Imagine Academy of Careers Middle School

“Former St. Louis charter school instructor charged with raping student.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 9/5/2012

ST. LOUIS • Prosecutors have charged a former St. Louis charter school instructor with raping a student last month.

Ronald C. Wilkerson, 41, of the 1200 block of North Euclid Avenue, was charged Aug. 31 with two counts of forcible rape, one count of forcible sodomy, two counts of second-degree statutory rape, one count of statutory sodomy and two counts of witness tampering.

Authorities said Wilkerson, a former instructor at one of the Imagine charter schools, twice raped and sodomized a 14-year-old girl last month and threatened to hurt or kill her family if she told anyone about it...

Wilkerson was a communication arts teacher at the Imagine Academy of Careers Middle School... The victim had attended the school.

After years of financial and academic troubles, the state education board closed Imagine's six charter schools this past spring. The public charter schools were run by the for-profit Imagine Schools Inc. and were independent of city school system.

Wilkerson was on the company's payroll through the end of July, Waters said.

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STATE OF MISSOURI  VS WILKERSON, RONALD C

http://www.circuitattorney.org/docs/Ronald%20Wilkerson.pdf

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Derrick Thomas Academy

“UMKC will not renew charter for Derrick Thomas Academy.” KCTV 5 (Kansas City, MO), 11/21/2012

Derrick Thomas Academy has lost its charter.

The University of Missouri at Kansas City announced it is pulling its charter because of the school's poor academic performance over the past decade.

UMKC officials said classes will resume without interruption on Monday.

"Hopefully parents and students will notice no change when they arrive at school on Monday," said Phyllis Chase, director of the UMKC Charter School Center. "After reviewing their data, the decision has been made that we will not renew their charter again."

UMKC says the charter school has struggled with governance, organizational and academic performance issues since it first opened its doors...

The school is not necessarily closing at the end of the school year, but the university will no longer work with the school.

Chase said UMKC has been patient, perhaps too patient, with issues at the school. She said yanking the charter was a tough decision...

Several teachers at Derrick Thomas Academy say they were excited about the board change and direction of the school. Some parents said there have been problems at the school all year long...

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“Will low test scores, shaky financial situation spell the end for Derrick Thomas Academy?” KHSB (MO), 7/16/2012

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A new Missouri law requiring more accountability from charter schools takes effect in August, but is it already too late for a school bearing the name of one of Kansas City’s most beloved athletes?

A 41 Action News investigation found that low academic scores and poorly-managed money have created an uncertain future for Derrick Thomas Academy.

Because of large staff turnover, the charter school has been working to hire teachers and administrators over the summer, but remains unsure if the upcoming school year will be its last...

But the school built in number 58’s honor is on shaky ground, an uncertain future all captured in a letter obtained by 41 Action News.

Click here to read the entire letter

In early April, Jerry Cooper sent a strongly-worded warning to administrators and board leaders at DTA. Cooper is the director of the UMKC Charter School Center, which sponsors DTA.

Every charter school needs a sponsor to operate. Cooper says UMKC’s role is to hold schools academically and financially accountable, along with providing resources and consultation.

The letter delivered a harsh wakeup call to DTA. It said the school was meeting the criteria for being “financially stressed” by operating with a deficit of more than $600,000.

Cooper listed several violations of Missouri charter school laws, including breaking a contract with the DTA’s management company ( EdisonLearning ) without sponsor approval...

The letter also said the school was on academic probation for low state assessment results and was out of compliance with several federal and state special education requirements.

Cooper issued a final warning to DTA leaders, who had not provided requested documentation to UMKC, despite repeated inquiries...

But the letter from UMKC did not just get the attention of school administrators. Copies of the letter also circulated through the building to teachers and other staff members.

People panicked. A number of them decided to leave the school in pursuit of other jobs.

According to Cooper, up to 45 employees left the school, including the elementary and secondary principals...

According to DESE, four other Kansas City charter schools have closed over the past five years: Academy of Kansas City, Don Bosco Education Center, Renaissance Academy of Environmental Science and Math, and Urban Community Leadership Academy...

It is too early to tell how some of the turmoil will affect enrollment when the school year begins...

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Imagine Schools in St. Louis, Missouri (six-school shutdown)

“Shuttering of Imagine charter schools in St. Louis is daunting.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO), 4/20/2012     

 As they move to close down a network of St. Louis charter schools over the next several weeks, state education officials face a task as monumental and complicated as dismantling an entire school district...

In fact, the decision this week by Missouri's Board of Education to shutter six Imagine charter schools in St. Louis will likely result in the largest charter school closure of its kind nationwide, according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools...

A state transition office at Harris-Stowe State University has a transition coordinator and an assistant employed by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The team they are working with includes representatives from the Missouri Public Charter School Association and St. Louis Public Schools...

...The governing board of Confluence Academy, with four charter schools and nearly 3,200 students, is working to cut ties with its for-profit operator, EdisonLearning Inc., to improve academic achievement. Test scores at three of the schools are also below those of St. Louis Public Schools...

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“Missouri calls it quits on Imagine charter schools in St. Louis.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO), 4/18/2012  

The Missouri Board of Education put underperforming charter schools statewide on notice Tuesday by voting to close all Imagine charter schools in St. Louis...

The move follows months of increasing scrutiny of the schools' financial, leadership and academic problems. The schools are operated by Virginia-based Imagine Schools Inc., a for-profit charter school management company. Students enrolled at the schools make up about one-third of the city's charter school population.

State test results from 2011 showed that nearly all students at the city's Imagine schools were performing below grade level in reading and math, prompting St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and Nicastro to call for the closure of the schools.

In December, their sponsor, Missouri Baptist University, announced it would close two of them — Imagine Academy of Academic Success and Imagine Academy of Cultural Arts — this spring, and place the other four on probation.

On Monday, Missouri Baptist University relinquished its sponsorship of the six charter schools, handing all regulatory authority over to the state. And one day later, the Board of Education voted to close them.

But even as the state moves toward shuttering all schools by June 30, some have discussed a long-shot option of keeping some version of the schools open...

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MORE TO READ AT “Missouri closing six Imagine charter school campuses.” Washington Post, 4/18/2012    

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Missouri Baptist University-authorized charter schools

“Missouri to Review Charter School Sponsor; Missouri Baptist University has Been urged to address the academic and management issues at the schools.” Kansas City infoZine (MO); 3/21/2012

The State Board of Education approved issuing a notice to Missouri Baptist University (MBU) that its authorization to sponsor charter schools will be reviewed in April...

MBU currently sponsors four charter schools in the St. Louis area with a total enrollment of nearly 4,200 students.

Academic performance at four of the six school buildings under MBU sponsorship ranks in the bottom five percent of all public schools in Missouri. Deficit spending and high administrative costs have raised concerns about the management and oversight of the schools...

MBU started sponsoring charter schools in the summer of 2006. Charters currently sponsored by the university are: Imagine Academy of Careers (grades K-12), Imagine Academy of Academic Success (grades K-8), Imagine Academy of Environmental Science and Math (grades K-8), and Carondelet Leadership Academy (grades K-6). Last December, the sponsor announced the Imagine Academy of Academic Success will close both its campuses at the end of the school year.

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Gulen charter schools in Missouri

STATE	# ACTIVE	# PENDING	# INACTIVE*	TOTAL
MO	3	1	0	3

* Denied, withdrawn, closed, or unknown status

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TOTAL ENROLLMENT IN 2010-2011 = 989 STUDENTS

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SCHOOLS

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FRONTIER SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE (formerly Brookside-Frontier Math and Science School)
Status	ACTIVE: opened 2007-2008
Non-profit and management	Millenium Education Foundation, in partnership with the Cosmos Foundation
Authorizer	University of Missouri – Kansas City (plus Missouri BOE approval)
Location/District	5605 Troost Ave., Kansas City / Kansas City (Missouri) School District
Website	http://www.kcfse.org/ (previously http://bfmass.org/)
Enrollment	Grades 6-12; 2010-11 enrollment = 242
Notes	6-12; at the end of 2010-11, BFMSS was renamed and both Kansas City schools were announced to be under the umbrella of a new organization, Frontier Schools AKA the Frontier School System (FSS); Principal Bilgehan Yasar listed, also Burak Yilmaz

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FRONTIER SCHOOL OF INNOVATION
Status	ACTIVE: opened 2009-2010
Non-profit and management	Millenium Education Foundation, in partnership with the Cosmos Foundation
Authorizer	University of Missouri – Kansas City (plus Missouri BOE approval)
Location/District	6700 N. Corporate Dr., Kansas City / Kansas City (Missouri) School District
Website	http://www.kcfsi.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-6; 2010-11 enrollment = 407
Notes	K-6; at the end of 2010-11, both Kansas City schools were announced to be under the umbrella of a new organization, Frontier Schools AKA the Frontier School System (FSS); Ismet Isik listed as a principal

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GATEWAY SCIENCE ACADEMY OF ST. LOUIS
Status	ACTIVE: opened 2010-2011
Non-profit and management	Gateway Science Academy of St. Louis non-profit (see below); contracts with Concept Schools for management
Authorizer	Lindenwood University (plus Missouri BOE approval)
Location/District	6576 Smiley Ave., St. Louis / St. Louis Public Schools
Website	http://www.gsastl.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-7; 2010-11 enrollment = 340
Individuals involved	Governing board members appearing on website: Kemal Akkaya, Sarah Disney, Mustafa Y. Sir, Mehmet Kahyeci, Patricia G. Hunt, Imdat Ozen, Orville R. Goerger, Jr. Also involved: Ugur Zengince, Cengiz Karatas.
Notes	Intended to be K-12; school will expand to two sites in 2012

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PENDING

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GATEWAY SCIENCE ACADEMY SOUTH
Status	PENDING: planning to open Fall 2012
Non-profit and management	Gateway Science Academy of St. Louis non-profit (see below); contracts with Concept Schools for management
Authorizer	Lindenwood University (plus Missouri BOE approval)
Location/District	6651 Gravois Ave., St. Louis (location of former public school, Gardenville Elementary School. Concept Schools purchased vacant building from St. Louis Public Schools in March 2012). GSA-South will be located within St. Louis Public Schools district.
Enrollment	Starting K-5, to grow to K-12 w/650 students
History	According to article, application was submitted to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for consideration at the May meeting of the Missouri Board of Education. However, the item does not appear on the BOE’s May 15 agenda (next meeting is scheduled for June 19).

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MANAGEMENT

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MILLENIUM EDUCATION FOUNDATION dba Frontier School of Innovation  (possibly now dba Frontier School System)
Federal Tax ID	EIN 421692516
Individuals involved	Names appearing on 990s for 2008, 2009: Coskun Cetinkaya; Ertugrul Ozbudak; Fatih Ozcan; Gene Augustine; Greg Reike [sic, Rieke]; Ismet Isik; Muharrem Ali Tunc; Yavuz Selim Silay
Visa applications	2007 – 5; 2008 – 4; 2009 – 12; 2010 – 3 http://www.myvisajobs.com/Visa-Sponsor/Millenium-Education-Foundation/714201.htm
History	An organization called the Frontier School System (FSS) first appeared in the summer of 2011, with Mr. Isik as Superintendent. Brookside-Frontier Math and Science School was renamed Frontier School of Excellence (FSE). FSS claimed Frontier School of Innovation and FSE as its member schools.

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GATEWAY SCIENCE ACADEMY OF ST. LOUIS
Federal Tax ID	EIN 261425925
Individuals involved	Form 990s not yet publicly available.

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“PARTNER ORGANIZATION”

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COSMOS FOUNDATION / HARMONY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Federal Tax ID	EIN 76-0615245
Website	http://www.cosmostx.org/
Services	Cosmos is paid 3% of Millennium’s annual state funding because of their “Support Service Agreement.”
Individuals involved	Names appearing on IRS Form 990s (2002 to 2009): Ali Tekin, Bilal Akin, Burhanettin Kuruscu, Cengizhan Keskin, Cocksun Cetinkaya, Ellen A. MacDonald, Fatih Yigit, Gokturk Tunc, Ibrahim Sel, Iker Gure, Ismet S. Isik, Kadir Almus, Kudbettin Aksoy, Levent Bulut, Lynn Mitchell, Mehmet Okumus, Mustafa Atik, Mustafa Guvercin, Mustafa Ozen, Nihat Guvercin, Oner Ulvi Celepicikay, Ozgur Ozer, Selahattin Aydin, Soner Tarim, Tevik Eski, Umit Pecin, Yetkin Yildirim

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CONCEPT SCHOOLS, INC.
Federal Tax ID	None
Website	http://www.conceptschools.org/
Services	Concept provides services for school start-up, human resources, curriculum and school design, student information system, assessment, marketing, financial services, cross-cultural educational opportunities, school visits and evaluations, and professional development.
History	From website: “Taner [Ertekin] and Ehat [Ercanli] put together a team of scientists, business leaders, and educators, including Sedat Duman and Salim Urcan” to start the charter school. This is an example of the narrative which all Gulen charter schools have in common.

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Learn more about the Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools HERE and HERE and HERE.
• Learn more about Concept Schools HERE.
• See slide presentation by CASILIPS, “The Concept Schools model: success in education or success in marketing?”
• Gulen schools around the world train their students to compete in regional competitions which are sponsored by local Gulenist Turkish "cultural" organizations. The winners of these regional events proceed to the International Turkish Olympiad, an annual Gulenist pageant held in Turkey each summer. Here are Gulen charter school students competing in the Greater Kansas City Raindrop Turkish House 4th Annual Turkish Language Olympiads Missouri Finals in 2010. 

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Imagine College Preparatory High School

STUDENT IS AWARDED $145,000 IN ALLEGED ASSAULT AT ST. LOUIS CHARTER SCHOOL- SETTLEMENT INVOLVES ALLEGATIONS AGAINST OFF-DUTY CITY COP. STLtoday.com (St. Louis, MO) 29 May 2010 

A student who was allegedly assaulted by an off-duty St. Louis police officer at a charter school was awarded $145,000 as part of the terms of a settlement disclosed Friday.

The settlement reached earlier this week between Imagine Academy of Careers, at 3740 Marine Avenue, and Barbara Perry stems from an incident on Feb. 26, 2009. The plaintiffs alleged that Perry's son, J.N., who was a minor and not named in the suit, was assaulted at Imagine College Preparatory High School by an off-duty police officer, Eugene Page, who was in a relationship with his teacher, Genesa Smith…

The settlement states that the payment absolves Imagine Schools and employees of Imagine of any wrongdoing but leaves the door open to future litigation against Eugene Page and the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners…

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SUIT CLAIMS STUDENT, 15, WAS ASSAULTED AT IMAGINE CHARTER SCHOOL. STLtoday.com (St. Louis, MO) 21 Aug 2009 

ST. LOUIS -- A federal lawsuit filed Friday alleges that a 15-year-old student at Imagine College Preparatory High School was beaten by staff and a St. Louis police officer.

Named in the suit are Genesa Smith, a teacher; Eugene Page, a St. Louis police officer who the suit said is Smith’s boyfriend; Rodney Williams, a security guard; Tamara Thomas, the charter school’s principal at the time; and the school itself.

The suit, filed by the boy and his mother, Barbara Perry, alleges Page lifted the boy by his throat and slammed him repeatedly against a wall on Feb. 26. The suit states that Page told the boy he had been accused of threatening a teacher, and that the other three knew what was happening but did nothing. The boy, now 16, suffered injuries that caused blood in his urine, as well as blunt force trauma, according to the suit…

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Don Bosco Charter High School

“Charter school seeks donations to pay salaries.” Associated Press 01 Jul 2011

KANSAS CITY -- A recently closed Kansas City charter school is asking for donations to help pay teachers who otherwise could lose three months of income.

Don Bosco Charter High School was unable to make payroll Thursday after the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education accused the school of failing to follow the rules for spending federal money and withheld about $200,000 over the past two months.

Don Bosco Centers, the charity that started the school, said that the school can't pay teacher and staff salaries for the rest of June, July and August without the money...

Normally, the state could recoup the money more gradually by withholding it from future payments. But [Ron Lankford, the state deputy commissioner of education] said that with the school closing, the options are limited. Hypothetically, the legislature could hold a special session and allocate extra money to the school. The school also could seek forgiveness from the federal government, but Lankford said such a request is unlikely to be granted...

 

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UCM SPONSORED CHARTER SCHOOL CLOSING. digitalBURG.com (University of Central Missouri) 04 May 2011 

Officials from Don Bosco, a charter high school in Kansas City, Mo., recently announced that the school will be closing at the end of this school year…

The main reason for closing Don Bosco is a lack of funding. State funding is tied to attendance, and with only about 125 of the school’s 160 students attending on a typical day, “We came to the conclusion that we wouldn’t have enough revenue to go forward and help students get where they needed to be,” Scielzo said. According to the press release, the school’s board also cited academic performance concerns, including poor scores on state tests.

Don Bosco will also be working with the placement office at UCM to help faculty and staff members find other job opportunities. Currently, there are 16 staff members at the school.

“The job market for teachers is challenging now because of the economy,” Hughes said. “About 140 teachers were recently non-renewed by the Kansas City district,” she added, “but we will be assisting [the teachers] as much as possible.”…

UCM is working to see that there is a systematic plan for housing students’ records. “We will make sure all records are kept and organized and that all credits are received so students are ready for graduation,” Hughes said. “Some students may choose to wait a year before going back to school [after the transition], and we want to be sure their records will be available when they make that decision.” … [Yet another complication of closing]

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DON BOSCO CHARTER SCHOOL TO CLOSE  KCTV (MO) 08 Apr 2011 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Don Bosco Charter High School Education Board announced the school will close at the end of the current school year Friday morning.

After 10 years, the board said due to the school's projected financial situation and available funding, the school would be unable to operate for the 2011-12 school year. School officials said the school is running at an $80,000 deficit this year. The board also cited Missouri's funding formula, which is based on attendance which has slipped in recent years and has always been an issue…

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