ERASE Racism to honor two from Rockville Centre

Two members of the Rockville Centre community are being honored for their efforts to identify and fight discrimination.

ERASE Racism announced that Dr. William Johnson and Lawrence Levy are among the honorees at its gala on June 8 at the Garden City Hotel.

Johnson, the longtime Rockville Centre Superintendent of Schools, received the Abraham Krasnoff Courage and Commitment Award for his efforts to close the achievement gap for poor, minority and special education students.

During his tenure, Johnson has ended tracking and encouraged all students to take Regents courses. In 2015, South Side High School had a 97 percent Regents graduation rate for general education students and 86 percent for special education students. In the same year, 83 percent of general education students and 50 percent of students with disabilities graduated statewide.

“It’s nice that they selected me but the important thing is what this community and this school district has been able to accomplish,” said Johnson. “It is a recognition of what tomorrow’s world is going to look like. And this school district and this community understand what tomorrow is going to look like, and they put resources and effort into making sure that everyone in this community achieves at the highest levels.”

Since 1989, Johnson chaired the New York State Aid Data Analysis Group, sharing critical information and analysis on the impact of state aid with local and other state school districts and regions. For the past twelve years, he has either chaired or co-chaired the Curriculum Committee for the New York State Council of School Superintendents, helping to define and articulate issues related to Common Core and the state testing system.

Johnson is one of two people to receive this award. The other, Kevyn Orr, was the emergency manager of Detroit. He helped the city overcome bankruptcy.

Levy, who lives in Rockville Centre, is the executive dean at Hofstra University’s National Center for Suburban Studies.

ERASE Racism is giving the Center the 2016 Leadership Award for its research into the effect of racial disparities on Long Island, including unfair mortgage practices, apartment rent prices and economic development aid.

“It’s flattering that a group like ERASE Racism, which really set the standard for research and advocacy in race relations, would consider work that we do worthy of recognition,” said Levy. “We have only been around for eight years. It’s encouraging that we’ve made enough of a mark to be recognized by these folks.”

He added that the Center has made an effort to show the region that diversity is important for the economic and social survival of Long Island, especially at its Celebration of Suburban Diversity event. Levy also credited his co-honoree Christopher Niedt, the Center’s academic director. His expertise is fair housing.