Travails of Brooklyln's Arabic Academy

Submitted by Barbara (United States), Jun 4, 2007 at 19:16

Hello to All:

It's nice that you want to see some positive action taken to stop the school from opening. I don't have a website or a blog and don't know the first thing about setting one up. I'm sure there are other readers out there who could set this up - we'll see.

Meantime, the principal of the school, an Arab Muslim herself, has stated that this school WILL open. Its just a matter of time - they are scouring Brooklyn for space.

One thing that can be done is to write to the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation and protest the grant they gave to get the school started. All Charter schools have to have 50% of their budget come from private sources. The only source other than the Board of Education that is known to date is the Gates Foundation. Do a search online and send an email to protest the funding, ask them to revoke the grant as it smacks of discrimination and defies separation of Church and State laws and tell them that you are very suprised and angry that an American Foundation would fund anything Arab in these times.

Another thing that people can do is go to the Board of Education and file a Freedom of Information Request (FOIA) for all records/documents etc. related to this school as well as all funding sources and then posit the results here so all of us can know what's been going on behind our backs.

Please, don't expect me to do the running around. I am disabled and can't - the mind works, the body isn't up to it.. I can help best by answering questions and providing ideas - which is why I've been posting on this site. Someone has to step up to the plate and do something.

The more people who get involved, the better.

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