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Friday, April 20, 2012

Allegations raised over N. Phila. charter school run by followers of Turkish imam - Philly.com

Allegations raised over N. Phila. charter school run by followers of Turkish imam - Philly.com:


Allegations raised over N. Phila. charter school run by followers of Turkish imam

April 19, 2012|By Martha Woodall, Inquirer Staff Writer
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  • CLEM MURRAY / Staff (CLEM MURRAY / Staff Photographer)
  • CLEM MURRAY / Staff (CLEM MURRAY / Staff Photographer)
  • Truebright Science Academy Charter School, located at 926 W. Sedgley Ave. in North Philadelphia, is operated by the followers of a Turkish imam. The Philadelphia School District's charter office has recommend that the school's charter not be renewed. A vote is scheduled for Thursday night. (CLEM MURRAY / Staff Photographer)
  • English teacher Kayla Conklin (second from right) monitors the hallway during a change of classes. The school gets $3.4 million of its $3.9 million budget this year from the Phila. district. (CLEM MURRAY / Staff Photographer)
  • Turkey's Muslim spiritual leader M. Fetullah Gulen (left), shook hands with Pope John Paul II when they meet at the Vatican in 1998. (ARTURO MARI / Associated Press, File)
Truebright Science Academy Charter School in North Philadelphia is one of more than 130 charter schools nationwide run by followers of the Turkish imam M. Fetullah Gulen, and federal officials have put it under a microscope.
Not only are the FBI and the Departments of Labor and Education looking into allegations of kickbacks by Turkish teachers at the charters nationwide, according to knowledgeable sources, but at least nine American teachers and administrators at Truebright have filed complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. All allege that they were being paid less than noncertified Turkish staffers.
Now the Philadelphia School District's charter office has recommended to the School Reform Commission that it not renew Truebright's five-year operating charter on several grounds, including academic performance, lack of certified staff, and high turnover of administrators. A vote is scheduled for Thursday night.
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The school, which enrolls 307 students from seventh grade through high school, gets $3.4 million of