Smucker was made when his address was still in Houston, Texas. A review of all contributions for this cycle shows that no other individual contributed from out of state. The very few entities that did were corporations. How did Mr. Hoxha know in advance that he wanted to donate to Mr. Smucker? It is difficult to escape the conclusion that Hoxha's involvement in starting a charter school in Lancaster was planned well in advance, while he was still in Houston.