“While I was a student journalist, I took the endeavor pretty seriously and tried hard to do a good job,” Rombom said. Before becoming GM, Rebekah oversaw job placements, and her team was responsible for over 1,500 successful job placements. Rebekah Rombom, the student journalist who broke the story in real life, told The Island Now that while she “took the endeavor pretty seriously and tried hard to do a good […], […] period in which the film is set. Her clear boredom when interviewing Tassone evokes him to encourage […]. Before becoming GM, Rebekah oversaw job placements, and her team was responsible for over 1,500 successful job placements. “My approach at school and in my career has been to put in a lot of effort and try very hard to do well. “I haven’t worked as a journalist in about a decade, but I’ve always taken what I do seriously,” Rombom said. I know that Dr. Tassone led a school system that did an incredibly good job for a lot of students, including me, and also oversaw the embezzlement of a ton of money that was meant to fund our education. On a March morning in 2004, Roslyn High School senior Rebekah Rombom was awaiting the publication of a special issue of the Hilltop Beacon, … It’s a hard set of realities to reconcile.”, […] to writing fluff and nonsense for the varsity paper. In The Times piece, Rombom added that while she had been allowed to have a phone interview with Tassone, she was told not to use Gluckin’s name and had to show the story to then-Principal Jayson Stoller and the district’s director of community relations before it would be published. In 2006 Tassone and Gluckin would be sentenced to prison on larceny charges, with both later released in 2010 and 2011, respectively. The interest became even more serious when in her senior year she “received some information about an alleged embezzlement taking place.”, “Along with that information, I learned I should probably attend the school board meeting that was going to happen,” Rombom said. She told the Island Now, a publication based in Long Island, that she spoke to Viswanathan as well as Makowsky about her […], […] period of the film's development. Roslyn alumnus Mike Makowsky would later adapt the ordeal into “Bad Education,” a major motion picture featuring Hugh Jackman as Tassone and Allison Janney as Gluckin, which is set to air on HBO Saturday. Rombom, who grew up in East Hills and went to Roslyn schools all her life, worked on the paper throughout high school, having “always loved writing.”. She now lives in Brooklyn and, in an interesting twist, has worked in education for the last seven years. © 2020 Flatiron School. Rombom also said she hasn’t yet seen the film, but will watch its premiere on Saturday. The issue made the Hilltop Beacon the first media outlet – and Rombom the first journalist – to report on the district’s embezzlement scandal, which in due time would take down not only Gluckin, but Roslyn’s beloved superintendent of schools for over a decade, Frank Tassone. One of the best movies of the year! Australian actress Geraldine Viswanathan co-stars as student journalist Rachel, a fictional character Makowsky partially based on Rombom. Shortly after the school board accepted Tassone’s resignation in June 2004, Rombom graduated and went to Dartmouth College, but the fallout continued. I had tried to do a Freedom of Information Act request to dig a little bit deeper on some of the documents that I thought revealed more detail about what was going on, but I couldn’t figure out how to do it in time, so I reported the facts that I had from interviews that I was able to do before we published.”. Rebekah is one of the most passionate thought leaders in the EdTech industry. “[The movie character] Rachel does a little more investigative reporting than I did. In a 2004 story published by The New York Times in which she recounted her experiences, she wrote that while the “tone of most every question at that first meeting was accusatory, the audience behaved in a civilized manner.”. Her clear boredom when interviewing Tassone inspires him to encourage […], […] is exaggerated. “I’m not sure I had the experience or foresight to really understand what might happen next. “I had amazing relationships with my teachers, the schools provided outlets for me to thrive, including the newspaper, and the information needed to see daylight, but the fallout was difficult for the community, and I certainly felt very conflicted about that,” Rombom said. “This kind of reporting and impact is just about the most exciting thing that can happen to you as a high school journalist,” Rombom said. “I did some interviews in the process,” Rombom said. Residents irked by lack of mask wearing, enforcement as COVID-19 cases... Ex-Sands Point resident Sater talks Trump Tower Moscow in HBO documentary, Readers Write: Left by the political right, The Back Road: Five words – ‘stand back and stand by’. She oversees product strategy, learning outcomes, operations and business objectives for all of the school’s online programs. © https://theislandnow.com |Contact Us: 25 Red Ground Road, Roslyn Heights, NY 11577 |
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. She would also speak with Viswanathan, the actress portraying the character partially based on her. (The character is a fictionalized model of the real-life school journalist who uncovered the scandal.) Rebekah Rombom is General Manager of Online Education at Flatiron School, a global school for technical skills with a 93%+ job placement rate. For the five years before becoming GM, Rebekah built and oversaw Flatiron School's job placements programs. Rebekah Rombom General Manager of Online Education Rebekah oversees product strategy, learning outcomes, operations, and business objectives for Flatiron School’s online learners. Prior to Flatiron School, she oversaw marketing and HR & recruiting at startups in NYC. All in all, Tassone, Gluckin and their associates are thought to have embezzled more than $11.2 million of the district’s money, spending it on home renovations, lavish trips and personal needs. I’ve now worked in several different industries and roles, and for me that approach, alongside being very lucky and grateful for what’s come my way, is what’s worked.”. “I do think that one of the central themes that comes out in the story is that several things can be true, one person or one situation at once,” Rombom said. complex in Great Neck Plaza, HBO's 'Bad Education' is one of the best movies of 2020 — with a story perfect for our times - Movie and TV, HBO’s ‘Bad Education’ is one of the best movies of 2020 — with a story perfect for our times – Warta Saya, Bad Education True Story: How Accurate HBO's Movie Really Is – CELEBFASHION, Bad Education’s Young Hero Belongs in the Fictional Journalist Hall of Fame | Politicopathy, Bad Education’s Young Hero Belongs in the Fictional Journalist Hall of Fame - WaYs-2-rOcK, Diocese of Rockville Centre files for bankruptcy, citing Child Victims Act. “But I felt quite conflicted at the time about the impact that it had had on the community, particularly as the situation snowballed from a $250,000 embezzlement that I had initially reported and the quiet resignation of one administrator to this $11.2 million ordeal involving Frank Tassone.”, Rombom said the Roslyn schools served her “incredibly well.”. […] to writing fluff and nonsense for the school paper. You have entered an incorrect email address! At Flatiron School you can change anything, starting a new career in code, data science, or cybersecurity. In the issue was a story Rombom had written about Pamela Gluckin, an assistant superintendent for business, who had been quietly fired by the school board after it was discovered she had embezzled $250,000 from the Roslyn district, which had seen its seniors regularly accepted into top colleges and the schools themselves ranked among the country’s best. In time, screenwriter Makowsky interviewed Rombom about her experiences for the “Bad Education” script. (The character is a fictionalized version of the real-life school journalist who uncovered the scandal.) Rebekah oversees product strategy, learning outcomes, operations, and business objectives for Flatiron School’s online learners. Superb acting by everyone! The job-search methodologies and curriculum she built still form the backbone of the school’s job placements program. “And it was at that school board meeting that the story started to take shape.”, Rombom remembers then-School Board President William Costigan reading a statement about Gluckin and the embezzlement. Both read it promptly and neither requested that anything be changed, according to Rombom’s Times story. “And I definitely felt conflicted about being the first to publish this information. want to know who’s rebeka. Rebekah Rombom is General Manager of Online Education at Flatiron School, a global school for technical skills with a 93%+ job placement rate. Pay your renewal notice or display ad invoice here: Roslyn HS reporter who broke ‘Bad Education’ story speaks out 16 years... Gold Coast Health, Wellness and Beauty Expo, Suozzi, other NY reps push for more federal hospital funds, Eight injured in fire at apt. The months after Rombom’s Hilltop Beacon story would see major news outlets pick up on what was happening in Roslyn, as it was discovered that thousands of dollars were left unaccounted for during Tassone’s 12-year run as superintendent. “I had great experiences at those schools. Phone: 516-307-1045 | Fax: 516-307-1046. Rombom moved away from the Roslyn area soon after graduating from Dartmouth in 2008, where while studying English she worked for the school newspaper The Dartmouth and served as editor in her senior year. “I knew we were breaking news, and I was excited about that,” Rombom recalled in a telephone interview. General Manager of Online Education at Flatiron School, Engaging and Working with Men on Gender Equality in the Tech Sector, A United Nations Roundtable on D&I Backlash in the Tech Industry, After Seeing Over 10,000 Job Interviews, Here’s What I’ve Learned About Getting in the Door. I certainly didn’t imagine I’d be watching a movie about it.”. Made in NYC.Change Things, Apply to Our Software Engineering or Data Science Courses, Support & Flexibility Options for Online Students During COVID-19. She oversees product strategy, learning outcomes, operations and business objectives for all of the school’s online programs. She told Island Now, a Long Island-based publication, that she spoke to Viswanathan and Makowsky about your […], came here because the movie is good. Even though other humans are the surest path to a job offer, most job-seekers don’t start with people, they start with the internet. With encouragement from her co-editor and faculty adviser, Rombom went forward with the story. On a March morning in 2004, Roslyn High School senior Rebekah Rombom was awaiting the publication of a special issue of the Hilltop Beacon, the school’s paper where she served as co-editor.