Nation's Largest Teachers Union Endorses Teaching "Climate Justice"

Nation's Largest Teachers Union Endorses Teaching "Climate Justice":

Nation’s Largest Teachers Union Endorses Teaching “Climate Justice”

 In May, the Portland, Oregon school board passed the country’s first comprehensive “climate justice” resolution. The school board voted unanimously to “abandon the use of any adopted text material that is found to express doubt about the severity of the climate crisis or its root in human activities,” and called for all schools to teach a “climate justice” curriculum. The Portland resolution said that students in city schools “should develop confidence and passion when it comes to making a positive difference in society, and come to see themselves as activists and leaders for social and environmental justice—especially through seeing the diversity of people around the world who are fighting the root causes of climate change...”

That effort received a big boost last week in Washington, DC, when the country’s largest union, the National Education Association (NEA), voted at its national convention to support the Portland resolution and to encourage state and local affiliates to create and promote climate literacy resolutions in their own communities, using the Portland resolution as a model. The NEA has close to 3 million members, and its convention is dubbed “the world’s largest deliberative assembly,” with 7,000 delegates.

The effort to pass the resolution was led by teacher delegates from Oregon, Washington, California, Wisconsin, and North Carolina, and included members of the national Badass Teachers (BATs) caucus.

Oregon teacher Kathleen Jeskey was one of the delegates supporting the NEA resolution: “Clearly teachers from all over the country see that it is past time to teach our students the real science of climate change and properly prepare them for the future. BATs is a caucus dedicated to social justice and we realized that no other social justice issue can be dealt with properly if we ignore the issues around climate.”

In addressing the convention, Jeskey paraphrased the Portland climate justice resolution: “We must commit ourselves to providing teachers, administrators, and other school personnel with professional development, curricular materials, and outdoor and field studies that explore the breadth of causes and consequences of the climate crisis as well as potential solutions that address the root causes of the crisis, and do so in ways that are participatory, imaginative, and respectful of students’ and teachers’ creativity and eagerness to be part of addressing global Nation's Largest Teachers Union Endorses Teaching "Climate Justice":

AFT Delegates Join the AFT BAT Caucus

By:  Marla Kilfoyle, Interim Chair AFT BAT Caucus

Badass Teachers Association - http://badassteachers.blogspot.com/

Charter school and union unite on wanting L.A. Unified to pay retiree benefits for charter teachers - LA Times

Charter school and union unite on wanting L.A. Unified to pay retiree benefits for charter teachers - LA Times:

Charter school and union unite on wanting L.A. Unified to pay retiree benefits for charter teachers

The team from El Camino Real Charter High School celebrates on its way to winning the 2014 national Academic Decathlon. The school was regarded as well run before and after becoming a charter, but faces controversies over health benefits and spending. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

 The local teachers union has made rare common cause with a charter school: They are pressing to have the Los Angeles school district — not the charter — pay for costly retiree benefits that are due to teachers who worked at the charter. 

A formal grievance against L.A. Unified, filed recently by United Teachers Los Angeles, is the latest twist involving a group of teachers from El Camino Real Charter High School. It highlights the complicated relationship between charters and the traditional school system — and potentially serious financial issues for each.  

The dispute also is one more headache for the Woodland Hills charter, whose founding principal is under fire for his spending practices. 

The disagreement means that nine veteran El Camino teachers are in limbo over who will pay for retiree health benefits that are estimated to cost the employer $250,000 to $300,000 per worker. El Camino wanted so badly to get out from under this obligation that they offered teachers up to $30,000 in cash if they would return to L.A. Unified just long enough to retire over there.

The district cried foul, refusing to process the paperwork for the benefits. 

That’s when the union emerged as an unlikely ally — for the charter school.

Charters are managed independently of the local school district and exempt from some education regulations. The vast majority are non-union—and the teachers union and pro-charter forces were the major combatants in recent school board elections. The union also has joined many district officials in opposing a proposed, massive charter expansion that, along with other factors, could threaten the district’s solvency, according to an independent panel of experts. 

But El Camino is unionized, which is a main reason the teachers have retiree health benefits in the first place. These benefits help cover what isn’t handled by Medicare, the federal health program for retirees.

Union president Alex Caputo-Pearl said his organization would fight “to enforce our members’ rights under the UTLA/LAUSD contract.” He noted that the district agreed to give El Camino teachers up to five years to return to L.A. Unified after El Camino became a charter.

That five years just ended, but was still in force when the teachers sought to return.

The district counters that teachers had a right to return to work for L.A. Unified, but it’s unfair for them to return just long enough to file for retirement.

School board member Monica Ratliff said she would be “far more sympathetic” if the teachers “actually came back to the district to become district employees and serve our district prior to retiring.” Or if the charter operators had been willing to pay that $30,000 to the district — to help defray L.A. Unified’s increased costs.

The issue became public in April after The Times wrote about the $30,000 bonus. In previous years, the district had apparently allowed at least 49 teachers from El Camino and eight other unionized charters to send their retirees back to L.A. Unified, according to information released as part of a public-records act request.

The charters (or their teachers) that most aggressively pursued this strategy have been El Camino (21, including this year’s group), Granada Hills Charter High School (13) and Birmingham Community Charter High School (12). 

Qualifying non-teaching employees also have taken advantage of the return-to-retire strategy.

Most, if not all, of the affected teachers qualified for lifetime benefits by the “rule of 80,” which combines their years of teaching plus their age at retirement. All worked the Charter school and union unite on wanting L.A. Unified to pay retiree benefits for charter teachers - LA Times:

Chicago Teachers Union, champion of the schools Chicago's students deserve - Chicago Tribune

Chicago Teachers Union, champion of the schools Chicago's students deserve - Chicago Tribune:

Chicago Teachers Union, champion of the schools Chicago's students deserve 

er the last six years, the Chicago Teachers Union has been the most consistent champion of the schools Chicago’s students deserve. As such, we politely disagree with the premise and loose facts in the recent editorial on CTU.

Let’s look at those facts.

Since 2010, CTU has given up more than $2 billion in lost pay raises, employer contributions to our pension fund and thousands of teacher layoffs. Our contributions this year, through the loss of pay, benefits and laid-off teachers and paraprofessionals, stretch well into nine figures.

The biggest cost drivers in the Chicago Public Schools are not teacher salaries. Total teacher and administrator salaries have been flat for the last five years. Yet, costs tied to debt service, charter school proliferation and pension contributions have exploded. CPS’ costs are tied to terrible management decisions, such as skipping 10 years of pension payments or using operations money to pay debt service.

Educators did not agree to the SUPES contract that led former CPS CEO to plead guilty to a felony last year. CTU members did not agree to the Aramark outsourcing deal that cost more but left schools filthy. We did not target the South and West sides of the city with the largest mass school closing in U.S. history. Those decisions were made by the mayor and his hand-picked board of education.

CTU has consistently, and clearly, advocated that the solution to Chicago’s financial challenges is a sustainable source of progressive revenue. We have supported a graduated state income tax, a millionaires’ tax for education and a LaSalle Street tax on speculative trading. Teachers went on a one-day strike for revenue on April 1; the mayor lobbied for none of these. We have also clearly called and advocated for a school funding formula that is both adequate and equitable for school districts across Illinois. CTU was thus instrumental in bringing additional state money to CPS, thereby ensuring that schools will open in September.

CTU’s Big Bargaining Team was prepared to agree to a contract in July 2015. Forrest Claypool torpedoed that agreement.

CTU’s Big Bargaining Team continues to have major concerns about the district’s refusal to limit class sizes (Chicago has some of the largest in the state) and its inability to enforce provisions that would limit unnecessary charter school proliferation.

CTU members are legally required to live in the city. As such, we too will pay for any property tax increase.

Improvements in CPS education are the result of CTU members’ tireless efforts to “do more with less,” not the district’s rotating leadership.

We remain steadfast in our pursuit of the schools Chicago’s students deserve and equity for students across Illinois. We reserve the right to use whatever tools are required for that job.

— Karen Lewis, president, Chicago Teachers UnionChicago Teachers Union, champion of the schools Chicago's students deserve - Chicago Tribune:

 

Turkish scholar allegedly behind coup also accused of running Texas charter schools | Dallas Morning News

Turkish scholar allegedly behind coup also accused of running Texas charter schools | Dallas Morning News:

Turkish scholar allegedly behind coup also accused of running Texas charter schools

The man allegedly behind Turkey's failed coup is an Islamic scholar who's also been accused of ties to Texas' largest charter school network, which itself is facing allegations of discrimination, self-dealing and misspending.

The Dallas Morning News reported in May that the Republic of Turkey accused Fethullah Gulen and his associates of being behind Harmony Public Schools. The nation's leaders even hired a law firm to ask the Texas Education Agency to launch an investigation into the charter schools. Rep. Dan Flynn also asked the Texas Attorney General's Office to investigate the claims in a letter sent Wednesday, The Texas Tribune reports.

Gulen followers have opened many private schools around the globe, including more than 160 science, math and technology-focused public charter schools with different names in numerous states around the U.S., according to Sharon Higgins, an independent researcher on the Gulen movement

These schools deny any relationship to Gulen -- who is said to adhere to a moderate form of Islam -- and the movement denies any relationship to the schools.

But Higgins, who has written extensively about the movement, said it's common for officials at the charter schools to deny any connection but that the Gulen-inspired network is one of the biggest in the U.S.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that the coup attempt on Friday was the work of army officers who are followers of Gulen, who had once been an ally but whose movement has become critical of the increasingly authoritarian regime. 

The Gulen movement denied involvement in the coup, but Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday was quoted as saying the United States would support investigations to determine who instigated the attempted coup and where its support originates. He said he anticipates questions will be raised about Gulen.

Gulen told reporters at his Pennsylvania compound he knows only a "minute fraction" of his legions of sympathizers in Turkey, so he cannot speak to their "potential involvement" in the attempted coup.

"You can think about many motivations of people who staged this coup. They could be sympathizers of the opposition party. They could be sympathizers of the nationalist party. It could be anything," Gulen, who has lived in the U.S. for more than 15 years, said through an interpreter.

Gulen has maintained influence in Turkey through followers in the judiciary and police. Turkish media reported Saturday that 2,745 judges had been removed because of suspicions they have links to the Gulen movement.

Harmony schools, part of the largest charter network in Texas, have won millions of dollars in grants from the U.S. government and are among the highest-achieving in Turkish scholar allegedly behind coup also accused of running Texas charter schools | Dallas Morning News:

Big Education Ape: Reclusive Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, blamed for failed coup in Turkey - LA Times -http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/07/reclusive-muslim-cleric-fethullah-gulen.html

Big Education Ape: US would consider extradition request for exiled cleric -http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/07/us-would-consider-extradition-request.html


 Big Education Ape: Fethullah Gulen: The Islamic scholar Turkey blames for the failed coup - The Washington Post - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/07/fethullah-gulen-islamic-scholar-turkey.html

Big Education Ape: Jersey Jazzman: What We Don't Know About Gulen-Linked Charter Schools, And Why That's a Problem - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/07/jersey-jazzman-what-we-dont-know-about.html

Big Education Ape: Coup in Turkey: Is Fetullah Gulen Behind It? | Diane Ravitch's blog - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/07/coup-in-turkey-is-fetullah-gulen-behind.html

Big Education Ape: KILLING ED: 120 American Charter Schools and One Secretive Turkish Cleric -http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/01/killing-ed-120-american-charter-schools.html

 Big Education Ape: Update: Gulen Harmony charter school network accused of bias and self-dealing Dallas Morning News - http://go.shr.lc/1qV85Hm

Big Education Ape: Turkey Links Texas Charter Schools to Dissident - WSJ - http://go.shr.lc/1OW1ZfV

Big Education Ape: Magnolia Science Academy - A Gulen Charter School: Gulen Magnolia Science Academy links discussed at LAUSD board meeting -http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/06/magnolia-science-academy-gulen-charter.html

Ms. Katie's Ramblings: New CPS School Budgets are Stinky Turd Lumps

Ms. Katie's Ramblings: New CPS School Budgets are Stinky Turd Lumps:

New CPS School Budgets are Stinky Turd Lumps

CPS has done it again. If you thought "Student Based Budgeting" was a bad idea (it is) then you will not be surprised to learn about CPS' brand new way to harm kids with budget cuts and to blame principals for the fallout.

Let's call it..."lumping." Instead of the previous system that funded special education positions (teachers and support staff) centrally, now CPS is lumping ALL sped and general education monies into one giant half-empty bucket. When student-based budgeting hit the schools three years ago, essentially slashing budgets, special education remained relatively protected. I mean, special education has...well, "special" protections under federal law.

Not that CPS didn't try to cut those darn expensive special education services. Last year, CPS DID slash those budgets. Only to receive a crap load of "appeals" from schools that ended up forcing the district to shell out even MORE money for sped. Turns out, special education has NEVER been funded adequately. (I know, I know...I'll give you a moment to get over your shock.)

So this year...I gotta give it to those wily CPS budget shenanigan-makers...they came up with a pretty ingenious way to cut back on expensive sped. They are going to make principals steal from the general education population! In order to meet those pesky federal requirements for special education, principals will be forced to cut gen ed positions, specials, after-school programs, and who know what else in order to fund the protected Ms. Katie's Ramblings: New CPS School Budgets are Stinky Turd Lumps:

JULY 14TH - FROM TEAR GAS TO CHEMO -- FROM PEOPLES' PARK TO NICE, FRANCE AND ECHO PARK TOO.

Turtle Learning: JULY 14TH - FROM TEAR GAS TO CHEMO -- FROM PEOPLES' PARK TO NICE, FRANCE AND ECHO PARK TOO.:

JULY 14TH - FROM TEAR GAS TO CHEMO -- FROM PEOPLES' PARK TO NICE, FRANCE AND ECHO PARK TOO.

  

   Today over 70 people so far have been counted as killed by a "suicide vehicle weapons attack" in Nice, France-- on BASTILLE DAY - which has actually been superseded on Google by reports of the attacks and murders of people in Nice.  Now up to 75 as I write this.  On Bastille Day it says:   
"The French National Day commemorates the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789,[1][2] an important event in Paris in The French Revolution, which had begun two days earlier,[3] as well as the Fête de la Fédération which celebrated the unity of the French people on 14 July 1790. Celebrations are held throughout France. The oldest and largest regular military parade in Europe is held on the morning of 14 July, on the Champs-Élysées in Paris in front of the President of the Republic, along with other French officials and foreign guests.[4][5]"  Most important was :    "The French Revolution (French: Révolution française [ʁevɔlysjɔ̃ fʁɑ̃sɛːz]) was a period of far-reaching social and political upheaval in France that lasted from 1789 until 1799, and was partially carried forward by Napoleon during the later expansion of the French Empire. The Revolution overthrew the monarchy, established a republic, experienced violent periods of political turmoil, and finally culminated in a Turtle Learning: JULY 14TH - FROM TEAR GAS TO CHEMO -- FROM PEOPLES' PARK TO NICE, FRANCE AND ECHO PARK TOO.:

Jersey Jazzman: What We Don't Know About Gulen-Linked Charter Schools, And Why That's a Problem

Jersey Jazzman: What We Don't Know About Gulen-Linked Charter Schools, And Why That's a Problem:

What We Don't Know About Gulen-Linked Charter Schools, And Why That's a Problem

This week's attempted coup in Turkey will inevitably turn the spotlight on Fethullah Gulen -- the primary political rival of Turkish President Erdogan -- who lives in seclusion in Pennsylvania. Gulen is linked to a network of over 160 charter schools operating across the country, including several in New Jersey that Governor Chris Christie has recently praised.

I've written several pieces about Christie's love affair with Gulen-linked charters here in New Jersey -- see here, here, and here. Even though I've looked at these schools closely, I won't claim I've exhaustively researched the entire Gulen movement, otherwise known as Hizmet, and its connections to US charter schools. Still, from what I have read, it's clear that there certainly is a network of charters connected to Gulen. The proliferation of these charter schools has been reported on by CBS News, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and The Wall St. Journal. This is hardly tinfoil hat territory.

That said, there's quite a bit we still don't know about these schools:

- The charters linked to Gulen generally do not express their connections openly. While Hizmet is clearly a religious movement, there is no indication the charters ever proselytize. Charter leaders may express their admiration for Gulen, but they do not, so far as I've ever seen, admit to taking direction directly from him when it comes to the administration of the charters.

- This said, there is at least an informal network that binds these charters together, and that network is aligned with Hizmet. The website Gulen Charter Schools has documented, in great detail, the structure of this network, which includes not only the charters themselves but also related contractors.

- These schools employ staffs that consist of large numbers of Turkish nationals, although not exclusively. There are many reports that the schools use H1-B visas to bring teachers Jersey Jazzman: What We Don't Know About Gulen-Linked Charter Schools, And Why That's a Problem:

Big Education Ape: Reclusive Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, blamed for failed coup in Turkey - LA Times - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/07/reclusive-muslim-cleric-fethullah-gulen.html

Big Education Ape: US would consider extradition request for exiled cleric -http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/07/us-would-consider-extradition-request.html


 Big Education Ape: Fethullah Gulen: The Islamic scholar Turkey blames for the failed coup - The Washington Post - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/07/fethullah-gulen-islamic-scholar-turkey.html

Big Education Ape: Coup in Turkey: Is Fetullah Gulen Behind It? | Diane Ravitch's blog - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/07/coup-in-turkey-is-fetullah-gulen-behind.html

Big Education Ape: KILLING ED: 120 American Charter Schools and One Secretive Turkish Cleric -http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/01/killing-ed-120-american-charter-schools.html

 Big Education Ape: Update: Gulen Harmony charter school network accused of bias and self-dealing Dallas Morning News - http://go.shr.lc/1qV85Hm

Big Education Ape: Turkey Links Texas Charter Schools to Dissident - WSJ - http://go.shr.lc/1OW1ZfV

Big Education Ape: Magnolia Science Academy - A Gulen Charter School: Gulen Magnolia Science Academy links discussed at LAUSD board meeting -http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/06/magnolia-science-academy-gulen-charter.html

Reclusive Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, blamed for failed coup in Turkey - LA Times

Reclusive Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, blamed for failed coup in Turkey - LA Times:

Reclusive Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, blamed for failed coup in Turkey

 the wake of Friday's deadly coup attempt in Turkey, that country's president quickly laid blame on Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric who has lived in exile in Pennsylvania since 1999 and controls a $25-billion religious organization.

Gulen, 75, who denied the charges in a statement, is a virtual recluse at the Golden Generation Worship and Retreat Center, constructed near Saylorsburg, Penn., in the 1990s as a center for Turkish American children.

Praised by supporters as a moderate who supports education and interreligious dialogue though his Hizmet movement, Gulen also has been accused of stealth efforts to topple the Turkish government and spread Islamic law, or Sharia, in Turkey and abroad.

"Fethullah Gulen is the leader of a terrorist organization," Prime Minister Benali Yildirim said in a statement Saturday. "Especially after what happened yesterday, I don't believe any country would support him. Whichever country supports him isn't a friend of Turkey. It is practically at war with Turkey."

Fethullah Gulen is the leader of a terrorist organization. And a American Charter School Chain!— Benali Yildirim, prime minister of Turkey

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the Obama administration would entertain an extradition request for Gulen, but he added that Turkey's government would have to prove his complicity. Visiting Luxembourg, Kerry said Saturday that Turkey hadn't yet requested the United States send the cleric home. But later in the day, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a demand that the U.S. extradite Gulen.

In a statement released by his foundation, the Alliance for Shared Values, Gulen condemned Friday's coup attempt and rejected claims he was involved.

The government said more than 200 people were killed in the attempt, and 1,440 wounded. In addition, 104 soldiers identified as coup backers were killed in the fighting, and 2,839 members of the military had been arrested.

"Government should be won through a process of free and fair elections, not force," Gulen said. "I pray to God for Turkey, for Turkish citizens, and for all those currently in Turkey that this situation is resolved peacefully and quickly. As someone who suffered under multiple military coups during the past five decades, it is especially insulting to be accused of having any link to such an attempt. I categorically deny such accusations."

After a night of clashes, Turkish president asserts that military coup has been defeated

A spokeswoman for Gulen's foundation, Safiye Embel, was unsure whether any of its officials would be available for an interview Saturday.

"As you can imagine, we have a lot of [media] requests right now," she said.

Earlier this year, Gulen was put on trial in absentia in Istanbul, accused of attempting to overthrow the government by instigating corruption probes that targeted people close to Erdogan.

Gulen and 68 others, including former police chiefs, have been charged with "attempting to overthrow the Turkish republic through the use of violence," leading a terrorist organization and "political espionage."

In a video that surfaced after his departure from Turkey in 1999, Gulen ordered followers to infiltrate key government positions and prepare for a coup — allegations that mirror charges the government filed against him in 2014.

In a purge of Gulen sympathizers that year, Turkish police arrested the editor of the Reclusive Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, blamed for failed coup in Turkey - LA Times:

 Big Education Ape: US would consider extradition request for exiled cleric - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/07/us-would-consider-extradition-request.html


 Big Education Ape: Fethullah Gulen: The Islamic scholar Turkey blames for the failed coup - The Washington Post - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/07/fethullah-gulen-islamic-scholar-turkey.html

Big Education Ape: Coup in Turkey: Is Fetullah Gulen Behind It? | Diane Ravitch's blog - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/07/coup-in-turkey-is-fetullah-gulen-behind.html

Big Education Ape: KILLING ED: 120 American Charter Schools and One Secretive Turkish Cleric -http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/01/killing-ed-120-american-charter-schools.html

 Big Education Ape: Update: Gulen Harmony charter school network accused of bias and self-dealing Dallas Morning News - http://go.shr.lc/1qV85Hm

Big Education Ape: Turkey Links Texas Charter Schools to Dissident - WSJ - http://go.shr.lc/1OW1ZfV

Big Education Ape: Magnolia Science Academy - A Gulen Charter School: Gulen Magnolia Science Academy links discussed at LAUSD board meeting -http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/06/magnolia-science-academy-gulen-charter.html

Rev. William Barber at SOS Rally - Living in Dialogue

Rev. William Barber at SOS Rally - Living in Dialogue:

Rev. William Barber at SOS Rally



For Reverend Barber’s full speech click here.

Rev. William Barber at SOS Rally - Living in Dialogue:

Schoolhouse Live - YouTube - https://youtu.be/uJ6SgeZN9BM on @youtube

US would consider extradition request for exiled cleric

US would consider extradition request for exiled cleric:

US would consider extradition request for exiled cleric

LUXEMBOURG (AP) — The Obama administration would entertain an extradition request for the U.S.-based cleric that Turkey's president is blaming for a failed coup attempt, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday.

But he said Turkey's government would have to prove Fethullah Gulen's wrongdoing.

Visiting Luxembourg, Kerry said Turkey hasn't yet requested that the United States send home Gulen, who left Turkey in 1999.

Gulen has harshly condemned the attempted coup attempt by military officers that resulted in a night of explosions, air battles and gunfire that left dozens dead. But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government is blaming the chaos on the cleric, who lives in exile in Pennsylvania and promotes a philosophy that blends a mystical form of Islam with staunch advocacy of democracy, education, science and interfaith dialogue.

Erdogan has long accused Gulen, a former ally, of trying to overthrow the government. Washington has never found any evidence particularly compelling previously.

"We haven't received any request with respect to Mr. Gulen," Kerry told reporters. "We fully anticipate that there will be questions raised about Mr. Gulen. And obviously we would invite the government of Turkey, as we always do, to present us with any legitimate evidence that withstands scrutiny. And the United States will accept that and look at it and make judgments about it appropriately."

"I'm confident there will be some discussion about that," Kerry added.

President Barack Obama on Friday urged all sides in Turkey to support the democratically elected government in Turkey, a key NATO ally.

In a statement issued after a meeting with his national security advisers Obama also urged those in Turkey to show restraint and avoid violence or bloodshed. Obama was to be briefed on the situation Saturday by his national security and foreign policy advisers.

Gulen is understood to maintain significant support among some members of the military and mid-level bureaucrats. His movement called Hizmet includes think tanks, schools and various media enterprises. Gulen and Erdogan only became estranged in recent years.

In a statement, Gulen said he condemned, "in the strongest terms, the attempted military coup in Turkey."

"Government should be won through a process of free and fair elections, not force," he said. "I pray to God for Turkey, for Turkish citizens, and for all those currently in Turkey that this situation is resolved peacefully and quickly."

Gulen sharply rejected any responsibility: "As someone who suffered under multiple military coups during the past five decades, it is especially insulting to be accused of having any link to such an attempt. I categorically deny such accusations."

Reiterating American support for Erdogan's government, Kerry said the U.S. opposed any attempt to overthrow a democratically elected leader. He said a change of government should only come through a legal, constitutional process.

Kerry also said that U.S. military cooperation with its NATO ally has been unaffected by the turmoil. Turkey plays a key role in U.S.-led efforts against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

"All of that continues as before," Kerry said.

He said the U.S. had no prior indication of the coup attempt, which came as Erdogan was on vacation.

It appears not to have been backed by the most senior ranks of the military, and Turkey's main opposition parties quickly condemned the attempted overthrow of the government. Prime Minister Benali Yildirim said 161 people were killed and 1,440 wounded in the overnight violence. He said 2,839 plotters were detained.

"If you're planning a coup you don't exactly advertise to your partners in NATO," Kerry said. "So it surprised everyone. It does not appear to be a very brilliantly planned or executed event."

Turkey plays a key role in U.S.-led efforts against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.US would consider extradition request for exiled cleric: 

 Big Education Ape: Fethullah Gulen: The Islamic scholar Turkey blames for the failed coup - The Washington Post - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/07/fethullah-gulen-islamic-scholar-turkey.html

Big Education Ape: Coup in Turkey: Is Fetullah Gulen Behind It? | Diane Ravitch's blog - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/07/coup-in-turkey-is-fetullah-gulen-behind.html

Big Education Ape: KILLING ED: 120 American Charter Schools and One Secretive Turkish Cleric -http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/01/killing-ed-120-american-charter-schools.html

 Big Education Ape: Update: Gulen Harmony charter school network accused of bias and self-dealing Dallas Morning News - http://go.shr.lc/1qV85Hm

Big Education Ape: Turkey Links Texas Charter Schools to Dissident - WSJ - http://go.shr.lc/1OW1ZfV

Big Education Ape: Magnolia Science Academy - A Gulen Charter School: Gulen Magnolia Science Academy links discussed at LAUSD board meeting -http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/06/magnolia-science-academy-gulen-charter.html