Turkish scholars excel with charter schools that emphasize science, math
12:00 AM CST on Tuesday, March 2, 2010
By KATHERINE LEAL UNMUTH / The Dallas Morning News
kunmuth@dallasnews.com
A decade ago, a group of Texas university professors and graduate students
from Turkey who thought American students were lagging behind in math and
science decided to start their own charter school.
The professors had noticed how the college students they taught lacked
understanding of the fundamental concepts in the subjects. They also knew
there was a shortage of qualified teachers in those disciplines.
"We wanted to create a program to fill that gap," said Soner Tarim, now
the superintendent of the Harmony School System. "Why are we falling
behind other nations?"
Today there is a Harmony Science Academy in most large Texas cities. The
schools enrolled about 7,520 students at 19 campuses in grades K-12 last
year. This year the system expanded grades and opened six new schools,
boosting enrollment to 12,000.
Individual schools have relatively low enrollments; the largest school had
about 700 students last year. But the system’s total enrollment surpasses
that of many Texas school districts.
Tarim was studying for his doctorate in aquatic ecology at Texas A&M
University when he became one of the school’s original founders. Other
founders included math and science educators from the University of Texas,
Rice University and the University of Houston.
Many of those scholars came from outside the country to attend graduate
school in the U.S. The charter school system has also hired many foreign
teachers with specialties in those fields to make up for the teacher
shortage.
The school’s goals are lofty. One brochure says that its mission is to
lead students to be "responsible citizens and even Nobel laureates."
Last year, 17 campuses were rated exemplary or recognized, or roughly 90
percent of the schools. The system is run by the Houston-based nonprofit
Cosmos Foundation. Cosmos opened its first school in Houston in 2000,
followed by one in Dallas four years later.
School plans
There are also campuses in Grand Prairie and Fort Worth. Leaders are also
planning to open a K-12 school called the Harmony School of Nature in
southwest Dallas near Mountain Creek Park and Interstate 20 that will
include hands-on outdoor classes.
"It starts with the school culture," said Fatih Ay, superintendent of
Dallas-area schools. "It’s a high-expectation culture."
Many of the students come from low-income families, and the schools have a
high level of ethnic and racial diversity.
On a recent morning at the Grand Prairie Harmony Science Academy, a group
of sixth-graders attempted to get a robot over a wall in preparation for a
First Lego League competition.
"It’s pretty cool because you can create different things," said Luis
Brito, 11. "This might come in handy in life if you want to become an
engineer."
"You get to use your imagination," said Jakob Nelms, 12. "Let it run
wild."
The campus was rated exemplary in 2009. About 53 percent of children
enrolled were from economically disadvantaged families, and 76 percent
were Hispanic or black.
Foreign teachers
Charter schools are public schools approved by the state but are subject
to fewer state laws than school districts. They are intended to offer
school choice and promote innovative instructional approaches.
Many charter schools in Texas have struggled academically under the state
accountability system, so the Harmony schools stand out for their ratings.
The Harmony schools receive the bulk of funding from the state, based on
average daily attendance like other public schools. Harmony also raises
money through bond sales. The system also received a Texas High School
Project grant, funded by organizations including the Gates Foundation and
Dell Foundation.
Because of the shortage of qualified math and science teachers in Texas,
Harmony has hired a large number of teachers from foreign countries on
H-1B work visas, including many from Turkey. Most of the Harmony teachers
are beginning teachers with under five years of experience.
About 20 percent of the system’s teachers are international. Tarim said
that the school always tries to find qualified American teachers first.
"I think just like any other company we have to look for outside
resources," Tarim said.
The TEA has received a handful of complaints related to the Cosmos schools
over the years, including concerns that all administrators are male and
Turkish, that Turkish teachers were displacing American teachers and that
the immigrant teachers were difficult to understand.
Tarim said those complaints were groundless and the system has female
administrators. He said he tries to appoint administrators with math and
science backgrounds.
Charter schools set up by Turkish scholars have also opened in other parts
of the country, including Arizona, New Jersey and Utah. Tarim said Harmony
was not affiliated with schools in those states but administrators at the
Texas Harmony schools are helping new schools in Oklahoma, Louisiana and
Missouri replicate their model.
Academic push
The schools push students to enter academic competitions in robotics and
math. Science fair participation is mandatory. Fourth- and fifth-grade
students learn from instructors trained in math or science in addition to
their classroom teacher. A pre-engineering curriculum is offered at the
high school level. Electives include genetics, logic and environmental
science.
The Cosmos Foundation also set up an international science fair
competition.
In addition, Harmony received a grant from the federal government to teach
Turkish, because it is considered a high-need language.
The schools also promote trips to Turkey for students and parents.
Students are also encouraged to participate in Turkish Olympiad
competitions.
Melissa Bohannon teaches kindergarten at the Harmony Academy in Fort Worth
and her three children attend the school. They participate in Science
Olympiad competition and take Turkish folk dancing classes.
"It’s small, it’s personable and it’s like a family," she said. "My kids
have benefited from the cultural diversity. People are from everywhere
here."
The school also has developed a number of policies and programs that
differ from other public schools. All students’ families receive home
visits and there are weekend tutorials.
The school developed an academic tracking system and Web site for parents
to check their children’s grades in class, performance on benchmark tests
and discipline problems. Discipline is based on the number of points
students receive for each behavior problem.
Most of the students transfer from surrounding public school districts.
Aleasia Holmes moved her daughter, who is in the ninth grade, from
Duncanville schools after she started having behavior problems.
"My daughter was in trouble every day," she said. "It’s like a 360-degree
change."
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