Quest Academy (Utah)

“Former teacher to stand trial for sex abuse of student.” ABC4 (UT), 5/14/2013

FARMINGTON Utah (ABC 4 Utah) - A high school teacher will stand trial for sexually abusing a student.

Steve Niedzwiecki was fired from his teaching position at a charter school in West Haven...

Niedzwiecki was charged with eight counts of forcible sodomy, two counts of forcible sexual abuse and attempted rape.

Niedzwiecki was a former teacher and basketball coach at Quest Academy and Jefferson Academy. He was terminated from his teaching position at Quest Academy after he was charged in December.

The victim says she befriended the teacher and worked on a project together. But according to the probable cause statement, the girl and the teacher were trading emails and text messaging. In court she testified that their relationship turned physical and became sexual. She claimed Niedzwiecki promised to marry her after their relationship turned sexual.

"He was a trusted teacher, a coach and was very manipulative," said the victim's aunt Kathy Carver...

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Soldier Hollow Charter School

“Ex-principal pleads guilty to sexually abusing former student.” Deseret News (UT), 4/2/2013

HEBER CITY — A former charter school principal pleaded guilty Tuesday to sexually abusing a former male student.

Charles Edward Weber, 66, pleaded guilty to two counts of forcible sodomy, a first-degree felony, in connection with the abuse of a 15-year-old boy. Four identical sodomy charges were dismissed in exchange for the man's plea. 

Weber, of South Jordan, was booked into the Washington County Jail on $1 million bail in December. The arrest came after he "admitted to sexually abusing several young boys over the past 35 years," FBI agent Jeffrey Ross wrote in a police affidavit filed in 4th District Court.

Weber had been an educator for more than 40 years, most recently as principal of the award-winning Soldier Hollow Charter School in Midway...

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Valley Academy Charter School

“Hurricane teacher arrested on sex charges.” St. George Daily Spectrum (UT), 10/30/2012

ST. GEORGE — A former violin teacher at Valley Academy Charter School in Hurricane was arrested Tuesday on four counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony, following allegations made against him by four students at the school.

Lynn R. Lundstrom, 62, of Ivins, was arrested following an investigation by the Hurricane Police Department. Four students reported being touched inappropriately by Lundstrom during class...

Lundstrom was listed as a strings instructor at Valley Academy Charter School on the school’s website prior to the investigation, but that information has since been removed...

According to the probable cause statement, when Lundstrom was interviewed by Hurricane detectives regarding the allegations, Lundstrom allegedly admitted that he had, at least on one occasion, inappropriately touched a child at the school...

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Legacy Preparatory Academy

“Charter school director pleads guilty to program theft.” Salt Lake Tribune (UT), 5/31/2011

The principal of a North Salt Lake charter high school, one of the state’s largest, has resigned after pleading guilty to mishandling federal education money in Pennsylvania.

Dennis Bruno, 59, was director of secondary education at Legacy Preparatory Academy until Thursday. The K-12 school has 876 students, including 409 in grades six through 12...

... The guilty plea comes one month after James A. Stokes, a former teacher at Legacy, was sentenced to jail and probation for sexual abuse of a 14-year-old female student...

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“Bruno pleads guilty to charges.” Altoona Mirror (PA), 5/10/2011

JOHNSTOWN - Glendale School District's former superintendent faces the possibility of years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines after admitting in federal court he mishandled education funds.

Dennis Bruno, 59, now a school official in North Salt Lake, Utah, appeared Monday before U.S. District Court Judge Kim Gibson, pleading guilty to one count of federal program theft, admitting he intentionally misappropriated $49,600 in federal Improvement in Education funds in late 2005 - money the district received for school enhancements...

In a press release Monday, U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton said the charge carries up to a decade in federal prison and fines up to $250,000, although criminal history - or in Bruno's case, the lack of one prior to this charge - would be weighed at sentencing.

Prosecutors indicated that Bruno also admitted he was part of a conspiracy to acquire $414,000 from the Federal Communications Commission's E-Rate Program, that were directed to the district for Internet upgrades and telecommunication improvements. Such technology upgrades put tiny, rural Glendale on the map a decade ago, with Bruno often leading the way in finding grants for the school.

An audit revealed Bruno awarded contracts without board approval and inappropriately spent and obtained funding during his final years in office.

Bruno was suspended in 2008 and abruptly resigned months later...

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“Former drama teacher gets jail for fondling student, and forgiveness from victim's family.” Deseret News (UT), 4/6/2011

FARMINGTON — A former Woods Cross drama teacher accused of fondling a 14-year-old student was sentenced to a year in jail Wednesday after an extraordinary display of forgiveness by the victim's family.

A 2nd District judge ordered James D. Stokes to complete treatment at the Northern Utah Community Correctional Center, a halfway house in Ogden for sex offenders, as soon as space is available.

Stokes, 62, pleaded guilty in February to one count of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony. In exchange, prosecutors dropped a second identical charge, but Stokes still faced a prison term of up to 15 years, which Judge John Morris agreed to suspend.

The victim and her father spoke in court Wednesday of their desire for Stokes to get treatment so he does not abuse anyone else. They noted the other victims of his crime, including other students and his own family...

Stokes was the drama teacher at the Legacy Preparatory Academy charter school in Woods Cross when he was accused of molesting a 14-year-old student. Prosecutors say he twice molested the girl in his car.

After a play rehearsal in January 2010, Stokes offered the girl a ride home and drove her to a remote area in Centerville, where the assaults occurred, police said. The girl told her parents what had happened in July, and Stokes was arrested the next month, just days before school was to start...

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Northstar Academy

“Rolly: Utah’s charter schools get special treatment.” Paul Rolly, Salt Lake Tribune columnist 14 June 2011 

When it comes to applying rules to the public-education system in Utah, some schools are more equal than others.

People take for granted the fact that elementary schools have open playgrounds for children in the neighborhood to enjoy at any time.

But some charter schools, which also are public schools supported by taxpayer dollars, lock up their playgrounds so kids not enrolled in those schools can’t play on the monkey bars, go down the slippery slide or swing.

That’s because, when the Utah State Legislature defined schools as “community centers,” it exempted charter schools.

Community centers, as it applies to schools, are where civic groups can meet, sports clubs can play and little kids can enjoy the school’s play area.

Some neighbors of Northstar Academy, a charter school in Bluffdale, noticed that the school’s playground is fenced and locked. It struck them as strange, since most public schools’ playgrounds are open to the neighborhood.

Chris Bleak of the Utah Association of Public Charter Schools said Northstar and other charter schools have chosen to lock their play areas to keep out vandals.

Another reason they lock them is because they can.

It’s another example in what appears to be the charter-school ethic of taking all the advantages of being a public school while getting to act like a private school. Backed by the Legislature, the mantra seems to be: What’s ours is ours, and what’s yours is ours.

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Gulen charter schools in Utah

STATE	# ACTIVE	# PENDING	# INACTIVE*	TOTAL
UT	1	0	0	1

* Denied, withdrawn, closed, or unknown status

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TOTAL ENROLLMENT IN 2010-2011 = 233 STUDENTS

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SCHOOLS

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BEEHIVE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ACADEMY
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2005-2006
Management	Beehive Educational Services
Authorizer	Utah State Charter School Board
Location/District	830 E. 9400 So., Sandy (this is the third location in seven years) / Canyons School District
Website	http://www.beehiveacademy.org/
Enrollment	Grades 7-12; 233 students in 2010-2011
Notes	Yavuz Durmas, executive director (2010-11); In April 2010, BSTA’s charter was revoked because of poor financial management. The decision was appealed and the authorizer permitted the school to remain open under probation.

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MANAGEMENT

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BEEHIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES
Federal Tax ID	EIN 200912672; “Beehive Educational Services dba Beehive Science & Technology Academy”
Website	None
History	The founding board members were Murat Ozoglu, Abdullah Tulek, and Bekir S. Gur. Ozoglu and Gur were graduate students in the same department at Utah State University. Telek was a graduate student at the University of Utah. All returned to Turkey following the completion of their PhDs.
Individuals involved	Abdullah Tulek, Alper Genc, Bekir S. Gur, Buyamin Karaduman, Crystal Peterson, Muhammet “Frank” Erdogan, Gulfidan Can, Kelly Wayment, Marie Jess, Mehmet A. Dogan, Murat Biyik, Murat Citir, Murat Ozoglu, Mustafa Keskin, Omer Odabasoglu, Randal Ross, Remzi Oten, Rolland Lee, Suleyman Bahceci, Terry Smith, William Tandy, Yavus Durmas, and Zekeriya Kiyma (source: IRS Form 990s for 2004-2009).
Notes	Kelly Wayment was the only board member with a non-Turkish surname from 2005 to 2007. He was removed from the board after publicly expressing his suspicions about Gulen movement connections. Wayment is quoted in articles about the “Turkish” charter schools which appeared in local, national, and international press http://www.charterschoolwatchdog.com/a-rare-breed----indeed---the-american-on-the-board.html. Board member Jess was added to the board in 2008. Members Lee, Ross, Peterson, Tandy, and Smith were added in 2009.

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SERVICE PROVIDER

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ACCORD INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH
Federal Tax ID	EIN 260658913
Website	http//www.accordeducation.org/
Location	13950 Milton Ave. Suite 200A, Westminster, CA (same address as the Magnolia Educational and Research Foundation, operator of Magnolia Public Schools in CA).
Services	The schools purchase program development, curriculum, professional development, and financial services from AIER. The fee is not known.
Individuals involved	Adem Oksuz, Ali Korkmaz, Ertan Salik, Faruk Taban, Hasan Deniz, Murat Arbas, Osman Sen, Suat Utku Ay, Carol Barkley, Suleyman Bahceci, and Yasin Cetindilin (source: IRS Form 990s for 2007 and 2008, and website accessed May 2011)

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NOTE: Learn more about Beehive Science and Technology Academy HERE.

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Red Apple Entheos Academy

TEACHER CHARGED IN THEFT; Aug 17, 2010; Salt Lake Tribune (UT) 

A charter school teacher is accused of stealing $4,277 from his school’s bank account.

The teacher, 34, allegedly went to a Wells Fargo Bank and emptied the bank account of the Red Apple Entheos Academy in Kearns. He did not have permission to make the withdrawal, police wrote.

The teacher is charged with third-degree felony theft.

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