Harmony Public Schools

Harmony Public Schools
Location
Texas
United States
Information
Type Public Charter School
Faculty 2,276
Number of students 24,427
Color(s) Red, White, and Blue
Website www.harmonytx.org
Harmony Public Schools headquarters in Houston

Harmony Public Schools is a charter school system in Texas serving kindergarten through 12th grade. The headquarters are located in Greater Sharpstown, Houston, Texas,[1]

History

The first school opened in Houston in 2000. In 1996, Yetkin Yildirim, a Turkish national, began attending the University of Texas at Austin. Yildirim, who worked as a volunteer in U.S. high schools, said that he thought of the Harmony concept while he and his friends, including Soner Tarim, observed educational practices in mathematics and science. Yildirim said that he decided to advocate for starting the Harmony system because he believed that mathematics and science courses at U.S. high schools are less rigorous than in Turkish schools. Yildirim, Tarim, and their friends took one year to write a proposal for starting the system. Yildirim, as of 2011, is a professor in asphalt technology at UT Austin. Tarim, as of 2012, is the CEO of the school system.[2]

Academic performance

The Harmony schools focus mostly on science, computer technology, engineering, and mathematics.[3] In 2011 the Texas Education Agency (TEA) rated 21 of the 33 Harmony schools as "Exemplary" or "Recognized," while the remainder were "Acceptable."[4]

Texas newspapers, including The Dallas Morning News, the Austin American-Statesman, and the West University Examiner, commented favorably on the schools.[5][6][7] HSA Houston was awarded by U.S. News & World Report a 'Bronze' medal in 2009 and a 'Silver' Medal in 2010.[8][9] A Newsweek report in 2011 named two of the Harmony Schools "Miracle Schools".[10]

Participation in competitions

Harmony School students participate in a wide variety of different competitions because of the school's emphasis on extracurricular activity. Competitions in which many Harmony Schools are especially active include MathCounts, Science Olympiad, FLL (First Lego League), DISTCO (Digital Storytelling Contests) and Science Fair. HSA Euless, only one year after opening, received an award as the 2010 Best School by the Fort Worth Regional Science and Engineering Fair.[11]

A major Science Fair that students participate in is I-SWEEEP (International Sustainable World (Energy, Engineering & Environment) Project, a competition created by Cosmos Foundation. Many Harmony Schools had field trips taken to I-SWEEEP at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas.

Harmony Schools have participated in DISTCO in their Computer class as well in their English classes. The DICTCO project is a video made by the students with pictures and their voice recordings presenting about their research or stories. The topics of choice include: Art, Cultures/Religions, Computers/Technology, English Language Arts, ESL/Foreign Languages, Health/Medical, Mathematics, Music, Personal Stories/Reflections, Places/Travel, Physical Education/Sports, Pop Culture, Science/Engineering, and Social Studies.

Management and operations

Financial operations

In 2011 the system received over US$ 100 million in taxpayer funds.[12] Five Harmony schools in Austin spent $7,923 per student, about $800 below the statewide average and $1,600 below the average of the Austin Independent School District. Kate Alexander of the Austin American Statesman stated that the system had good academic performance "on a shoestring."[13]

Harmony cut costs partly by paying teachers less than the state average; in 2010 the state average yearly teacher salary was $48,600, while Harmony's average yearly salary was approximately $37,600. Soner Tarim, CEO of Harmony Public Schools, stated that Harmony's teachers were willing to work for less because of the innovative, safe and supportive environment that the schools produce.[13] However, in 2012, many teachers had received higher payment.[13]

In 2012 over 70% of Harmony's teachers were certified; in Texas, the charter schools' teachers do not have to be certified to teach. Now, more certified teachers are being hired in the system.

The Harmony school system spends 6% of their budget on disability and English as a Second Language (ESL). The system also spends little on athletics, guidance counseling, social work, and transportation.[13]

The Harmony Public Schools provides management services for other charter school networks.[14] According to Tarim, Cosmos provides consulting services to the San Antonio, Texas charter network School of Science and Technology, operated by the Riverwalk Education Foundation, which has a separate school board from Harmony Public Schools. Kastner said "others referenced a closer tie between the two organizations, referring to their campuses as 'sister' schools" and that the two networks "contract with several of the same businesses, and students and staff seem to frequently move from one organization to another."[15]

Business contracting

Harmony faced accusations that it unfairly gives contracting business to Turkish companies. The Cosmos Foundation awards several contracts to businesses not owned by Turkish people, and Tarim argued that the idea that it was giving an unfair amount of business to a small clique of Turkish companies was a "misconception."[14] Stephanie Saul of The New York Times said in June 2011 that "records show that virtually all recent construction and renovation work has been done by Turkish-owned contractors."[12]

In a several year span leading to January 2012 Harmony gave eight of its ten largest contracts to two companies with significant ties with Cosmos, from 2009 to 2012 the companies had been awarded over $66 million in contracts, not including cost overruns or smaller jobs which may have been awarded. Solidarity Contracting, one company, has an owner who is a former Harmony school business manager. The other, TDM Contracting, was established by a former Solidarity employee several years prior to 2012.[14] From January 2009 to June 6, 2011, TDM and another newly started company together were awarded over $50 million in construction contracts. TDM had been in existence when it won its first contracting job, a $8.2 million contract to build Harmony School of Innovation in San Antonio.[12]

Tarim said that for a contract, the lowest responsible bids are rewarded with contracts.[14] Saul said that "[s]everal established local companies said they had lost out even after bidding several hundred thousand dollars lower."[12]

Filing of H1-B visas

In 2012, according to Soner Tarim, the superintendent of Harmony Public Schools, 290 employees, (16% of its workforce), work on H1-B visas. Most of the employees who are on H1-B visas originate from Turkey. Overall, not very many Texas school districts hire significant numbers of teachers who are on H1-B visas. H1-B visas are intended to attract foreign employees who have skills that are not common among domestic workers.[4] Lindsay Kastner said that "[s]ome students say they have trouble understanding foreign-born teachers" but that "some parents say they are unfazed by concerns over the visas."[4]

Tarim said that H1-B visas are needed since the system has a focus on science and mathematics and therefore requires high recruiting standards for those areas, and that there is a shortage of teachers who are qualified to teach mathematics, science, and English as a second language. According to U.S. Department of Labor data, as of 2012 almost one third of the applications that Cosmos received were for positions not related to mathematics and science, such as art teachers, English teachers, history teachers, accountants, assistant principals, legal counsel, and public relations coordinators. Tarim said that those employees had already been accepted into Harmony when their job positions changed, and that Harmony always promotes from within.[4]

From 2001 to August 2010 the Cosmos Foundation has filed 1,157 H1-B visa applications, and it had imported 731 employees under the H1-B visa, a higher number than all of the other providers of secondary education in the United States combined.[16] By 2012 the U.S. Department of Labor certified 1,197 H1-B visa applications from Cosmos. This is almost twice the number of the H1-B visas certified for Dell USA, and Apple Computer had filed 70% of the Harmony amount.[4]

2012 Texas Education Agency audit

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) performed an audit of the Cosmos Foundation on July 17, 2012. The audit discussed the organization's use of federal funds awarded for Title I grants for schools with large numbers of students in poverty and IDEA-B grants for students with disabilities. The audit did not discuss Harmony's hiring of non-US citizen employees and Harmony's procurement practices.[17]

A preliminary report was released in 2011 to the Cosmos Foundation. Joseph Hoffer, the attorney of Cosmos, responded with a letter that expressed disagreement with most findings within the preliminary report. After the audit was complete, in July 2012 the TEA announced that $186,197 in federal grant funds intended to improve education of low income and disabled children was misspent, with 34% of examined expenses being misspent, or 16.1% of the total expenses associated with the grants being misspent. The TEA deemed this "unallowable."[17] The TEA found that, on one occasion, a campus not eligible for Title I funds received Title I funds. In another, grant funds were used to cover payroll costs, a manner not allowed.[17]

Relations with Turkey and hiring of foreign teachers

Kate Alexander, an Austin American Statesman said, "Harmony's hiring practices and its ties to Turkey have generated controversy."[13] Another reporter from the San Antonio Express-News,Lindsay Kastner, stated that "the schools have become a lightning rod for criticism over murky ties to religious leader Fethullah Gulen, procurement practices that often favor other Turkish-run businesses with lucrative contracts, and the hiring of large numbers of foreign — often Turkish — employees on H1-B visas."[17] Supporters of the Harmony school system argued that the criticisms of the hiring practices are, as paraphrased by Kastner, "little more than thinly-veiled xenophobia."[17] David Bradley, a longtime supporter of Harmony and a member of the Texas State Board of Education, said "The only crime is that they're Turkish, and in Texas, that is not a crime."[4] Much of the opposition to Harmony originates from the Eagle Forum.[15]

In 2011 the controversy had nearly forced a special legislative session after a small group of Republicans vetoed a bill described by Lindsay Kastner of the San Antonio Express-News as "must-pass."[15] The Republicans changed their votes after members of the Texas Legislature agreed to launch a Texas House of Representatives investigation into all charter schools instead.[15][17] The bill that was ultimately passed included a provision that allowed funds earmarked for state public schools to be used to guarantee bonds for charter schools; because this would produce lower interest rates, it would allow Cosmos to save tens of millions of dollars.[15] Michael Soto, a member of the Texas State Board of Education, said that while he welcomed increased scrutiny of public schools, the government issue over Harmony was "a political cheap shot against Harmony for the obvious reason that most of its administration is Turkish."[15]

Chuck Hopson, a Republican member from Jacksonville, Texas who is the chairperson of the House General Investigating Committee, announced in 2012 that the investigation had been finished, and the findings will be delivered to state agencies who are investigating charter schools.[13] In 2012 the Republican Party of Texas included a statement about "foreign culture charter schools" in its party platform, and the statement asked for board of education trustees of charter school systems who are U.S. citizens.[17]

Influence of Gülen movement

Harmony Public Schools is believed to be linked to the largely covert religious movement of the Turkish Islamic "cleric" Fethullah Gülen.[18][19][14] The school network has been described as part of Gülen's "academic empire".[20] Gülen has denied relations between Harmony and himself, and the main administrators of the schools founded by Turkish teachers in the U.S. have claimed that there are no connections between their schools and Gülen.[16] Tarim also claimed that there is no connection between the leader and the schools.[14]

However, Greg Toppo of the USA Today said, "Still, documents available at various foundation websites and in federal forms required of non-profit groups show that virtually all of the schools have opened or operate with the aid of Gülen-inspired "dialogue" groups, local non-profits that promote Turkish culture."[16] Also, in legal filings, Gülen said that he is the "inspiration" behind the growth of the Turkish-affiliated schools.[16] In 2012, Yetkin Yildirim said that he had some influence from Gülen. Some former board members of the Harmony system have had involvement with the Institute for Interfaith Dialogue, a Houston-based organization that has "inspiration" from Gülen.[14]

William Martin of Rice University said, as paraphrased by Toppo, that "educators' assertions of "no organic connection" to Gülen are "accurate" but that "their efforts to minimize ties to Gülen, likely from fear of being branded Islamists, bring unnecessary and probably counterproductive suspicion."[16]

Schools

Harmony's initial schools opened in areas formerly occupied by stores and leased areas owned by churches; these spaces are typical locations for charter schools. After selling public bonds, Harmony began to build its own campuses. As of 2012 it still occupies some leased spaces.[14]

Austin

K-8

8-12

K-12

K-11

Beaumont

K-12

Brownsville

K-12

Bryan/College Station

K-12

Dallas

K-12

K-10

El Paso

K-12

Fort Worth

K-5

5-12

Garland

K-5

6-12

Grand Prairie

K-8

Euless

K-5

5-12

Houston

K-8

9-12

6-11

K-3

6-12

4-8

K-12

Sugar Land

K-6

7-12

Laredo

K-12

K-5

Lubbock

K-8

Odessa

K-8

San Antonio

6-12

K-9

K-5

Waco

K-12

References

  1. ↑ "Map Major Roads." Greater Sharpstown Management District. Retrieved on August 15, 2009.
  2. ↑ Saul, Stephanie. "Charter Schools Tied to Turkey Grow in Texas." The New York Times. June 6, 2011. 2. Retrieved on February 21, 2012.
  3. ↑ http://www.cosmostx.org/AboutUs.aspx
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kastner, Lindsay. "Harmony schools causing discord." San Antonio Express-News. Wednesday January 4, 2012. 1. Retrieved on August 29, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Turkish scholars excel with charter schools that emphasize science, math". The Dallas Morning News. 2010-03-02. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
  6. ↑ "Group ranks Central Texas' best and worst schools: Westlake High, Harmony Science Academy and Pillow Elementary are ranked No. 1 in Austin area". Austin American-Statesman. 2009-09-20. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
  7. ↑ "DeBakey, Carnegie, HSPVA place high, but charters show gains in rankings". West University Examiner. 2010-04-26. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
  8. ↑ "Best High Schools: Texas". U.S. News & World Report. 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
  9. ↑ "Best High Schools: Harmony Science Academy-Houston". U.S. News & World Report. 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
  10. ↑ "Ten Miracle High Schools." The Daily Beast. June 21, 2011. Retrieved on August 29, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Local School and Educator Win Top Honors in Science Competition". PR Newswire. 2010-05-18. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Saul, Stephanie. "Charter Schools Tied to Turkey Grow in Texas." The New York Times. June 6, 2011. 1. Retrieved on February 21, 2012.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Alexander, Kate. "Can traditional schools learn a lesson from charters' efficiency?" Austin American-Statesman. Saturday August 18, 2012. Retrieved on August 28, 2012.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kastner, Lindsay. "Harmony schools causing discord." San Antonio Express-News. Wednesday January 4, 2012. 2. Retrieved on August 29, 2012.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kastner, Lindsay. "Harmony schools causing discord." San Antonio Express-News. Wednesday January 4, 2012. 3. Retrieved on August 29, 2012.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 Toppo, Greg. "Objectives of charter schools with Turkish ties questioned." USA Today. August 17, 2010. Retrieved on August 29, 2012.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kastner, Lindsay. "Auditors say funds misspent for Harmony campuses." San Antonio Express-News. Tuesday July 31, 2012. Retrieved on August 29, 2012.
  18. ↑ Jacob Resneck (25 January 2014). "Imam Fethullah Gulen Accused Of Attempting 'Coup' Against Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 7 February 2014. In Texas, for example, Harmony Charter Schools are believed to be linked to the network.
  19. ↑ Jacob Resneck (17 January 2014). "Muslim cleric linked to Turkish corruption probe". The Washington Post. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  20. ↑ Iwan Watson; Gul Tuysuz (21 January 2014). "Leader of group accused of plotting against Turkey calls Pennsylvania home". CNN. Retrieved 7 February 2014. In the U.S., this academic empire includes Harmony Public Schools, the largest charter school network in Texas.

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