Criticism tests Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy
NewsEducation
Sixth graders Sarah El basher from Woodbury (L) and Zowda Hassan (R) from Minneapolis feed their science project, Hammy the Hamster a sunflower seed in Mr. Saraz Daudi's classroom at Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy in Inver Grove Hts Wednesday morning May 28, 2008. They are comparing growth rates of hamsters grown in entirely artificial light to those that are grown in natural light. (Pioneer Press: John Doman)
Fifth grader Hafsa Dualeh (at right) was busy going up and down the line of swings pushing her classmates during morning recess at Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy in Inver Grove Hts Wednesday morning May 28, 2008. (Pioneer Press: John Doman)
First grader Salmaan Janjua from Cottage Grove reads along with his teacher Ahmed Adam during Arabic language class at Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy in Inver Grove Hts Wednesday morning May 28, 2008. (Pioneer Press: John Doman)
By Bao Ong | bong@pioneerpress.com |
PUBLISHED: June 9, 2008 at 11:01 p.m. | UPDATED: November 13, 2015 at 9:33 p.m.
Students flooding the halls of Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy in Inver Grove Heights each morning meet welcome signs in English and Arabic.
The signs symbolize the public school's purpose: to integrate its mostly immigrant Muslim student population into American culture.
Outside the school, that idea has been lost in an uproar of controversy since Star Tribune columnist Katherine Kersten triggered a state investigation of the school this spring by airing a substitute teacher's allegations that school officials mixed the roles of religion and public education.
Hate mail began arriving at the school. The school's director said he received death threats via e-mail.
On TV stations, radio shows and Web logs — locally and across the nation — critics accused the charter school of crossing the line between church and state. One morning, with the media attention seemingly at a fever pitch, school officials wrestled with a KSTP-TV cameraman.
What's been missing from the discussion is what the school is like inside and how the hundreds of students who attend — and their parents — are faring amid the controversy.
While a Minnesota Department of Education investigation showed the school broke no laws last month, the outpouring of hate has not abated, school leaders said.
After investigating the complaints, the state said last month that the school is not crossing the church-and-state divide.
But state officials did identify two concerns they want corrected before fall: the handling of a Friday prayer in which most students participate and the school's afternoon bus schedule.
Asad Zaman, TiZA's director, views the state's findings as an exoneration of the school.
"We help take immigrant children and Americanize them," Zaman said. "We help integrate them by making them good students."
THE GRAY AREA
TiZA looks like any public school.
Students recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day. The May lunch menu included Italian pasta and meatballs, a multi-cheese pita melt, beef gyro on pita bread and chicken strips.
On a recent morning, eighth-graders in Melissa Norgord's class formed small groups to discuss books.
Teachers work diligently with students — many from immigrant families — to improve their reading skills, Zaman said. As proof of the school's success, he pointed out that the school made adequate yearly progress on state-mandated exams the past three school years.
But for critics, the question remains: Is TiZA running a religious school with taxpayer dollars?
In the same hallway as Norgord's classroom is an empty room where students pray for about five minutes Monday through Thursday. The room resembles an empty box with only green carpet and a blank chalkboard.
On Friday — the Muslim holy day — students gather in the school gym for a 30-minute prayer time.
All prayer is voluntary, and although teachers can pray with students, no school officials lead the prayers. Zaman does not participate.
The state education department had no issue with the prayer arrangement except for Fridays because it may prevent students from fulfilling the state's minimum hourly attendance requirement and takes place in a public school building.
Inver Grove Heights resident Kevin Sorensen shares similar concerns with the school's critics.
"They may not be teaching religion," he said. "But it sure seems like it to me. I can't really tell the difference."
Zaman, 36, points out that public schools must accommodate students who wish to pray.
At other schools, it is not uncommon for school administrators to set up areas — like band practice rooms or unused classrooms — in which Muslim students can worship.
The school's connection with the Muslim American Society of Minnesota next door and its sponsor, Islamic Relief-USA, has been raised by Kersten and other critics of the school. They accuse those organizations of supporting terrorists.
But Zaman doesn't shy away from the Muslim community's support and believes it is a bonus — the Muslim Society helped collect $20,000 for the school, he said.
No school would turn away free advertising and volunteer assistance that is legal, he said, adding that he would welcome any organization's help.
As for Islamic Relief-USA, the California-based nonprofit is not connected to Hamas, according to Mostafa Mahboob, the organization's spokesperson. He said there have been allegations against the group but no proof of terrorist ties.
"Those are baseless claims," Mahboob said.
An Israeli military court found insufficient evidence against an Islamic Relief-UK worker who was held in jail for his alleged connection to Hamas, the radical Islamic group that controls the Gaza Strip, Mahboob said.
The school, which never received hate mail before the controversy boiled over, has spent nearly $5,000 to install a security system, and all visitors must now be buzzed in. The school spent another $5,000 on legal fees.
That money could have been used to buy library books, add new computers, hire a half-time classroom aid and organize field trips, Zaman said.
'EVERYTHING IS FINE'
On the morning after the scuffle between Zaman and a TV cameraman seeking comments about the state report, Zaman received three e-mails with death threats against him by 9 a.m.
"I would prefer to burn your facilities to the ground and toast marshmallows over your fleeing, roasting corpses," read one of the messages.
Zaman stood in front of the school that day as students arrived. Many had heard about the confrontation with the cameraman or saw the report on television the night before.
"The kids were concerned," Zaman said. "I wanted them to see that everything is fine."
One student after another hugged Zaman, shook his hand and asked if he was OK.
Still, some parents still are concerned about enrolling their children at TiZA, Zaman said, and some students may not return in the fall.
Bilal Alsadi moved his family to Minnesota from the United Arab Emirates last year. His children attend TiZA.
He feels his daughter, fifth-grader Reem Alsadi, is more challenged — especially in math where she is working above grade level, he said.
"It pisses me off to hear lies about the school," said Bilal Alsadi, who owns three gas stations in the Twin Cities. "People will believe what they read."
Reem Alsadi, 11, is in her first year at TiZA.
"They (the media) said we were forced to pray, which we were not," Reem Alsadi said.
Abdu Tuku, 33, moved his family from St. Paul to Inver Grove Heights for TiZA.
He said his daughter, Yasmin Tuku, started kindergarten barely knowing her ABCs and "she can write full sentences now with no problem."
When Abdu Tuku walks into the school, the hallways are clean and orderly, he said.
"Even in the classroom, they sit down and are serious about learning," Abdu Tuku said.
He is adamant that TiZA doesn't teach religion, although his daughter does attend a Muslim studies class after school.
Some students attend the optional class held at the school, which costs $50 a month and is run by the Muslim Society.
TiZA provides busing after this class and other after-school activities, but the Minnesota Department of Education has asked the district to provide busing when school is dismissed at 3:30 p.m.
When Joe Nathan, a well-known supporter of the charter school movement and public school choice, visited TiZA, he flipped through books in the library, observed classrooms and walked down hallways to check for signs that the school promoted Islam.
"I have visited and respect sectarian schools," said Nathan, director of the Center for School Change at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute. "This school displays none of what religious schools display."
GREAT CHALLENGES, HIGH STANDARDS
Zaman is proud of his school.
Despite the challenges of working with a large immigrant population, the school has increased the number of students passing state-required reading and math exams.
Nearly 90 percent of the students qualify for free and reduced lunch, and about 70 percent of students are English language learners, according to state data for the 2006-07 school year.
On a white board in his office, Zaman wrote: "We are glad to be held to a higher standard."
He believes the teachers are a big reason the school has done well with students.
Wendy Swanson-Choi, the school's lead teacher, said teachers meet at least once every week to learn better instructional methods to use in the classroom.
Swanson-Choi, who said she is Christian, said she's felt welcome at the school since she started more than three years ago.
She said she's felt no pressure to adhere to any religious practices and that the school's curriculum has no Islamic content, which the state report confirmed.
"At the end of the day, the parents know the quality of our school," Zaman said. "It's not the religious part."
Liala Helal contributed to this report. Bao Ong can be reached at 651-228-5435.
Bao Ong
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