Trailer for KILLING ED.
FEBRUARY 24, 2016
Today America gets its first lesson in the Gülen charter schools scandal with the first trailer, website, and theatrical NYC premiere announced for KILLING ED—a new documentary film from Visual Truth Projects and award-winning director Mark S. Hall that uncovers a shocking fact: that over 150 publicly funded, privately owned charter schools in America are in fact a “Trojan horse” introducing a variety of abuses. Hall, who previously directed SUSHI: THE GLOBAL CATCH (2012), uses KILLING ED to expose the largest charter school network in the country as an operation of members of the Gülen Movement—masterminded by reclusive leader and Turkish cleric-in-exile, Fethullah Gülen who lives in seclusion in the Poconos of Pennsylvania—which receives over $500,000,000 a year directly from American tax payers.
The forthcoming documentary exposes how the group has gained political power and financial reward in the USA through a lack of transparency and regulation in the ever-growing charter school movement that has become a part of America’s education system. A two-minute trailer for KILLING ED—released broadly today—juxtaposes interviews with education advocates and Gülen school teachers against footage of Bill Gates, Lieutenant Governor of Texas Dan Patrick, Dr. Diane Ravitch (Research Professor of Education at NYU), and others with scenes of conflict in Turkey— unraveling a sophisticated business front which presents itself as a benevolent enterprise and discounts any criticism as “Islamophobic”. But the trailer tells a different story, taking a turn at :45, when Noel Hammatt, a former board member of the East Baton Rouge school district, says “I’ve never known a school to be raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This is a first.”
Hall remarks, “People deserve to know the truth. I went in without a specific viewpoint, independent and without affiliation to any foundation, party or group, so that the truth could be told in a pure form.” He continues, “My hope is that KILLING ED will enlighten a nation with a shocking first-hand look inside these troubled, publicly funded institutions. In doing so, the film reveals the motivations of the leader at the helm—and all those in the film that seek to protect us from the unchecked infiltration of our children, politicians, tax coffers, and communities.”
A Shocking Realization
What started as due diligence for a non-profit ended up being a five-year trek to uncover the “worst case scenario” of the privatization of education, which has emerged as a result of the often misunderstood charter school model. Director/Producer Mark S. Hall visited 24 charter schools around the US (19 of which were Gülen-affiliated). He conducted 44 interviews with politicians, experts, parents, teachers, charter advocates, Turkish-Americans and Turkish journalists. Ultimately, he interviewed former followers of Gülen to discover the origin of the “Gülen Movement” and discovering, shockingly, the apparent destination of many millions of American tax dollars annually.
Originally, charter schools were intended to educate students who were having difficulty learning and had dropped out of traditional public schools. Freedom from many of the regulations required for public schools was given to those who wanted to develop new ways of teaching within the public education system. However, a lack of oversight and regulation, generally, has led to the “worst case scenario” of a little-known but rapidly growing Islamic movement using public funds for anti-democratic activities such as purchasing influence, oppression of female teachers, as well as gender pay and religious discrimination and - as the film outlines - the apparent funneling of these public school dollars for its startling political objectives in the nation of Turkey.
Screenings
KILLING ED will have its premiere in New York City at the Cinema Village (Cinema Village, 22 East 12th Street, New York, NY 10003) March 25 – 31, 2016. Other screenings are in the works across the country and individuals and groups can book a screening for their community or organization via the Tugg.com platform. Digital/DVD/BluRay release dates will be announced in March.
[more]
Factoids about Gülen Schools
• 60,000+ students
• 150+ schools in U.S. (with 12 new schools applied for)
• Over 1,200 schools worldwide
• $500M+ in taxpayer-funded revenue each year
• FBI investigations in four states
• Congressional investigation into Gülen-paid Turkey trips for politicians
• Over 5,000 Turkish employees on H1-B visas
• Operated by followers of Turkish Islamic cleric, Fethullah Gülen
• Gülen Movement named a ‘terrorist organization’ by Turkish government
• Movement’s charters support other follower's businesses (catering, buses, construction, school furniture, curriculum, etc.)
The forthcoming documentary exposes how the group has gained political power and financial reward in the USA through a lack of transparency and regulation in the ever-growing charter school movement that has become a part of America’s education system. A two-minute trailer for KILLING ED—released broadly today—juxtaposes interviews with education advocates and Gülen school teachers against footage of Bill Gates, Lieutenant Governor of Texas Dan Patrick, Dr. Diane Ravitch (Research Professor of Education at NYU), and others with scenes of conflict in Turkey— unraveling a sophisticated business front which presents itself as a benevolent enterprise and discounts any criticism as “Islamophobic”. But the trailer tells a different story, taking a turn at :45, when Noel Hammatt, a former board member of the East Baton Rouge school district, says “I’ve never known a school to be raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This is a first.”
Hall remarks, “People deserve to know the truth. I went in without a specific viewpoint, independent and without affiliation to any foundation, party or group, so that the truth could be told in a pure form.” He continues, “My hope is that KILLING ED will enlighten a nation with a shocking first-hand look inside these troubled, publicly funded institutions. In doing so, the film reveals the motivations of the leader at the helm—and all those in the film that seek to protect us from the unchecked infiltration of our children, politicians, tax coffers, and communities.”
A Shocking Realization
What started as due diligence for a non-profit ended up being a five-year trek to uncover the “worst case scenario” of the privatization of education, which has emerged as a result of the often misunderstood charter school model. Director/Producer Mark S. Hall visited 24 charter schools around the US (19 of which were Gülen-affiliated). He conducted 44 interviews with politicians, experts, parents, teachers, charter advocates, Turkish-Americans and Turkish journalists. Ultimately, he interviewed former followers of Gülen to discover the origin of the “Gülen Movement” and discovering, shockingly, the apparent destination of many millions of American tax dollars annually.
Originally, charter schools were intended to educate students who were having difficulty learning and had dropped out of traditional public schools. Freedom from many of the regulations required for public schools was given to those who wanted to develop new ways of teaching within the public education system. However, a lack of oversight and regulation, generally, has led to the “worst case scenario” of a little-known but rapidly growing Islamic movement using public funds for anti-democratic activities such as purchasing influence, oppression of female teachers, as well as gender pay and religious discrimination and - as the film outlines - the apparent funneling of these public school dollars for its startling political objectives in the nation of Turkey.
Screenings
KILLING ED will have its premiere in New York City at the Cinema Village (Cinema Village, 22 East 12th Street, New York, NY 10003) March 25 – 31, 2016. Other screenings are in the works across the country and individuals and groups can book a screening for their community or organization via the Tugg.com platform. Digital/DVD/BluRay release dates will be announced in March.
[more]
Factoids about Gülen Schools
• 60,000+ students
• 150+ schools in U.S. (with 12 new schools applied for)
• Over 1,200 schools worldwide
• $500M+ in taxpayer-funded revenue each year
• FBI investigations in four states
• Congressional investigation into Gülen-paid Turkey trips for politicians
• Over 5,000 Turkish employees on H1-B visas
• Operated by followers of Turkish Islamic cleric, Fethullah Gülen
• Gülen Movement named a ‘terrorist organization’ by Turkish government
• Movement’s charters support other follower's businesses (catering, buses, construction, school furniture, curriculum, etc.)
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