Texas charter school proposals (content copied)

“Four Texas charter school proposals contain copied passages.” Dallas Morning News (TX), 2/0/2013

Four groups vying to open Texas charter schools turned in applications last year that had sections copied from other applications, even claiming parts of another school’s public hearing summary as their own...

The state board largely dismissed concerns about the copied material, and one board member called the practice “being smart.” But the head of the public integrity unit of the Travis County district attorney’s office said such practices could be fraudulent, though that office hasn’t been asked to investigate the charter applications...

The News reviewed four years’ worth of charter school applications posted on the Texas Education Agency’s website. The applications for Athlos, International Leadership, iWin and Polaris had questions and answers in their public hearing summaries that were similar to what an Austin charter school had submitted a year earlier.

John Armbrust, founder and executive director of Austin Achieve Public Schools, said he was shocked to see parts of his school’s public hearing summary copied almost verbatim. He said he never worked with Bracy Wilson or Help Charters.

“It’s shameful is what it is,” Armbrust said. “I don’t appreciate people who take shortcuts to get to the end, because there are no shortcuts when you’re running a school...

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Related articles

Blog: See more examples of copied applications

Graphic: Charter schools copied language for their applications

Story: Texas Education Agency works to improve scrutiny of charter school applications

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Northwest Preparatory Charter School

“Police: 3 charged with felony injury to 7th grader who wanted to use the bathroom.” KHOU (TX), 3/7/2013

HUMBLE, Texas -- Three staffers of a Humble-area charter school are facing felony injury to a child charges after allegedly over-disciplining a seventh grade girl.

"Her arm was bent behind her back in a way that her wrist was up by her shoulder blades pretty high on her back," said Humble Police Department Det. Jackie Blanchard, the lead investigator in the case...

Police say it started in a classroom when the 13-year-old female victim asked to go to the restroom. She was told no.

“It was up to the teacher to set the restroom breaks and every time someone would talk in the class he would change the time as a form of punishment. So she was not allowed for a long period of time to go to the restroom. She just finally had to go," said Det. Blanchard...

In all, the girl says her arm was bent backwards three different times. She was treated at a local hospital for arm injuries and referred to an orthopedist for additional treatment...

Humble police have responded to the school 23 times this year...

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Houston Gateway Academy

“Charter school's entry fee is illegal.” Houston Chronicle (TX), 4/10/2013

Houston Gateway Academy, a public charter school that serves mostly low-income families, was charging parents fees to enroll their children in violation of state law, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Applicants to the school received a letter saying the fee - $100 for one child or $200 per family - was required for students to land a reserved spot next fall...

Charter schools and traditional school districts are allowed to charge for materials, student clubs, identification cards and a few other areas under state law, but the fees cannot be tied to admission, said TEA spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe.

Gateway Superintendent Richard Garza could not be reached for comment Wednesday. His charter network enrolls about 1,500 students, and 93 percent are considered economically disadvantaged, according to TEA data. The fee was to be charged to new students and to those who were re-enrolling...

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Ignite Public Schools, formerly IRRA Charter Schools (six schools)

“Valley Charter School System on Probation.” KRGV 5 News (TX), 10/15/2012

MISSION - IRRA Charter Schools remain on probation with the Texas Education Agency, the schools superintendent said in a letter to parents.

The schools current status with TEA means they have not addressed major financial and education concerns. The school recently changed its name to Ignite.

The letter was not the first of its kind sent to parents. TEA first put the charter system on probation in 2009. That's when the state started investigating the schools.

The investigations concluded that the schools changed attendance records and got funding based on bad information.

TEA ordered IRRA to repay nearly $900,000. The schools fired the superintendent and brought in new leadership to fix the problems.

A CHANNEL 5 NEWS investigation revealed the problems were not fixed...

"Accredited probation is the next to worst level you can get on an accreditation status. After that, if you can't improve we have the authority to revoke the accreditation and at that point you'll cease to be a Texas public school," said Deetta Culbertson, with TEA...

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“Valley school administrator accused of sexually harassing student, employees.” KGBT-TV Channel 4 (TX), 8/22/2012

Claims of sexual harassment followed a South Texas school administrator, several female co-workers came forward at his current workplace, Ignite Public Schools (IPS) -- accusing him of unwanted attention and continued harassment.

Rigoberto Abrego is the current chief financial officer for IPS, formerly known as IRRA, Inc...

Before working for IPS Abrego worked as assistant superintendent at Edinburg CISD.

However, he resigned in 2010 amid an investigation into sexual harassment at that district...

... [several women] filed grievances back in May against Rigoberto Abrego for sexual harassment...

But it was not just employees; a student also filed one of the grievances...

Raymundo Valdez, the legal counsel for IPS, said one of the three grievances had been resolved, but that the school board was looking into the other two.

In the meantime, Abrego has continued working at the central offices and has not been placed on leave or under any sanctions, according to Valdez.

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More at “IRRA Charter School Under Investigation.” KRGV 5 News (TX), 9/20/2012

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Burnham Wood Charter School District (three schools)

“Problems bring TEA monitor for Burnham Wood Charter School District.” El Paso Times (TX), 7/21/2012

The Texas Education Agency has assigned a monitor to the Burnham Wood Charter School District as a sanction for many problems the state previously found, including school leaders who misused public funds on some business deals and campuses not properly serving at-risk students.

The charter district's Superintendent Iris Burnham did not return phone calls this week, but in an email she said the district is contesting the education agency's decision to assign a monitor...

A state audit report released earlier this year showed that the district, which runs three charter schools in El Paso [see * below], misused public funds on some property transactions, which allegedly resulted in private benefits for Burnham, who is also the president of the district's board of directors.

The board breached its fiduciary duty when in September 2006 it approved using $1.2 million in revenue bonds to buy property on the West Side from Burnham for Howard Burnham Elementary, a charter school named for the superintendent's late husband, according to the state audit.

Education agency investigators concluded the purchase price far exceeded the property value...

Rebeca Perez, a former textbook administrator at the district who has claimed she was fired for raising concerns to school administrators and to the state education agency, said there should be harsher punishments against the charter district's leaders for misusing public funds.

TEA officials have not said whether the agency reported any of its findings to law enforcement authorities...

"Based on the audit, there's a lot of factual information that tells us there are violations of criminal activity," Perez said. "(Iris Burnham) basically is paying herself from the money entrusted to her. The citizens of El Paso should be concerned because this is taxpayer money."...

The more than two-year state investigation into the district held its accreditation status in limbo for three school years, but the education agency has since accredited the district...

The agency will reassess Burnham Wood's accreditation status if problems at the school are not resolved.

"I wish to express my concerns and caution the board regarding the lack of governance oversight that has resulted in these findings," Scott wrote. "I strongly urge the board to take swift and decisive action to address the many continuing deficiencies identified for the school."

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The three schools of the Burnham Wood Charter School District are the Howard Burnham Elementary School, the Da Vinci School for Science & the Arts, and Vista del Futuro. They are operated by the El Paso Education Initiative, Inc. and are also known as Burnham Wood Schools or the Burnham Wood Family of Fine Schools.

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Victory Preparatory Academy

“No Fair, Teachers Tell Charter School.” Courthouse News Service, 7/18/2012

HOUSTON (CN) - A charter school fired three teachers "immediately" after they testified in a lawsuit against the Texas Education Agency, the teachers claim in Harris County Court.

Charles Solaris, Sedalia Pippins and Randy Nichols sued Victory Prep Charter School and its Superintendent Reverend Lisa Berry Dockery. According to the complaint, Victory Prep is a public charter school in Houston, managed by Management Accountability Corp., which is not a party to the complaint.

The teachers say Victory Prep hired them in October 2010 after Texas shut down Benji's Special Education Academy, a Houston charter school for disabled students, amid allegations of mismanagement and missing state funds.

Victory Prep signed them all to 1-year contracts on Aug. 15, 2011 and fired them three days later, the teachers say.

"Plaintiffs are named parties in a federal lawsuit adverse to the Texas Education Agency, which was filed in or around October of 2010," according to the complaint. "Plaintiffs informed Karen Stewart, principal of defendant Victory Prep Charter School, that they were scheduled to give testimony at an administrative hearing on August 17, 2011.

"Plaintiffs gave principal Stewart notice of this obligation to testify because attending the hearing would cause them to miss a day of in-service.

"Principal Stewart, upon receiving notification from each plaintiff, approved each plaintiff to be absent on the August 17, 2011 in-service day without pay.

"Immediately upon returning to work after testifying, each plaintiff was called individually into the office of principal Karen Stewart. Once inside they were greeted by Superintendent Lisa Berry Dockery who fired each of them for missing the day of in-service to testify."

The teachers say they "were not offered an opportunity for a hearing or appeal" or given a termination letter, which they all requested.

They seek back pay and benefits for wrongful termination, interference with employment contract and due process violations...

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For background information about how these schools intertwine, see http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/HISD-taking-over-troubled-Benji-s-academy-1699948.php

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Harmony charter school network (TX)

“Harmony schools causing discord.” San Antonio Express-News (TX), 1/4/2012 

The 36 schools that make up the Harmony charter school network are among the highest-rated in Texas.

But despite its glowing academic record, Harmony has received a flurry of criticism for its business practices.

In particular, the charter network's reliance on visas for Turkish-born staff and use of Turkish-owned businesses for construction and other contracts has raised questions about how it spends taxpayer money and whether it is too insular...

Some Harmony critics point to a burgeoning number of Turkish-American-led charter networks in the United States, more than 120 in 25 states, that they say are tied to Islamic political leader Fethullah Gulen...

From 2008 to 2010, the Labor Department certified 1,197 H-1B visa requests from the Cosmos Foundation — more than double the number of visas certified nationwide for Texas-based computer company Dell USA and about 70 percent as many as were certified for tech giant Apple Inc...

Harmony has about 290 employees working on H-1B visas, or 16 percent of its workforce, according to Superintendent Soner Tarim. Most are Turkish, said Tarim, who is also from Turkey...

“Staffing Northside schools has never really been a problem,” said Pascual Gonzalez, spokesman for Bexar County's largest school district with 97,000 students, where Labor Department records show no H-1B visa certifications in recent years. “In the past there have been thousands of people applying for hundreds of jobs.”...

At Harmony, Tarim said the charter network finds a shortage of qualified teachers in math, science and English as a second language sometimes prompts them to hire foreign workers...

Nearly a third of the H-1B certifications received by Cosmos actually were for jobs outside those fields, however.

Labor Department data includes visa certifications for legal counsel, accountants, assistant principals, public relations coordinators and teachers of art, English and history...

Some students say they have trouble understanding foreign-born teachers...

Tarim bristled at the implication that the charter network was giving much of its work to a closed circle of Turkish-owned businesses...

But in recent years, eight of the charter network's 10 largest contracts have gone to just two companies, both of which have close ties to Cosmos: the Houston-based contracting firms Solidarity Contracting and TDM Contracting.

Solidarity is run by a former Harmony school business manager, according to a report by the New York Times. TDM was formed a couple of years ago by a former Solidarity employee...

Together, the two young companies have received more than $66 million in Cosmos contracts since 2009, records show. The total doesn't include cost overruns or smaller jobs they might have been awarded...

In response to an open records request, Cosmos provided no criteria used to rank the five firms or information about how such criteria was weighted, saying simply that the contract was awarded to the lowest bidder...

Some of Harmony's harshest critics point to somewhat opaque connections between the charter operator and Gulen, a charismatic religious leader from Turkey who espouses religious tolerance and a moderate brand of Islam from his self-imposed Pennsylvania exile.

Tarim laughed a little when asked about the relationship between Harmony and Gulen, which he said is nonexistent...

The Cosmos Foundation also provides management services to other charter networks.

Tarim said Cosmos consults with the School of Science and Technology, a small San Antonio-based charter network run by a nonprofit called the Riverwalk Education Foundation...

Though Cosmos and Riverwalk have separate boards, others referenced a closer tie between the two organizations, referring to their campuses as “sister” schools...

... the TEA has spent the past several months conducting an audit of roughly $540,000 in “inadequately documented” federal grant funds received by the Cosmos Foundation, TEA spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson said.

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More information:

• “Harmony Public Schools, AKA Harmony Science Academy schools / Cosmos Foundation"
• "The New York Times vs Harmony Public Schools"
• "Gulen charter schools in Texas"

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Harmony Science Academy – Waco

“Man sentenced in Waco for sex assault of teen.” ABC13 KTRK (TX), 11/21/2011

WACO, TX -- A former Child Protective Services worker and Waco high school teacher has been sentenced to 90 years in prison for the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl he met while they were acting in a play.

The Waco Herald-Tribune reports 32-year-old Clifton Grasham-Reeves, a former English teacher at Harmony Science Academy who regularly performed in Waco Civic Theatre productions, was convicted of four counts of sexual assault of a child and two counts of indecency with a child by contact...

Among the school board's options are calling for a new director or principal at New Point, amending the school's charter or even closing the school.

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Prime Prep Academy

“Former football player’s charter school raised questions.” Austin American-Statesman, 11/4/2011

Last month, the state Board of Education granted its approval for two charter schools affiliated with former professional football and baseball star Deion Sanders to open next fall, in Fort Worth and Dallas. A review of recently released public records shows that early versions of the charter’s application contained two business arrangements that appeared to be designed to give school executives opportunities to personally profit off the school.

A spokeswoman for the Texas Education Agency said the suspect deals have since been removed from Prime Prep Academy’s application, after state officials investigated and confronted the school’s executives. Prime Prep’s executive director, Damien L. Wallace, confirmed that the specific contract deals had been excised from the charter’s application.

TEA, the agency that vets new charter schools, says it has beefed up its scrutiny of applicants in recent years. Several of the publicly funded schools have been revealed to be paying executives generous salaries, often through not-exactly-arm’s-length deals with side companies controlled by school officials...

Although Sanders’ name does not appear as an official executive for the school, his name does show up in the application, with his fame promoted as a benefit to the new school. “Deion Sanders’ powerful media presence has been utilized to bring more attention to the plans of bringing a charter school of this type to the DFW area,” the school’s application states.

In newspaper accounts, Sanders said he began thinking about founding a charter school approximately three years ago. Wallace said Sanders has been a personal friend and business associate for many years...

The charter school’s application also contained a “sales/marketing” agreement with a company called PrimeTimePlayer. Primetimeplayer.com’s website promises students help with mentoring and recruiting, and features Sanders’ photo. Incorporation documents filed with the Texas Secretary of State’s office list the company’s managing members as Damien L. Wallace and Chazma Jones — both of whom are also listed as executives for Prime Prep Academy.

The marketing agreement called for PrimeTimePlayer to be paid either $1,000 or $7,500 a month (the contract’s wording is unclear) for its services, as well as a percentage of any money it raised for the school; a 5 percent commission on all “special fundraising events” and a 10 percent commission on “all monies derived from corporate, local business and private donor sponsorships.”

According to the January application, the charter had already lined up commitments for about $200,000 in such donations, including $50,000 from Wal-Mart, $25,000 from Bank of America, and $50,000 from the NFL Network, a channel operated by the National Football League.

The school’s application also stated that Prime Prep’s Fort Worth school would be entering into a lease/purchase agreement for the building the school will occupy. The contract included in the charter’s application called for Prime Prep to pay $5,000 a month the first year, $7,000 the second, and $9,500 a month the third year of its occupancy to a company called Pinnacle Commercial Property Group.

Secretary of State records show the company’s directors as of May 2011 to be Damien Wallace and Chazma Jones.

Ratcliffe said TEA’s review staff also noticed the same contracts in Prime Prep’s application and brought them to the attention of the school’s lawyer. “Our lawyer went to their lawyer and said, ‘We have a problem with them doing business with themselves,’” she recalled, adding: “They didn’t initially reveal all the connections there.”...

There is another claim that has raised questions about the finances of the school. In July 2010, seven plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in Tarrant County District Court, claiming Wallace and Sanders had promised to market high school athletes to college athletic departments, but never delivered.

In the same lawsuit, the plaintiffs, led by Lawrence Smith, assert that Wallace and Sanders “made fraudulent and deceptive misrepresentations to induce Mr. Smith into investing money in a Charter School venture.”

According to the lawsuit, Wallace told Smith and others that if they invested $25,000 in the school, a “revenue sharing agreement” would pay them back $174,600, based on rent collected on a building at 4400 Panola Ave., Fort Worth — the same building in which Prime Prep’s Forth Worth campus is to be located, according to the school’s application.

A lawyer representing Wallace and Sanders declined to comment on the case; Smith’s lawyer, Don Stewart, said in court filings the defendants had denied his client’s allegations and were contesting the claims.

Ratcliffe said Prime Prep most likely will receive its final approval from the Texas Education Agency in a couple of weeks.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Deion Sanders’ new charterschool drawing questions about financial, academic plans.” The Texas Independent, 11/16/2011 

...While the board gave its go-ahead in September, SBOE member Michael Soto (D-San Antonio) wasn’t impressed by what he saw in Sanders’ presentation. “I have no idea what the applicant plans to do in the classroom,” Soto said before the vote, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Since then, other questions have arisen about some of the school’s financial arrangements — deals that would help its top officials profit from the school’s fundraising and property rental...

The conflicts of interest were uncovered by TEA only after the SBOE approved Prime Prep’s charter, but Soto is concerned by the school’s “incredibly vague” academic plans, and told the Texas Independent he’s been getting concerned calls about the school.

Soto said he was unfamiliar, though, with another possible concern: that where Prime Prep’s plans do get specific about academics, the language is nearly identical to wording developed by some other schools.

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“The Strange Tale of Deion Sanders' Charter School; Coming soon in North Texas, a charter school built on star power.” The Texas Observer, 12/5/2011 

The State Board of Education approved eight new charter schools back in September, but only one of them came backed by the star power of Prime Prep Academy, with an emotional presentation by former Dallas Cowboys great Deion Sanders...

The most novel aspect of these charters, though, may be the private funding sources they'll depend on to round out their $10 million-a-year budget: not usual suspects like Bill and Melinda Gates or the Walton Family Foundation, but big brands Sanders has endorsed or worked with over the years, which he name-drops regularly when talking about the school.

Sanders says Prime Prep is a natural extension of TRUTH, a sports-and-study program he's run for the last few years, that has received money from many of these sponsors already. The school's leadership team told the state it had secured pledges from a few of those companies already, but when contacted, many said they hadn't, in fact, pledged money to the school—at least not yet...

What Prime Prep's leaders stress is unique about its plans are its emphasis on sports along with academics, its dedication to serving inner-city kids in low-scoring school districts, and, of course, the big money that Deion Sanders' friends at big brands will throw at the school...

The SBOE approved Prime Prep's application 8-4.

"We met with Direct TV, with Van Heusen, we met with Procter & Gamble, we met Under Armor, we met with the NFL on assisting us with in endeavors and they did a cartwheel," said Sanders.

In its charter application Prime Prep also listed $186,000 in donations that had already been pledged “upon approval of the charter school," including a pair from Walmart and the NFL Network worth $50,000 each.

But as enthusiastic as Sanders said they all were, most of the companies on the list told me this week that they never did pledge money to the school. The other three either didn't return calls or didn't have an answer ready...

Texas Education Agency spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe says Prime Prep’s list of pledges doesn't matter much to their application. “Even if a charter applicant says they have pledges for land or services from various corporations or entities, we don’t let them count that as revenue unless they have a signed letter from the donor.”

But while the SBOE grilled other applicants about where they'd be getting startup cash or grants to augment state funding, Prime Prep seems to be running entirely on star power. The only signed agreements in its application at first—a $1,000 loan from a Fort Worth real estate firm and a fundraising agreement with a group called PrimeTimePlayer—were dropped because Wallace and other school officials were aslo in leadership roles at the companies that stood to profit, as the Austin American-Statesman reported last month...

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Harmony Science Academy - Houston Northwest

“Texas Charter School Accused of Racism.” Courthouse News Service, 12/13/2012

HOUSTON (CN) - A Houston charter school made minority students clean toilets with toothbrushes, and a teacher told an 8-year-old student "she could not be in the front of the line .... because black people should be in the back of the line," her parents claim in Federal Court.

Darrel and Donna Davis sued the Harmony Science Academy NW, three of its teachers, its principal and assistant principal on behalf of their daughter, L.

The Davises say they "began to notice extreme moods of sadness and withdrawal from their daughter" in December 2010.

They say L "began to express horror at returning to Harmony Science Academy and that she wanted to transfer."..

The Davises claims the principal, Mr. Coban, "has acted with indifference and has had numerous complaints of discrimination towards minority, specifically a televised news piece that discovered that the teachers had minority students cleaning toilets with toothbrushes."

Houston's CBS affiliate KHOU 11 News broadcast a story in October in which a parent said the Harmony Science Academy NW punished her daughter, a fourth-grader, by making her clean toilets, baseboards and floors with a disinfectant wipe, and no gloves...

The Davises seek punitive damages for civil rights violations...

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“Outraged mother says daughter forced to scrub school toilets for tardies.” KHOU 11 News (TX), 10/5/2011

HOUSTON -- Parents of some students at the Harmony Science Academy Charter School in Northwest Harris County say their children were forced to clean restrooms as punishment.

Monica Lane said her daughter, Meagan, a fourth grade student at the school, was punished to Saturday school for getting five tardies. However, Lane said Meagan did not get not extra time in the classroom, but got time in the restroom.

"Yeah it was gross," said Meagan Dunn.

She was not alone, her mother said.

"Kids, as young as second grade, were scrubbing the toilets on Saturday," Lane said. "The baseboards and walls, and the door handles and the floors."

Meagan said the cleaning duties were done using just a disinfectant wipe and no gloves.

Administrators at the Harmony Science Academy issued a statement on the matter saying:

"Never under any circumstances is any student required or expected to clean the restrooms at any of our facilities."

The school said it encourages students to do chores to help them to care for their community. The school admitted that students did clean restrooms, but said it was just an inappropriate joke from a teacher taken literally by some students.

"How would you feel as a parent if your child was made to scrub the toilet without any kind of gloves, without any parent knowledge," Lane asked.

Beside the obvious cleanliness issues, Meagan’s parents wondered about the lost educational opportunity.

“That could have been a time for tutoring or going over some of the class work or something like that," said Lane.

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Harmony Science Academy - Lubbock

“Incident leads LISD officials to have concerns about Harmony.” Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (TX), 8/27/2007

School districts in Lubbock say they're not concerned about a loss of state dollars if students transfer to a new charter school.

Public school systems lose state funds for student attendance when pupils transfer out, according to the Texas Education Agency. Harmony Science Academy-Lubbock opens today with about 250 students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Lubbock Independent School District officials said they're concerned about something else: The issue stems from an incident at Hodges Elementary School earlier this year, but Harmony said it did nothing wrong.

Nancy Sharp, a district spokeswoman, said Harmony representatives entered Hodges shortly after school had ended. They started to ask teachers questions about students and demographics and refused to check in at the school office.

Sharp said LISD police and the FBI were notified. She couldn't provide a police report, and an FBI agent declined to deny or confirm the claim. The district also contacted the media about the incident.

"Our interaction [with Harmony] has been puzzling," Sharp said. "Our interaction has not been on the professional level we would expect from educators."

Harmony principal Gultekin Kaya denied the allegation...

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School of Science and Technology Discovery

“Student Claims She Was Humiliated By Teacher Over Rosary.” KSAT (TX), 10/2/2008

SAN ANTONIO -- An eighth-grader at a northwest side charter school said she was humiliated by one of her teachers over her religious expression.

Kelsey, a 13-year-old at the School of Science and Technology's Discovery campus, said one of her teachers humiliated her in front of her classmates while repeatedly questioning her religious beliefs because she wore a Catholic rosary.

"She told me to take it off, and I told her no," Kelsey said. "So she took me to the principal's office and he took it away from me, and told me to get it at the end of the day."

Kelsey said she continued to wear the rosary to school only to have the unidentified teacher question her religious beliefs.

"She has this teacher who is picking on her (about) something that's none of her business, and no one will speak to me about it or address the situation," said Marleana Ayala, Kelsey's mother.

School officials refused to speak about the situation, but did release a statement to KSAT 12 News.

"Students have no problem exercising freedom of speech and freedom of religion, as long as they follow the general school's rules and do not interfere with the rights of others," the statement read. The statement did not elaborate on the exact school policy when pertaining to religious items.

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IDEA Public Schools

“Leaked IDEA Public Schools emails reveal private conversations.” The Monitor (TX), 5/25/2011

The hallways and teachers’ lounges at IDEA Public Schools have been buzzing with talk of the leaking of dozens of emails from the district account of CEO and Founder Tom Torkelson over the weekend.

IDEA officials confirmed they were investigating who forwarded 44 sensitive emails Saturday morning to local business and education leaders, charter executives from across the state and the charter district’s entire staff.

“Somebody hacked into … private conversations between me and my senior management team that were intended for nobody except for them,” Torkelson said Tuesday. This was “clearly somebody unhappy who wants to personally embarrass me or make our work that we’re doing to reform education in the (Rio Grande) Valley more challenging.”

Most of the emails concerned the distribution of performance-based pay bonuses for teachers, principals and central administrators.

But several exposed — often quite bluntly – the potential, or lack thereof, for teachers to advance into leadership roles, criticism of an administrator from Pharr-San Juan-Alamo schools, IDEA’s preference for Teach for America recruits and hiring formulas and future expansion into San Antonio or Austin...

A frequent volunteer at a Donna campus, [Esmeralda Oliva, a 33-year-old Weslaco mother with six children in IDEA] she has seen many of her favorite teachers let go, replaced with young and inexperienced Teach for America — or TFA — recruits.

That AmeriCorps-like program places recent college graduates into schools across the nation, and in multiple emails, Torkelson and his senior staff committed their organization to shifting IDEA’s hiring strategy in the direction of TFA.

“It’s a pay cut in a sense. They’re getting rid of higher-paid teachers and replacing them,” Oliva said. “These are great teachers, and it’s bothersome they’re getting sent away.

“I’ve seen how these teachers interact with each other, their bosses, students,” she said. “I don’t understand why they’re hiring new teachers.”

Torkelson flatly denied IDEA fired any teacher on salary grounds and said his district would retain a highly paid, 20-year veteran if he or she produced the expected student success results...

However, a TFA alumni himself, he also wrote in emails that IDEA would increase its hiring of TFA members to sustain its regional corps in the face of deep state budget cuts to TFA and other districts who hire the group’s recruits...

In the meantime, Torkelson and [IDEA’s Chief People and Systems Officer Irma Muñoz] said they would enhance email security within IDEA, perhaps adding routine password rotation to avoid future leaks.

And the district will decide what civil recourse, if any, to pursue, while they attempt to find the suspect.

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IDEA Alamo

“Family removes boy from IDEA over response to health needs.” The Monitor (TX), 10/16/2011

No teacher ever suggested Arnold Lopez was a liar when he attended the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo school district, the 11-year-old said recently.

But at IDEA Public Schools — where students cannot leave class during the first and last 20 minutes of instruction — a substitute doubted the sixth-grader truly “needed” to rush to the restroom on Sept. 8.

“I told her I’m a diabetic. … My kidneys work overtime to lower my (blood sugar) levels,” Arnold said. “She said, ‘Are you making that up?’

“Who would make up something like that? How many kids know about kidneys?” he asked. “I was literally about to just go (when) she walked fast — I heard her heels — and blocked the door with her body.”

Arnold said he never faced such discomfort at PSJA’s Napper Elementary, where every absent teacher left a note specifically explaining his condition to substitutes.

The humiliating incident could have been prevented, mother Marina Lopez said, if campus leaders and staff met with her before his transfer to the charter school’s Alamo campus in August.

“Before day one, IDEA told me they’d do whatever it takes” to accommodate his special needs, she said. “That never happened, (and) we had to pull him out...

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Gulen charter schools in Texas

STATE	# ACTIVE	# PENDING	# INACTIVE*	TOTAL
TX	40	7	2	49

* Denied, withdrawn, closed, or unknown status

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TOTAL ENROLLMENT IN 2010-2011 = 18228 STUDENTS

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SCHOOLS

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HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY – HOUSTON
Status	ACTIVE, opened in 2000-2001; grades reconfigured in 2007
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	5435 S. Braeswood Blvd., Houston / Houston Independent School District
Website	http://hsahouston.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-8; 2010-11 enrollment = 357
Notes	Originally a 6-12 school, the school expanded to K-12, then split into two campuses in 2007. The original campus on Braeswood was reconfigured as a K-8 school. Grades 9-12 were relocated to 9431 W. Sam Houston Pkwy., Houston.

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HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY – HOUSTON (HIGH SCHOOL)
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2000-2001; grades reconfigured in 2007
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location	9431 W. Sam Houston Pkwy. Houston / Houston Independent School District
Website	http://hshigh.org/
Enrollment	Grades 9-12; 2010-11 enrollment = 389
Notes	See reconfiguration history above

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HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY – AUSTIN
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2002-2003
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	930 E. Rundberg Lane, Austin / Austin Independent School District
Website	http://hsaaustin.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-8; 2010-11 enrollment = 335

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HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY – DALLAS
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2004-2005
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	11995 Forestgate Dr., Dallas / Richardson Independent School District
Website	http://hsadallas.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-12; 2010-11 enrollment = 985

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HARMONY SCHOOL OF INNOVATION – HOUSTON
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2005-2006
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	9421 W. Sam Houston Pkwy., Houston / Alief Independent School District
Website	http://hsihouston.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-8; 2010-11 enrollment = 592

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SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY – SAN ANTONIO
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2005-2006
Management	Riverwalk Education Foundation, Inc.
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	1450 Northeast Loop 410, San Antonio / North East Independent School District
Website	http://www.ssttx.org/
Enrollment	Grades 6-12; 2010-11 enrollment = 421
Notes	Operated in partnership w/the Cosmos Foundation; Cosmos gets 5% of Riverwalk’s annual state funding under a "Support Services Agreement."

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HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY – EL PASO
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2006-2007
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	9405 Betel Dr., El Paso / Ysleta Independent School District
Website	http://hsaelpaso.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-12; 2010-11 enrollment = 737

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HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY – FORT WORTH
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2006-2007
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	5651 Westcreek Dr., Fort Worth / Fort Worth Independent School District
Website	http://hsafortworth.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-12; 2010-11 enrollment = 601

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HARMONY SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE – HOUSTON
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2006-2007
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	7340 N. Gessner Dr., Houston / Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District
Website	http://hsehouston.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-8; 2010-11 enrollment = 771

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HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY – SAN ANTONIO
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2006-2007
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	8505 Lakeside Parkway, San Antonio / Northside Independent School District
Website	http://hsasa.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-12; 2010-11 enrollment = 727

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HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY – BEAUMONT
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2007-2008
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	4055 Calder Ave., Beaumont / Beaumont Independent School District
Website	http://hsabeaumont.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-11; 2010-11 enrollment = 500

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HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY – BRYAN/ COLLEGE STATION
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2007-2008
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	2031 S. Texas Ave., Bryan
Website	http://hsabcs.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-12; 2010-11 enrollment = 288

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HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY – HOUSTON NORTHWEST
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2007-2008
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	16200 Tomball Pkwy., Houston / Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District
Website	http://hsanw.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-8; 2010-11 enrollment = 665
Notes	Forthcoming

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HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY – LUBBOCK
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2007-2008
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	1516 53rd St., Lubbock / unknown
Website	http://hsalubbock.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-11; 2010-11 enrollment = 421
Notes	Forthcoming

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HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY – WACO
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2007-2008
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	1900 N. Valley Mills Dr, Waco / unknown
Website	http://hsawaco.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-11; 2010-11 enrollment = 597
Notes	Forthcoming

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HARMONY SCHOOL OF SCIENCE – AUSTIN
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2008-2009
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	11800 Stonehollow Dr., Austin / Austin Independent School District
Website	http://hssaustin.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-8; 2010-11 enrollment = 526
Notes	Was consolidated with Harmony Science Academy - Austin effective 3/1/2011. The official name is Harmony Science Academy - Austin. See http://mansfield.tea.state.tx.us/TEA.AskTED.TSD/TSDfiles/tsd2012/tagged/school_list_symbols_and_district_adds_tagged.pdf

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HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY – NORTH AUSTIN (in Pflugerville)
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2008-2009
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	1421 Wells Branch Pkwy, Pflugerville / Pflugerville Independent School District
Website	http://hsana.org/
Enrollment	Grades 5-12; 2010-11 enrollment = 561

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HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY – BROWNSVILLE
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2008-2009
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	1124 Central Blvd., Brownsville / Brownsville Independent School District
Website	http://hsabrownsville.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-10; 2010-11 enrollment = 417

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HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY – GRAND PRAIRIE
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2008-2009
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	1102 N.W. 7th St., Grand Prairie / Grand Prairie Independent School District
Website	http://hsagp.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-10; 2010-11 enrollment = 524

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HARMONY SCHOOL OF SCIENCE – HOUSTON (in Sugar Land)
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2008-2009
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	13415 W. Belfort Ave., Sugar Land / Alief Independent School District
Website	http://hsshouston.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-8; 2010-11 enrollment = 622

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HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY – LAREDO
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2008-2009
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	4401 San Francisco Ave., Laredo / Laredo Independent School District
Website	http://hsalaredo.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-10; 2010-11 enrollment = 632

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SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DISCOVERY
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2008-2009
Management	Riverwalk Education Foundation, Inc.
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	5707 Bandera Road, Leon Valley / North East Independent School District
Website	http://www.sstdiscovery.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-8; 2010-11 enrollment = 369
Notes	K-8; operated in partnership w/the Cosmos Foundation; Cosmos gets 5% of Riverwalk’s annual state funding under a "Support Services Agreement."

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HARMONY SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE – AUSTIN
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2009-2010
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	2100 E St. Elmo Rd., Austin / Austin Independent School District
Website	http://hseaustin.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-9; 2010-11 enrollment = 508

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HARMONY SCHOOL OF INNOVATION – DALLAS (in Carrollton)
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2009-2010
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	1024 W Rosemeade Pkwy., Carrollton / Carolton-Farmers Branch Independent School District
Website	http://hsacarrollton.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-9; 2010-11 enrollment = 514

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HARMONY SCHOOL OF INNOVATION – EL PASO
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2009-2010
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	5210 Fairbanks Dr., El Paso / El Paso Independent School District
Website	http://hsielpaso.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-9; 2010-11 enrollment = 495

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HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY – EULESS
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2009-2010
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	701 S. Industrial Blvd., Euless / Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District
Website	http://hsaeuless.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-9; 2010-11 enrollment = 578

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HARMONY SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE ENDEAVOR – HOUSTON
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2009-2010
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	5668 W. Little York Rd, Houston / Aldine Independent School District
Website	http://hsendeavor.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-8; 2010-11 enrollment = 475

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HARMONY SCHOOL OF INGENUITY – HOUSTON
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2009-2010
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	10555 Stella Link Rd., Houston / Houston Independent School District
Website	http://hsingenuity.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-9; 2010-11 enrollment = 502

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SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY – ALAMO
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2009-2010
Management	Riverwalk Education Foundation, Inc.
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	12200 Crownpoint Dr., San Antonio / North East Independent School District
Website	http://www.sstalamo.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-8; 2010-11 enrollment = 355
Notes	Operated in partnership w/the Cosmos Foundation; Cosmos gets 5% of Riverwalk’s annual state funding under a "Support Services Agreement."

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SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY – CORPUS CHRISTI
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2009-2010
Management	Riverwalk Education Foundation, Inc.
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	4737 South Saratoga Blvd., Corpus Christi / ?
Website	http://www.sstcc.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-9; 2010-11 enrollment = 362
Notes	Operated in partnership w/the Cosmos Foundation; Cosmos gets 5% of Riverwalk’s annual state funding under a "Support Services Agreement."

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HARMONY SCHOOL OF NATURE AND ATHLETICS – DALLAS
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2010-2011
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	8120 W. Camp Wisdom Rd., Dallas / Duncanville Independent School District
Website	http://hsnature.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-8; 2010-11 enrollment = 479
Notes	K-8; grand opening of new construction 1/15/2011

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HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY – GARLAND
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2010-2011
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	2302 Firewheel Pkwy. Garland / Garland Independent School District
Website	http://hsagarland.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-8; 2010-11 enrollment = 421

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HARMONY SCHOOL OF ADVANCEMENT HIGH – HOUSTON
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2010-2011
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	3171 North Sam Houston Pkwy., Houston
Website	http://hsadvancement.org/
Enrollment	Grades 9-12; 2010-11 enrollment = 280
Notes	9-12; new construction, ribbon cutting 2/12/1011

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HARMONY SCHOOL OF ART AND TECHNOLOGY – HOUSTON
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2010-2011
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	9115 Kirby Dr., Houston / Houston Independent School District
Website	http://hsart.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-8; 2010-11 enrollment = 419
Notes	Sometimes called “Fine Arts and Technology”

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HARMONY SCHOOL OF DISCOVERY – HOUSTON
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2010-2011
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	6270 Barker Cypress Rd, Houston / Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District
Website	http://hsdhouston.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-8; 2010-11 enrollment = 379

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HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY – ODESSA
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2010-2011
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	2755 N. Grandview Ave., Odessa / Ector County Independent School District
Website	http://hsaodessa.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-8; 2010-11 enrollment = 247

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HARMONY SCHOOL OF INNOVATION – SAN ANTONIO
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2010-2011
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	8125 Glen Mont Dr., San Antonio / North East Independent School District
Website	http://hsisa.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-8; 2010-11 enrollment = 177

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HARMONY SCHOOL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND COMMUNICATION – AUSTIN
Status	ACTIVE, open 2011-2012
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	13415 FM 620 N., Austin / ?
Website	http://hspaustin.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-8; 2011-12 enrollment = ?
Notes	New construction; http://impactnews.com/northwest-austin/239-local-news/13829-harmony-charter-system-expands-in-northwest-austin

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HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY WEST HOUSTON (in Katy)
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2011-2012
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	22400 Grand Corner Dr., Katy / ?
Website	http://hsawh.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-8; 2011-12 enrollment = ?
Notes	New construction

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HARMONY SCHOOL OF SCIENCE HIGH – SUGAR LAND
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2011-2012
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Authorizer	Texas Education Agency, Division of Charter School Administration
Location/District	13522 W. Airport Blvd., Sugar Land /
Website	http://hsshigh.org/
Enrollment	Grades 9-12; 2011-12 enrollment = ?
Notes	9-12; new construction, groundbreaking 2/25/2011

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HARMONY SCHOOL OF INNOVATION – FORT WORTH
Status	PENDING, listed as a school to be opened in 2011-12
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Notes	http://ccweb.co.fort-bend.tx.us:15505/docs/2011/CCTR/20110510_2258/3717_Cosmos%20Foundation%20Borrower%20Charter%20Schools.pdf

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HARMONY TEACHER ACADEMY – HOUSTON
Status	PENDING, listed as a school to be opened in 2011-12
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Notes	http://ccweb.co.fort-bend.tx.us:15505/docs/2011/CCTR/20110510_2258/3717_Cosmos%20Foundation%20Borrower%20Charter%20Schools.pdf

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HARMONY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS – DALLAS
Status	PENDING, listed as a school to be opened in 2012-13
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Notes	http://ccweb.co.fort-bend.tx.us:15505/docs/2011/CCTR/20110510_2258/3717_Cosmos%20Foundation%20Borrower%20Charter%20Schools.pdf

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HARMONY SCHOOL OF LANGUAGE – HOUSTON
Status	PENDING, listed as a school to be opened in 2012-13
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Notes	http://ccweb.co.fort-bend.tx.us:15505/docs/2011/CCTR/20110510_2258/3717_Cosmos%20Foundation%20Borrower%20Charter%20Schools.pdf

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HARMONY SCHOOL OF NATURE AND ATHLETICS – HOUSTON
Status	PENDING, listed as a school to be opened in 2012-13
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Notes	http://ccweb.co.fort-bend.tx.us:15505/docs/2011/CCTR/20110510_2258/3717_Cosmos%20Foundation%20Borrower%20Charter%20Schools.pdf

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HARMONY SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE - SAN ANTONIO
Status	UNKNOWN, construction referred to in Jan 21, 2011 edition of Texas Register in connection with Notice of Public Hearing for Texas Public Finance Authority bonds; school also referred to in Jan 2010 Harmony Public Schools document
Management	Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools
Notes	http://ccweb.co.fort-bend.tx.us:15505/docs/2011/CCTR/20110510_2258/3717_Cosmos%20Foundation%20Borrower%20Charter%20Schools.pdf

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NEW DIMENSION MATH AND SCIENCE SCHOOL
Status	UNKNOWN, Texas State Board of Education Committee on School Initiatives heard school representatives speak at Generation 15 Charter Interviews September 1-2, 2010
Management	New Dimension Educational Foundation, Inc.
Notes	Representatives for the proposed school were Hasan Coskun, Osman Kanlioglu, Ozgur Ozer

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SCHOOL OF ART DENTON
Status	2007 attempt, http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/sboe/minutes_all/2007/september/cosi_09_13-14_07.pdf
Management	New Dimension Educational Foundation, Inc.
Notes	Representatives for the proposed school were Maria Curtis, Kudbettin Aksoy, Osman Kanlioglu, Henry Bowling, and Osman Kazan.

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SCHOOL OF ART HOUSTON
Status	2007 attempt, http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/sboe/minutes_all/2007/september/cosi_09_13-14_07.pdf
Management	New Dimension Educational Foundation, Inc.
Notes	Representatives for the proposed school were Maria Curtis, Kudbettin Aksoy, Osman Kanlioglu, Henry Bowling, and Osman Kazan.

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MANAGEMENT

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COSMOS FOUNDATION / HARMONY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Federal Tax ID	EIN 760615245
Website	http://www.cosmostx.org/
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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RIVERWALK EDUCATION FOUNDATION, INC.
Federal Tax ID	EIN 010758906
Website	None
Individuals involved	Names appearing on Form 990s (2004 to 2009): Ali Tekin, Ayhan Oruc, Bulent Dogan, Bulent Gumus, Christopher John Gieske [sic Gieseke], Emrah Oral, Kamil Yilmaz, Kemal [aka Mark] Namver, Metin Ekren, Mithat Karabulut, Roland Campos, Turgay Korkmaz
Notes	This organization's schools are operated in partnership w/the Cosmos Foundation; Cosmos gets 5% of Riverwalk’s annual state funding under a "Support Services Agreement" (see below).

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NEW DIMENSION EDUCATION FOUNDATION, INC.
Federal Tax ID	EIN 010758906
Website	None
Individuals involved	Names appearing on Form 990 for 2003 (only year available at NCCS): Henry Bowling, Kamil Sarac, Matthew Rogovein, Osman Kazan. Additional sources connect Osman Kanlioglu and Serdal Kirmizialtin to the organization.
Notes	During the interview for New Dimension Math and Science School on September 2010, it was noted that the “corporate status of the sponsoring entity was forfeited in 2008. A representative of the proposed school stated that it has since been reinstated, and the entity is in good standing.”

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

1. LEARN MORE about the Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools HERE and HERE and HERE.

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2. LIST OF LOCATIONS

Cosmos Foundation / Harmony Public Schools = 36 schools

• Austin - 5
• Beaumont - 1
• Brownsville - 1
• Bryan/College Station - 1
• Carrollton - 1
• Dallas -2
• El Paso -2
• Euless - 1
• Fort Worth -1
• Garland - 1
• Grand Prairie -1
• Houston - 13*
• Laredo -1
• Lubbock -1
• Odessa - 1
• San Antonio -2
• Waco -1

Riverwalk Education Foundation’s Schools of Science and Technology schools = 4 schools

• Corpus Christi -1
• Leon Valley -1
• San Antonio - 2

* Houston is also where the Gulen Institute, the multi-state branched Institute of Interfaith Dialog and Raindrop Turkish House (both Gulenist organizations) are located. It is also the home to some of the Gulen movement's most prominent non-native Turkish American supporters, namely William Martin and Helen Rose Ebaugh. In other words, the fact that Houston has a high concentration of Gulen charter schools is not a coincidence.

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3. "SUPPORT SERVICE AGREEMENTS"

Cosmos is in “Support Service Agreements” with the following organizations:
http://ccweb.co.fort-bend.tx.us:15505/docs/2011/CCTR/20110510_2258/3717_Cosmos%20Foundation%20Borrower%20Charter%20Schools.pdf  (p. B-3)

• Riverwalk Education Foundation w/four charter schools in Texas
• Millennium Education Foundation w/two charter schools in Missouri
• SKY Foundation w/ four charter schools in Oklahoma
• Pelican Educational Foundation w/two charter schools in Louisiana
• Focus Foundation w/ one charter school in New Mexico
• Read Foundation w/ one charter school in Tennessee
• Little Scholars of Arkansas Foundation w/two charter schools in Arkansas

Cosmos “...provides support services in the following areas: school start up; facility management; financial consulting and advisory; professional leadership; technology and database support; student admissions; marketing and employee recruiting; curriculum and assessment; student development and school climate; cooperation with home-school, external organizations and science fair organizations; and academic and non-academic performance.”

• Cosmos gets 5% of Riverwalk’s annual state funding
• Cosmos gets 3% of Millennium’s annual state funding
• Cosmos gets 3% of SKY Foundation’s annual state funding
• Cosmos gets 5% of Pelican’s annual state funding
• Cosmos gets flat fee of $45,000/year from the Focus Foundation
• Cosmos gets 3% of the Read Foundation’s annual state funding
• Cosmos gets 3% of LISA’s annual state funding

“In fiscal year ending August 31, 2010, the Borrower received an aggregate of approximately $2.7 million in revenue from such Support Service Agreements.”

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4. Texas schools in alphabetical order

1. Harmony School of Advancement High – Houston
2. Harmony School of Art And Technology – Houston
3. Harmony School of Business – Dallas (Pending)
4. Harmony School of Discovery – Houston
5. Harmony School of Excellence – Austin
6. Harmony School of Excellence – Houston
7. Harmony School of Excellence - San Antonio (Pending)
8. Harmony School of Excellence Endeavor – Houston
9. Harmony School of Ingenuity – Houston
10. Harmony School of Innovation – Dallas
11. Harmony School of Innovation – El Paso
12. Harmony School of Innovation – Fort Worth (Pending)
13. Harmony School of Innovation – Houston
14. Harmony School of Innovation – San Antonio
15. Harmony School of Language – Houston (Pending)
16. Harmony School of Nature And Athletics – Dallas
17. Harmony School of Nature And Athletics – Houston (Pending)
18. Harmony School of Political Science And Communication – Austin
19. Harmony School of Science – Austin
20. Harmony School of Science – Houston
21. Harmony School of Science High – Sugar Land
22. Harmony Science Academy – Austin
23. Harmony Science Academy – Beaumont
24. Harmony Science Academy – Brownsville
25. Harmony Science Academy – Bryan/ College Station
26. Harmony Science Academy – Dallas
27. Harmony Science Academy – El Paso
28. Harmony Science Academy – Euless
29. Harmony Science Academy – Fort Worth
30. Harmony Science Academy – Garland
31. Harmony Science Academy – Grand Prairie
32. Harmony Science Academy – Houston
33. Harmony Science Academy – Houston High
34. Harmony Science Academy – Houston Northwest
35. Harmony Science Academy – Laredo
36. Harmony Science Academy – Lubbock
37. Harmony Science Academy – North Austin
38. Harmony Science Academy – Odessa
39. Harmony Science Academy – San Antonio
40. Harmony Science Academy – Waco
41. Harmony Science Academy West Houston
42. Harmony Teacher Academy – Houston (Pending)
43. New Dimension Math and Science School (Pending)
44. School of Art Denton (Inactive)
45. School of Art Houston (Inactive)
46. School of Science and Technology – Alamo
47. School of Science and Technology – Corpus Christi
48. School of Science and Technology – San Antonio
49. School of Science and Technology Discovery

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5. Despite being under a state investigation, the U.S. Department of Education gave Harmony a $5M federal grant in September 2011 to open seven more charter schools.

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