Subject: State Dept. Notified CIA, National Security Council About Suspicious Charter School Visas
From: Brian Rothenberg <[email-masked]>
To: john podesta <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 17:50:27 +0000

[1]ProgressOhio

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             For Immediate Release

   Contact:
   Brian Rothenberg, 614 441-9145
   Sandy Theis, 614 940-0131

  State Dept. Notified CIA, National Security Council About Suspicious Charter
                                  School Visas

   The U.S. State Department raised serious and repeated concerns about
   Turkish charter schools in America, sending cables to the CIA, Secretary
   of Defense and the President's National Security Council. Special
   attention was paid to the large number of Turkish nationals with
   questionable credentials seeking visas to teach at schools such as Ohio's
   Horizon Science Academies, which are linked to a controversial Islamic
   faith leader.

   A review of over one hundred diplomatic cables made available at WikiLeaks
   found numerous warnings about underqualified applicants for teaching
   visas.  One cable states that applicants "might be using the reputation of
   the school as a cover to get to the US." Another,  ominously observed
   there is "considerable debate" about whether members of their faith
   movement were "a threat to secular governments."

                                   Background

   Fethullah Gulen is an exiled Muslim cleric living in Pennsylvania. He is
   currently the subject of an extradition request[1][1] on charges of
   espionage and attempting to overthrow the Turkish government.[2][2] Gulen
   has millions of well-organized followers in central Asia and his
   organization is said to have "some of the characteristics of a
   cult."[3][3] Gulen's followers founded and administer a number of charter
   schools, including Ohio's Horizon Science & Noble Academies.

   These schools import the majority of their administration staff and many
   of their teachers on work visas from Turkey and neighboring countries.
   Secret diplomatic cables show that the "evasiveness" of the applicants and
   their "uneven at best" qualifications left State Department employees
   "uneasy." They voiced these concerns to the top levels of government and
   even suggested the Department of Homeland Security should investigate the
   schools.

                      Memos Back Ohio Teacher Testimonies

   Teachers who had worked at Dayton's Horizon Science Academy made headlines
   last month when they told the state school board about apparent test
   tampering, attendance padding, Turish teachers who could barely speak
   English and even an incident when parents were not told their adolescent
   children were caught having oral sex at a school function.

   Many of the teachers' observations are supported by the cables.  In one
   memo, the US consulate observed Turkish visa applicants with an "inability
   to speak English" and a "lack of understanding of basic math concepts
   (when they were going to teach math or science subjects)."

   In another memo, federal officials note that Gulen schools in Turkmenistan
   can only employ teachers who are "fully qualified in the field.'' Teachers
   employed by traditional public schools in Ohio must have a college degree
   and teach in the area or grade level in which they are licensed. Ohio
   charter schools, however, are exempt from that requirement

   This led ProgressOhio Executive Director Brian Rothenberg to ask, "Why are
   Ohio charter schools not required to employ only qualified teachers?
   Taxpayers should be outraged these schools are hiring teachers who aren't
   even qualified to teach in their home countries."

   Rothenberg continued, "America's top intelligence and diplomatic personnel
   confirmed what a panel of Ohio teachers told the state board of education:
   Many of the teachers and administrators at these schools are unqualified,
   and students and taxpayers are suffering because of it. The only entity
   that doesn't seem to understand the severity of the problem is the state
   school board.''

   Excerpts from Secret Cables

   Over a quarter million previously secret diplomatic cables were published
   by WikiLeaks. ProgressOhio review approximately one hundred of them
   referencing Fethullah Gulen and found the following:

     * "There is considerable debate whether the Gulen movement represents a
       threat to secular governments. Skeptics argue the Gulenists seek to
       transform societies from the inside-out by developing sympathetic
       elites in a country's government and business circles. [...]
       Gulenists' penchant for secrecy raises questions. For example,
       Gulenists seeking U.S. visas at the Embassy often are evasive about
       their religious views and their work-related duties in the U.S. (NOTE:
       Many U.S. visa applicants at the Embassy seek to work at
       Gulenist-linked schools in the U.S.)"[4][4]
     * "...there are concerns that Gulenist charter schools in the U.S. are
       capitalizing on the local successes to petition for visas for
       marginally qualified temporary workers."[5][5]
     * "While on the surface a benign humanitarian movement, the ubiquitous
       evasiveness of Gulenist applicants -- coupled with what appears to be
       a deliberate management of applicant profiles over the past several
       years -- leaves Consular officers uneasy, an uneasiness echoed within
       Turkey by those familiar with the Gulenists."[6][6]
     * [I]n summer/fall of 2008, the consular section received a number of
       visa applications for highly-skilled temporary workers (H1B) to go
       teach in charter schools in the U.S. The applicants all had in common
       a tie to a Gulenist school, either in Turkey or in Turkmenistan. Their
       qualifications were uneven at best. Some were bona fide teachers with
       several years of experience and advanced degrees. Others claimed
       teaching experience by assisting, volunteering, or substituting at a
       Gulenist school (language center or high school) in Turkmenistan.
       These minimally-qualified applicants prompted further investigation,
       and it turns out that the charter schools in the U.S. are also part of
       the broader Gulenist movement. The minimally-qualified applicants,
       petitions were returned to DHS for revocation based on a lack of
       qualifications, such as their inability to speak English, possession
       of degrees not related to the subjects that they intended to teach and
       further lack of understanding of basic math concepts (when they were
       going to teach math or science subjects).[7][7]
     * On the other hand, we are concerned by the link with charter schools
       in the U.S. that have petitioned for marginally-qualified H1B
       candidates ... These applicants were simply not convincing...might be
       using the reputation of the school as a cover to get to the [United
       States]. Post, after discussions with others in the region that see
       similar applicants, recommends that these H1B candidates receive a
       high degree of scrutiny before any visas are approved.... Further,
       Consular Affairs, Fraud Prevention might, in concert with the
       Department of Homeland Security, wish to investigate or audit these
       Turkish-run charter schools in the U.S. for compliance with U.S.
       immigration law.[8][8]

   ------------------------

   [9][1]
   [10]http://act.progressohio.org/go/270?t=1001&akid=547.522478.T8HeR7

   [11][2]
   [12]http://act.progressohio.org/go/271?t=1002&akid=547.522478.T8HeR7

   [13][3]
   [14]http://act.progressohio.org/go/272?t=1003&akid=547.522478.T8HeR7

   [15][4] [16]http://act.progressohio.org/go/273?t=1004&akid=547.522478.T8HeR7

   [17][5] [18]http://act.progressohio.org/go/274?t=1005&akid=547.522478.T8HeR7

   [19][6] [20]http://act.progressohio.org/go/275?t=1006&akid=547.522478.T8HeR7

   [21][7] [22]http://act.progressohio.org/go/274?t=1007&akid=547.522478.T8HeR7

   [23][8] Ibid.

References

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  22. http://act.progressohio.org/go/274?t=1014&akid=547.522478.T8HeR7
  23. file:///dev/stdin#_ftnref8

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