New Hempstead’s Judith Johnson, a member of the New York State Board of Regents and former Director of Curriculum for the Nyack Public School District, died yesterday. Regent Johnson was also president Bill Clinton’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Education and was Peekskill’s first African American Schools Superintendent. Three years ago, she spoke about education at Manhattanville College in Westchester…
Johnson is also a member of the Rockland County Civil Rights Hall of Fame. County Executive Ed Day praised her as a “fighter for the equal education for all children,” Clarkstown legislator Harriet Cornell called her a “brilliant educator and thinker,” and Congresswoman Nita Lowey said she was “the strongest advocate for children’s education.” She was 80 years old.