Arizona Charter Schools Criticized in New Report
PHOENIX - Arizona charter schools are skating by with too little supervision, according to a report released this week by the Center for Media and Democracy, which advocates for transparency in public life.
According to the report, Arizona has 180,000 children in 600 charter schools, which have received $69 million in federal grants since 2009. The researchers found that the state is failing to adequately monitor the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools, which disburses the money. Of particular concern to some critics are the six Sonoran Science Academy schools in Arizona, which opponents say are part of a nationwide group of schools that emphasize the Turkish culture and language, inspired by the writings of Turkish author Fethullah Gulen.
Sandy Theis, a member of the Charter School Accountablity project in Ohio, said the FBI raided some of the Gulen schools in her state.
"The Gulen movement is really adept at PR by courting politicians," she said. "They pay for trips to Turkey, and they build up a lot of good will that way. I find it odd that the FBI, Homeland Security, INS have all raised serious questions about them and they continue to grow and prosper."
Superintendent Ozkur Yildiz of the Sonoran Science Academy denied that the schools are affiliated with the Gulen movement and touted their record on state exams.
Jim Hall, founder of the group Arizonans for Charter School Accountability, said Sonoran Science Academy's public financial statements are in line with other schools, so all charters can't be painted with a broad brush. However, he added, the data on all charter schools is slim - and the board that oversees them is underfunded and does very little oversight.
"Arizona has almost no regulations," he said. "If your brother-in-law builds your $8 million school without bids, in Arizona that's perfectly OK. So a lot of the national concerns with Gulenists involve procurement. and that may be one of the reasons we're not having the huge scandals about them here in Arizona that you might in other places."
Hall is pushing for a law to force the state to start collecting more data about charter schools. Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, introduced a bill in July that would increase transparency and accountability in charter schools across the nation.
The report is online at prwatch.org.
According to the report, Arizona has 180,000 children in 600 charter schools, which have received $69 million in federal grants since 2009. The researchers found that the state is failing to adequately monitor the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools, which disburses the money. Of particular concern to some critics are the six Sonoran Science Academy schools in Arizona, which opponents say are part of a nationwide group of schools that emphasize the Turkish culture and language, inspired by the writings of Turkish author Fethullah Gulen.
Sandy Theis, a member of the Charter School Accountablity project in Ohio, said the FBI raided some of the Gulen schools in her state.
"The Gulen movement is really adept at PR by courting politicians," she said. "They pay for trips to Turkey, and they build up a lot of good will that way. I find it odd that the FBI, Homeland Security, INS have all raised serious questions about them and they continue to grow and prosper."
Superintendent Ozkur Yildiz of the Sonoran Science Academy denied that the schools are affiliated with the Gulen movement and touted their record on state exams.
Jim Hall, founder of the group Arizonans for Charter School Accountability, said Sonoran Science Academy's public financial statements are in line with other schools, so all charters can't be painted with a broad brush. However, he added, the data on all charter schools is slim - and the board that oversees them is underfunded and does very little oversight.
"Arizona has almost no regulations," he said. "If your brother-in-law builds your $8 million school without bids, in Arizona that's perfectly OK. So a lot of the national concerns with Gulenists involve procurement. and that may be one of the reasons we're not having the huge scandals about them here in Arizona that you might in other places."
Hall is pushing for a law to force the state to start collecting more data about charter schools. Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, introduced a bill in July that would increase transparency and accountability in charter schools across the nation.
The report is online at prwatch.org.
Suzanne Potter, Public News Service - AZ
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