Ignore the Gulen Bugaboo ; A Vote of Confidence
We moved to State College last September and enrolled our daughter in Young Scholars of Central PA charter school. We made our decision based on the reputation of the school and the curriculum it offered: Singapore math; daily classes in Spanish and Chinese and weekly class instruction in Turkish; Turkish dance and cultural classes after school; and a host of other extracurricular activities.
Most of all, we were impressed with the professionalism of the teachers and administrators. We paid particular attention to the quality of the teachers, because everyone knows that teachers make the school.
At the time we registered our daughter, we heard about the alleged cabal surrounding Fethullah Gulen (CDT, March 22). The school was open about Gulen, and we read about his educational philosophy. We dismissed concern about Gulen as a distraction perpetuated by people opposed to or dissatisfied with the school.
As far as we can tell, our daughter has not been taught or influenced by Islamic precepts or any other religious doctrine. She is learning fact-based educational material in a positive school setting. We would hate to think that the Gulen issue has been revived out of fear or suspicion over the Turkish and Islamic character of some of the teachers and administrators at Young Scholars.
We remain strongly committed to and supportive of Young Scholars and urge parents and readers to ignore the Gulen bugaboo.
Dennis McIntosh and Caroline Wagner State College