Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy

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Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy
Location
4100 East 66th Street
Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, 55076
USA
Coordinates 44°51′12″N 93°01′19″W / 44.85333, -93.02194Coordinates: 44°51′12″N 93°01′19″W / 44.85333, -93.02194
Information
Affiliation(s) Islamic Relief USA
Principal Asad Zaman
Staff 9
Enrollment

300
Faculty 38
Type Charter School
Grades K-8
Homepage Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy

Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA) is an elementary school (K-8) in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota named after Tarek ibn Ziyad, the Ummayad of medieval Spain who entered Gibraltar in 711 CE and defeated the Visigoths. The school is sponsored by Islamic Relief USA.[1] The school has a primarily Muslim student body and has been embroiled in a number of controversies regarding the separation of church and state. The school has a waiting list of 1,500 students.[2] Around 80% of students are English language learners. Despite this, the school has one of the highest reading scores on standardized tests in the state.[3]

Contents

[edit] Founding

Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy opened in the fall of 2003 for the 2003-2004 school year. The school was founded by its current principal, Asad Zaman and Hesham Hussein, both local imams and leaders of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota (MAS-MN). The school opened with an enrollment of 215 students in grades K-5. The school was very popular and had 765 applicants in the first year. In 2000, the Inver Grove Heights School District, planned to sell an elementary school to Al-Amal Elementary, a private Muslim elementary school based in Fridley, Minnesota. However Al-Amal's tuition was too much for many Muslim families and so Islamic Relief USA agreed to sponsor a charter school.[4] The school currently shares a building with the Muslim American Society of Minnesota (MAS-MN) and a mosque.[5]

[edit] Students

As of the 2006-2007 school year, 302 students attended TIZA. The majority were Black, at 83%, with Asian, 14%, and White, 2% being the other major ethnic groups. 77% of students qualify for Free and Reduced Price Lunch, a measure of poverty and the majority 81% have limited English proficiency. 4% of students qualify for special education. The school's math proficiency was 23% points higher than the state average and the school's reading proficiency was 3% points higher than the state average at 67%. However the school's participation in the tests was lower than Adequate Yearly Progress requires.[6] Principle Asad Zaman estimates that 80 to 90 percent of students are Muslim.[7]

[edit] Curriculum

The school's curriculum focuses on historical civilizations in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and teaches the Arabic language in addition to English. The school curriculum places an emphasis on Muslim culture and the Arabic language.[8] After the school day ends several optional extracurricular activities are offered. The teaching of Islamic studies after school has generated controversy. The Muslim American Society of Minnesota (MAS-MN), which shares the building with TIZA offers the classes.[9]

[edit] Controversy

In a press release on March 18, 2008 from the Minnesota chapter of the ACLU, accusations of TIZA violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution were acknowledged, and an inquiry was revealed. The school allegedly requires students participate in Islamic prayer sessions and attend an "Islamic studies" course after the end of the scheduled day.[10][11][12] The Minnesota Department of Education (MDoE) investigated the school and found concerns in regards to accommodating communal prayer and providing transportation to an after-school religious program. When a news crew from KSTP-TV visited the school to ask for a comment about the MDoE findings, school director Asad Zaman and another school official grabbed the crew's camera resulting in injuries to the news photographer. Police were called to the scene and an investigation is underway for possible charges on the news crew for tresspassing and possible charges on Academy officials for assault in the confrontation.[13]

[edit] Possible hate crime directed at school

The school has received threatening telephone and e-mail messages after a newspaper journalist questioned whether the school promotes Islam. Authorities are investigating the messages as possible hate crimes.[14]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Muehlhausen, Nicole (April 11, 2008), "Charter school makes changes after Islamic accusation", KSTP-TV
  2. ^ Kersten, Katherine (March 9, 2008), "March 9: Are taxpayers footing bill for Islamic school in Minnesota?", Star Tribune
  3. ^ McCallum, Laura (May 13, 2007), "Twin Cities charter school boosts reading scores for English language learners", Minnesota Public Radio
  4. ^ Oseid, Tammy J. (November 7, 2004), "A PLACE TO BELONG - AT TAREK IBN ZIYAD ACADEMY, STUDENTS CAN STUDY ARABIC ALONG WITH ENGLISH, STAY IN TOUCH WITH THEIR CULTURE AND "JUST BE THEMSELVES.", Saint Paul Pioneer Press
  5. ^ Associated Press (April 10, 2008), "State to review Muslim charter school", Star Tribune
  6. ^ TAREK IBN ZIYAD ACADEMY (010) Minnesota Department of Education
  7. ^ Lemagie, Sarah (May 20, 2008), "State orders charter school to correct 2 areas tied to Islam" Star Tribune
  8. ^ Popper, Nathanial (August 31, 2007), "Chartering a New Course", The Wall Street Journal
  9. ^ Jett, Beth (April 12, 2008), "JETT: TIZA Academy -- some extras that didn't make the stories we aired", KSTP-TV
  10. ^ March 18, 2008 ACLU-MN press release American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota
  11. ^ Lemagie, Sarah (April 12, 2008), "Charter school getting threats for Islamic ties.", Star Tribune
  12. ^ Muehlhausen, Nicole (April 10, 2008), "Metro charter school accused of teaching Islam", KSTP-TV
  13. ^ Muehlhausen, Nicole (May 20, 2008), "News crew confronted at school (with video)", KSTP-TV
  14. ^ Muslim group asks for inquiry on alleged threats against school

[edit] External links