At the parent meeting last Wednesday at the Isaac E. Young School, Larraine Karl, a New Rochelle resident went to the podium to ask Mr. Bongo about his qualifications to be the Principal of the school. Schools Superintendent Richard Organisciak interrupted the speaker, refusing to let Bongo answer the question, and responded saying that Bongo met the same qualifications of any other principal in New York State and in the district.
Not satisfied with that answer, Bongo, who has largely been kept under wraps by Organisciak since the Jose Martinez scandal was first reported here on Talk of the Sound, gave an answer anyway. He would have better off taking Organisciak’s lead and clamming up.
Bongo stated that he received an undergraduate degree from Iona College, a Master’s Degree from the College of New Rochelle and was working on his doctorate at Columbia University. District employees working for Bongo at Isaac E. Young Middle School, all of whom had been by Bongo to show up at the parent meeting to support him, gave a rousing cheer for their man Bongo.
Bongo failed to mention that it took him eight years to obtain his undergraduate degree after bouncing in and out of college and that he first enrolled in the doctoral program at Columbia University’s Teachers College fifteen years ago and was no longer a candidate in “good standing” at the school. Bongo began at “TC” in 1996 and is not currently enrolled in any classes, as is required each semester. Bongo’s answer was misleading and duplicitous.
When Bongo began his 15 year journey toward his “doctorate” Bill Clinton was still in his first term, Motorola had just introduced the StarTac cell phone, the Macarena was the Number 1 song and Derek Jeter was in his rookie year.
More than 5 years towards any degree is pushing it. A “research” doctorate such as a Doctorate of Education should normally take 4-5 years. 15 years is beyond absurd.
How long does it take to get a doctoral degree?
It totally depends on the actual degree and school but you can assume between three and five years as a general guideline. Medical degrees may take longer due to the internship and residency requirements. Another factor that may effect the time in school is whether or not you already have a master’s degree. I would suggest you check out the websites for the schools you’re thinking about attending or even calling their admissions office directly.
In the United States, “first professional (doctoral) degrees” (eg MD/ DO; DDS/ DDM; DPM; DPharm; JD; DVM; OD etc) are different from academic research doctorates (the PhD or equivalent – EdD; DA etc)…Academic research doctorates are usually earned after at least 4-5 years in Graduate School: qualifying courses & exams have to be taken & passed en route, & final assessment is based on successful submission of a dissertation or “thesis”; a substantial piece of research, fit for publication, which makes an original contribution to knowledge/ understanding or interpretation of the subject researched.
When Bongo was first hired he touted to Linda Kelly how he was working towards his doctorate at Columbia. He has been touting it ever since. It is time for this Bongo Doctorate charade to end. The guy has a Master’s Degree from the College of New Rochelle and some sort of coursework at Columbia or as most people say “he has a master’s degree” which is the minimum qualification for his position.
Credential?
Which part of qualified doesn’t this person have.? He has his masters in administration and is licensed according to what is being said here.
Bongo doctorate
Are you telling me that Mr. Bongo actually spoke to you and told you where he is in the doctorate process? Or are you just embellishing on his statements at the meeting you attended and justify it to the readers by stating you are quoting your “sources”?
Please. You are not a professional reporter. You’re in the business of character assassination. One just has to look at your rants. Professional reporters report the news, not distort it. You have the ability, due to your blog, to take some rumor or innuendo and twist it in such a way as to make it believable. As an example, you make it seem that everyone associated with the BOE, especially IEYMS, are involved in a massive cover up and are just downright dishonest. Man, look around. Not one institution is problem or scandal free. The police, clergy, coaches, colleges, you name it and you will find problems. I just find it fascinating that with all the staff and faculty that work in the BOE and specifically at IEYMS, that if Mr. Bongo, who by the way I do not carry water for, was as corrupt and inept as you make him out to be, someone would step forward. One of those many employees, who are parents themselves and certainly would not tolerate cover ups, would step up. Do you really think that they would work for someone like the person you make Mr. Bongo out to be? I don’t think so. You use the bully pulpit and as such I really don’t think you are as respected as a professional reporter, as you think you are, rather you are most likely feared due to your bullying condescending, disrespectful, and insulting manner. Sir, professionals do not act that way.
Bongo
You must live in La, La land. His pay is comparable to other principals around Westchester County, so stop with the pay agrument. It is what it is. And yes, the day could be very challenging. You must be out of touch with reality. IEY is not Disney World.
Bongo doctorate
It is amusing to see that you fail to quote your source regarding Mr. Bongo not having a doctorate or still trying to obtain it. The attacks continue on Mr. Bongo now turning to his suppose lack of education. Did Linda Kelly, who ran the BOE for all those years, did she have a doctorate? For that matter, does Mr. Organisciak have a doctorate? I am willing to bet if Mr. Bongo had one you still will find fault with him and continue your attack. I remember when you reported about him smoking a cigar on school ground. Wow wee! You still bring that up when you make your lists. I would guess between students, faculty, and staff there is over 1,000 people in that building and managing that can be very challenging. And, for you to continue your characture assassination without any concrete proof other than “sources state” is just unfair and improper. I guess this is why you are never treated like a professional reporter.
Mr. Bongo
Perhaps that is his problem, he finds managing IEY challenging or is he just not capable.
He is paid a very good salary and should earn that salary.
I never agreed with everything Linda Kelly did, but always felt she had the students best interest at heart. I never heard her speak to the parents in a condescending or patronizing matter. She is a class act.
Mr.Organisciak should use Linda Kelly as an example and try to relate to the parents and taxpaying citizens.
Bongo is My Source!
I was not aware there was any dispute of whether Bongo does or does not have his doctorate but if you still have doubts I would suggest asking him. Whatever criticism I may have of him, it is not that he has claimed to have a doctorate when he does not.
My article does identify the source for the claim that Bongo does not have a doctorate and that he claims to he is still working on it. The source is Anthony Bongo. He has said this many times and said it again last week at the Isaac parents meeting.
I am always treated as a professional reporter, everywhere I go, except by the administrators of the New Rochelle School District. That I publish the truth and school officials deny it or ignore it does not make it wrong or make me unprofessional it just means that with any particular story the readers have to wait how things play out. I believe one reason that the readership has grown so rapidly is that when people read on Talk of the Sound, for example, that Jose Martinez abruptly resigned and disappeared and that their are allegations out there about him they have come to know that this is true and will be proven so even if school officials remain silent. This sequence has been played out time and time again so regular readers know that when I run a story about guards with child porn or misappropriated school vehicles or arrests for no-show jobs or or child predators operating in the schools that will turn out to be the case.
Likewise they know that when I write that Bongo’s claims about pursuing his doctorate or misleading and duplicitous because he started 15 years ago and is not currently enrolled then that will turn out to be true. Before you start carrying his water here you might want to go first check with him. You might be surprised at the answer you get.
Bongo doctorate
After 15 years do you think his advisor
is still alive?
Qualified?
The question asked of Mr. Bongo was whether he was qualified to be a middle school principal. This article still does not answer that question.
The article goes all out to embarrass Mr. Bongo for being a doctoral candidate for the past 15 years and not matriculated at Columbia University. And it shows that he, at least, earned his Master’s Degree. But is he certified? Does he have a certificate or license to be a school administrator? How many years of teaching did he do prior to becoming an administrator?
This article explains the criteria for becoming a school principal http://www.ehow.com/list_6297208_education-requirements-school-principal_.html I hope he is qualified. We would certainly want to know that.
Middle School Principal
The children of IEY Middle School deserve to have a highly qualified principal and that is one with a doctorate degree. The facts are he lied and the superintendent tried to cover it up. What more are they covering up?
have to disagree here
It is not that having a doctorate is or ought to be required to be a middle school principle. Few of the administrators in New Rochelle have any sort of doctorate let alone a doctorate from an Ivy League school.
I am not criticizing Bongo for not having a doctorate, I am criticizing him for representing himself as a doctoral candidate when he is (a) not currently enrolled in any classes; (b) not paying any advisor fees and (c) that he started 15 years ago. That matters because it is about about three times longer than is normal for a research doctorate degree. I have never heard of someone in a doctoral program for that long for any degree at any level.
If he wants to get registered, complete his dissertation and earn his degree then my hat’s off to him but at 15 years into the program it would seem apparent that he is not seriously pursuing a degree.
Question Asked
The question asked was what was Mr. Bongo qualifications. Did he have a college degree, masters, etc. Not was he qualified. They are two different questions. Again, he lied. The superintendent was trying to cover for him. Those are the facts!