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Education Department findings on Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy contradict published reports
The Minnesota Department of Education released findings in the review of Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA), the majority Muslim elementary school that became a target of conservative Star Tribune columnist Katherine Kersten. She claimed that TIZA was “an Islamic school, funded by Minnesota taxpayers” and that its activities violated separation of church and state concerns.
MDE conducted several visits to the school, one of which was unannounced, and found that many of the media and blog claims were inaccurate. In a press release Monday, the department said, “MDE has determined that, with regard to the areas reviewed, most of TIZA’s operations are in compliance with state and federal law.”
The report found two changes that TIZA would need to make in order to be in full compliance with separation of church and state concerns. It needs to offer bus service at the end of the school day as opposed to at the end of after-school activities (students can participate in sectarian or nonsectarian after-school programming) and it needs to hold Friday afternoon voluntary prayer sessions at a location off school grounds.
School officials say they will address the changes. “TiZA takes these concerns very seriously and, in the coming weeks, will bring together faculty, parents and outside experts to work with the Minnesota Department of Education to address the concerns,” the school said in a statement Monday. “TiZA is committed to resolving these concerns and continuing to provide a quality education for every child at our school.”
David Brauer reviewed the claims made by Kersten, and with a few exceptions, the MDE report contradicted her claims and those of her sources. For instance, Kersten’s complained of ritual foot-washing, an activity that was approved by MDE in 2004. Statements by Kersten’s source, a Republican and education activist who also served as a substitute teacher and asserted that students were forced to pray, are contradicted by the MDE report.
Kersten’s overblown criticism of the school resulted in hate-tinged blog posts and message board comments, and incited harassing phone calls and e-mails at the school, which in turn required an increased police patrol in the area, caused one member of the legislature to suggest Kersten’s resignation, and prompted the creation of a petition for her removal that was signed by a Pulitzer Prize winner.
In reporting on the findings by MDE, a KSTP camera crew visited the school Monday morning after repeated requests for comment went unreturned. The crew were told by police that the school’s officials were “unhappy” that the camera crew was there, and officials forcibly took the camera from the camera crew and waited for police to arrive. Police are considering charges of assault against school officials and trespassing against the camera crew as they investigate the incident.
Comments
As a school district
As a school district administrator with frequent dealings with MDE staff I have to wonder if anyone has faith in positions MDE takes these days. I, and many of my colleagues, certainly do not. I am not saying that Kersten is correct, she obviously has her own right of center agenda, however I believe that Legislative Auditor Jim Nobles should have been the one to do the TiZA review, not DOE. I know that at least one former staff person in the DOE charter school section was very uncomfortable with the religious aspects of the TiZA and felt that TiZA’s charter should never have been granted.
Another set of schools that deserve Noble’s scrutiny are the 17 charter schools sponsored by the Friends of Ascension. There has been concern for many years about some charter schools in reality being private religious schools masquerading as public schools. This concern is certainly valid with those schools employing the “classical curriculum” or affiliated with the Society for Classical Learning, a national organization with a mission “to facilitate and encourage thinking and discussion among professionals associated with Christ-centered education in the liberal arts tradition”. No place a public charter school should be treading.
One of the Friends of Ascension’s schools is the Ascension Academy on the grounds of the Ascension Catholic Church in Minneapolis. No connection with the church? Maybe, maybe not.
The Nova Classical Academy, another Friends of Ascension charter school, is a member of the Society for Classical Learning. A few years ago the school’s director reportedly was replaced because he was apparently uncomfortable with the religious aspects of the “classical curriculum” use in a public charter school.
This mixing of religious sponsors with public schools is very troubling. Concerns raised about TiZA are not the result Islamophobia, but are legitimate questions that must be raised about any public charter school that mixes, or appears to mix, religion with public education.
let face it
American society is build on hatered, racism, and discrimination and of course most americans are ignorant and unaware of other cultures and religions, I being one of them. Sure when there is a concentration of one religious group in a Public School, outsiders are more than happy to attack and lie about the school and its student body, especially if they are Muslim. TIZA is a secular institution, however, you will not see adolocents making out in the hallways because they enforce a moral code of conduct. Its unfortunate that most public schools dont operate this way. They rather open the gates of moral degredation and the students readily enter – what are the after school dances about? Most teen get pregenant after school than durring and after school dances are merely hump fests that open the way to sexual permiscuity. I am proud to say that as a Christian, I send my son to TIZA because Muslim and Christian values are based on a Moral code that is Universal!!!
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