Guest Post by Becky Pelham, PhD
Dear Jenni and Michael,
Thank you for rerunning my October 2 podcast episode (11.27.24). Since our initial discussion, I’ve gained additional insights that I believe are critical for your audience to understand the depth of the challenges in Oklahoma’s education system.
Following the podcast, I was provided with extensive evidence tying Dove Schools in Oklahoma to the Gulen movement, a network with troubling ties to questionable financial practices and allegations of supporting terrorism. While I had previously noticed smaller concerns, such as H-1B visa abuse and inadequate instruction, the broader picture is far more alarming:
- H-1B Visa Exploitation: Dove Schools heavily rely on foreign hires rather than qualified local teachers, mirroring practices seen in other Gulen-affiliated schools. These teachers are often expected to “donate” portions of their salary back to the foundation, with reports indicating up to 40% of their paychecks being funneled back.
- Cosmos Foundation Connections: Financial ties to this Gulenist organization suggest that Oklahoma taxpayer dollars are being redirected to entities with global political motives.
- Curricular and Cultural Alignments: Participation in events like the Turkish Olympiads and field trips to Raindrop Turkish House, both Gulen-affiliated activities, further demonstrate misplaced priorities that detract from meaningful education for students.
Despite raising these concerns with Brian Shellem and the Oklahoma Charter School Board, their focus remains primarily on the St. Isidore Catholic Charter School initiative. While the intersection of church and state warrants scrutiny, this singular focus has allowed significant issues in other areas to persist unchecked.
The approval of private school vouchers last year already opened the door for families to choose religious education on their own terms. If proponents of St. Isidore wish to create an online school teaching Catholic doctrine, the solution is straightforward: establish it as a private school. There are many schools operating successfully under that model, free to teach as they wish without taxpayer entanglement.
Yet here we are, with the Charter School Board using taxpayer dollars to fight a legal battle that has already failed in Oklahoma’s courts. The push for a federal Supreme Court ruling appears motivated by the current Court’s sympathy toward religious institutions, but this comes at a cost. Resources and energy are being wasted, while the failures of virtual charter schools remain unaddressed.
Take DOVE Schools, for example—a network openly funneling taxpayer dollars meant for education into a global organization tied to terrorism and foreign political agendas. Their ties to the Gulen movement—including misuse of H-1B visas, financial connections to the Cosmos Foundation, and participation in Gulenist cultural events—are well-documented and deeply troubling. The state school boards know, Ryan Walters knows, Kevin Stitt knows, and a majority of the Senate and House know. These schools operate under the guise of education while delivering substandard instruction and contributing to a larger global agenda.
And what is Ryan Walters doing? Instead of addressing these glaring issues, he panders to political bases with symbolic gestures like distributing Bibles in schools, ignoring the fact that 3 out of 4 Oklahoma students cannot read proficiently. He continues to turn a blind eye to DOVE Schools’ questionable practices, perhaps because their success helps pave the way for his self-serving agenda with St. Isidore. This mismanagement of priorities erodes Oklahoma’s already fragile education system and betrays the trust of both taxpayers and students.
Which is sad, because he continually trumpets that Trump was given a mandate, while ignoring the fact that Ryan Walters was given a mandate by the people of Oklahoma to fix our schools. Instead of addressing the glaring issues plaguing our education system—such as literacy rates, teacher shortages, and classroom resources—he’s chosen to focus on superficial initiatives like distributing Bibles to classrooms and touting his stance on cultural and political flashpoints. Meanwhile, he’s manipulating test scores by adjusting benchmarks and lowering standards, ensuring they’ll look artificially improved next year. This will allow him to present a façade of progress as he likely pivots toward higher political ambitions. These tactics do nothing to help the students who are falling behind, the teachers who are leaving the profession in droves, or the schools struggling to provide quality education. It’s deeply disappointing to see that, in terms of improving academic success, he has actually done worse than Joy Hofmeister.
Thank you again for the opportunity to share these updates. The work you’re doing at ROPE is invaluable in exposing these systemic failures and pushing for meaningful change.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Pellam, Ed.D.
Editor’s note: While on the podcast (links in the opening sentence above), Becky showed how Dove Charter Academy was manipulating test scores by refusing to give state tests to certain individuals in order to improve their scores.
Additionally, while Dr. Pellam provided no research to back up her claims about Dove Charter Academy and the Gulen movement, all one has to do is internet search the terms “Gulen charter schools” to find NUMEROUS pieces of information. Below are a few places to start.
Gulen Schools: One of America’s Largest and Most Controversial CMOs
Turkish Gülen Schools in America: Interactive Map and More
U.S. charter schools tied to powerful Turkish imam
What is the Gulen Movement and why is it dangerous for America?
120 American Charter Schools and One Secretive Turkish Cleric
