WHY PARENTS SUPPORT HORIZON SCIENCE ACADEMIES

While summer is here now, school will be starting soon enough and we wanted to take a moment to describe to any parents who may be considering a new school for their children the reasons you should send them to any of the Horizon Science Academies. Before going to one of these so-called Gulen charter schools, several of our students were struggling with their grades. As a model, Horizon has smaller classroom sizes providing more individual attention to each student. The teachers stay after school on a daily basis to tutor students who need help. Secondly, math and science education are extremely important and as a country we are falling behind others in the world. With a focus on these subjects, while still teaching all other subjects, our children have been given a heads up in the run for college. Beyond this, the Horizon Science Academies improve steadily year after year. But hey, you don't need to take our word for it. Check out Horizon's management company Concept School's website by clicking here where you can read all about Horizon. As a parent, quality of education is very important and we will not lower our standards, neither does Horizon and neither should you!

INTERNET CENSORSHIP IN 'GULEN' CHARTER SCHOOLS

Having children that attend Horizon Science Academies, we are extremely pleased that the schools have an internet censorship policy. However, the faceless, nameless, anonymous bloggers who attack Horizon and other so-called Gulen charter schools continue to spew their own twisted, negative view on the situation. I wonder if they realize they are actually proving why internet censorship in schools are actually needed?

While there are many reasons to choose from (inappropriate sites, foul language, chat rooms, violence, etc...) we decided to focus on two reason that censorship is need in Horizon Science Academies, and all other schools for that matter. The first being that you can post anything on the internet, no matter how malicious or incorrect. So, we would like to thank the anonymous bloggers for making this point so very clear to the rest of the world. Malicious? check! Incorrect? check!

Secondly, the internet has been used to misinform people, and more importantly children who do not know better on serious issues for as long as we can remember. Seriously, have these bloggers even watched the news in the past ten years? Harmful websites should always be blocked from students so they don't see inappropriate images and videos or come in contact with people that may hurt them.

It seems like our anonymous bloggers are really reaching here. Perhaps they are running out of things to talk about? Most likely because they were all lies to begin with.

CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT @ "GULEN" CHARTER SCHOOLS

Despite the fact that a few are trying to convince the world differently, Horizon Science Academies have a steady improvement rate every year. This was not only verified by CREDO in a recent study, but it is also proven on a daily basis by the improvement we see in our own children. Here is a direct quote from the article that supports our so-called Gulen charter schools: "Perhaps one of the most important findings shows that charter schools are doing an excellent job serving some of the highest need students. In both reading and math, low-income Hispanic and African American students and English Language Learners (ELL) performed significantly better in charter schools than they did in local district schools." Click here to read the latest news! 

"TEACHING IS NOT ONLY A JOB FOR THEM" 'GULEN' CHARTER SCHOOL STUDENT

After coming across a blog post written by a student who graduated from one of our "Gulen" schools a few years back, we decided that everyone should see it. These schools make an impact on the lives of students each and every day. Hope you all enjoy it as much as we did! 

"One of the main criteria for the international teachers at the school is not only to be a good teacher but also to be an exemplary individual, and of course to be caring and brave enough to leave his/her home country to serve people abroad. Having international teachers from abroad gives the students and faculty at these schools a great opportunity to learn more about and also respect people from different backgrounds and cultures. As Thomas Friedman wrote in his best seller, The World is Flat, the world is a level playing field now and every individual is equally competitor of each other wherever they are; therefore need to be well educated in order to be more aware and adaptable to global needs and trends.

Due to the smaller size of the schools, the teachers are able to provide personalized education meeting the specific needs of each student. The international teachers also have very high expectations both from their students and also themselves. Teaching is not only a job for them, but also a personal duty and responsibility. They expect their students to put their best effort in every course and task so that they can achieve their maximum potential. These goals require tutoring and closer monitoring of each student, and have their teachers help them after hours and during extracurricular activities, all of which bring better student engagement." 

The author concludes their thoughts by stating that the international teachers in their school were the reason for their success. 

Race, ethnicity, religion and personal beliefs have absolutely no impact on the quality of education students receive at the so-called Gulen charter schools. We need to continue our support of these schools parents, we owe it to them! 

[출처] International Teachers at the Public Schools and 60 Minutes Coverage of Fethullah Gulen and Hizmet Movement .|작성자 장경준

[출처] International Teachers at the Public Schools and 60 Minutes Coverage of Fethullah Gulen and Hizmet Movement .|작성자 장경준

ANOTHER SUCCESS STORY FOR HORIZON SCIENCE ACADEMIES

Not that it ever comes to a shock to any of us anymore, Horizon Science Academy Columbus High School was recognized at the Ohio Statehouse for receiving the 2012 National Blue Ribbon Award earlier this month. These types of happenings are why no one pays attention to faceless bloggers who only try to defame our schools and the Gulen movement by (poorly) attempting to accuse both sides of doing something wrong. Schools that are not successful do not receive the National Blue Ribbon Award. Read more about the day here and the resolution presented by Representative John Patrick Carney.

SCHOOL CHOICE & MODERN EDUCATION @ "GULEN" CHARTER SCHOOLS

The debate of traditional school and school choice is one that has been going on between the educational think tanks of our country since we can remember. Charter schools are among the highest scoring in the nation (you can look here,  here, and here for specific examples of exemplary educational standards and success). The fact is, due to the ignorance of anonymous bloggers who try to defame schools like Horizon Science Academies and others they attempt to label as Gulen charter schools, some get the wrong idea about charter schools and school choice. Charter schools like Horizon are innovative and offer several different approaches to help our students who need it the most. As parents, we make it a priority to search for the best education possible for our children. These schools have been extremely successful and those are the only stats that matter to us.

TOP TEN REASONS TO SUPPORT HORIZON SCIENCE ACADEMIES

The Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools released the top ten reasons we need Horizon Science Academies and other so-called Gulen charter schools. Ranging from accountability to school choice and a proven track record, Horizon has always been the choice for us parents. We will always support a system that works! You can see the full list of ten reasons by clicking the link below. http://www.oapcs.org/files/10reasonstosupportcharters.pdf

HORIZON SCIENCE ACADEMIES: SCHOOLS WE CAN BELIEVE IN

"We need to follow the lead of other countries and recruit teachers from the top of universities' graduating classes. We might start by converting all schools of education to programs designed to turn content experts into teachers, letting potential teachers study subject matter they will be teaching rather than the mind numbing theory of how to teach."

 A pretty big blow to those who falsely allege our 'Gulen' charter schools are anything but above par from Craig R. Barrett, former CEO of Intel. Experts teaching content is exactly what's going on in Horizon Science Academies. That is why we stand up for what's right. Everyone realizes Horizon provides good teachers with the right tools to produce a quality of education unsurpassed by any other we've seen. Without this we will continue to lag behind other countries. Even CEO's and writers for CNN can see we need our so-called Gulen charter schools. What a shame others choose to attempt to take away the very thing we clearly need. 

Click here to read Barrett's CNN article 

WE THE PARENTS: INDOCTRINATION IN "GULEN" CHARTER SCHOOLS

Although there are groups of anonymous people (sometimes we think it's just actually one person because their language skills are ridiculously poor and consistently so) want people to believe our so-called Gulen charter schools are being indoctrinated in any form, we are here to say that it is not true!

While it is easy to attempt to lead people astray with fear, the truth will always come out. We are sophisticated, intelligent, and well-informed parents. To suggest that something is going on that we are not aware of is insulting.

We place great pride in our children and their success. Here's a suggestion to you 'anonymous' hate spreading individuals: spend your time focusing on something else, because you are not swaying our opinion on Horizon Science Academies.

HORIZON SENIORS RECEIVE OVER $9M IN COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS

Just another blow to those who say that students at our so-called Gulen charter schools are not receiving an unprecedented education. In fact, 400 students from 7 high schools within the Concept School network have received over $18M in scholarships. As parents, not only do we worry about the education our children receive growing up, but we also worry about we are going to afford to send them to college. We are ever grateful to Concept and the educators who work so hard at Horizon Science Academies for their efforts on taking this load off the backs of parents. Anyone who knows anything about scholarships know that academic based scholarships are not easy to obtain anymore. Thankfully we have schools like our so-called Gulen charter schools who take the time to make it possible for our students to achieve such a great honor!