50 YEARS OF WORK IN EDUCATION

LIVINGSTON MANOR--Taking the time to reach out and help a senior who seemed troubled and discouraged about going to a beauty school for her college selection and then reading in the paper the next morning about  the girls death in a car accident is the one particular incident that Mrs. Sandy Johnson has never forgotten through her 50-years of dedicated work in education.
  Mrs. Johnson is currently the Pre-K through 12 principal at Livingston Manor Central School and received a big surprise during the afternoon of May 19 as staff,  teachers and the entire student body honored her for 50 years of work in education.
  Tears of joy, surprise and thankfulness flowed from her eyes as she was seated  in her special seat of honor.
  The incident Mrs. Johnson talked about when asked what one incident stands out in her long educational career, "took place when I had retired and was subbing as a guidance counselor and involved a young lady from BOCES who came in to see me on a Friday afternoon and I was very very tired and was anxious to go home and the young lady said she really wanted to talk to me about going on to college."
  Mrs. Johnson explained that "I didn't know her very well and I almost asked her if she would  come back to see me Monday but I said to myself no this girl wants to see me now so I'm going to sit down and listen to her. The girls explained to me that she was a senior and she had been discouraged about going to a beauty school in California."
  'I listened to her and we looked up the college and I even called the school to see if she could still enroll and I asked her to come back and see me Monday and we would talk about the financial aid form," Mrs. Johnson said.
  "I think we talked 45-minutes and she explained to me that she just didn't have too much success with other people helping her along these lines."
  "The next morning I read in the paper where she was killed in a car accident and I said to myself that I don't know if I made a difference in that girls life but I do know for one of the last hours she was in school I listed to her and it reminded me how very important it is to listen to children, to listen to young adults when they needed to talk to you, and that you have to forget sometimes your own schedule and forget who you are and where you need to go and you need to just focus on them," Mrs. Johnson concluded.
  The Mrs. Johnson day was held in the new school gym with grades K through 6 sitting in long lines on the gym floor and high school students sitting on the bleachers.
  The day's program included welcoming remarks by teachers Shirlee Davis and Dan Smith, presentation of cards by elementary students, presentation of flowers, a poem read by second grade students, a dance by high school students, songs sang by the third, fourth and first grades, an award by Barb Smith, gifts presented by Jessica Mall and a banner presentation by Mrs. Liz Cook.
  Mrs. Johnson began her career in education as a business teacher back in 1962 working in the Corning-Painted Post School District teaching typing, short-hand, bookkeeping and business classes until 1981.
  After that she moved into the area of guidance counseling at Horseheads High School until 1984. Her work focused on career and college counseling and the continuation of helping students with their futures after high school.
  Mrs. Johnson over the next several years served as assistant principal and principal in several districts arriving in Livingston Manor in 2006.
  During her 10 years at Livingston Manor she has served as both Elementary and High School principal.
  Speakers at this 50-year honoring ceremony noted strongly that Mrs. Johnson, "is a huge and integral part of our successful small school,"  and "most importantly she has shown true dedication, tirelessness availability and support to her staff, her students and devotion to the Livingston Manor school district and township."
  Over her years Mrs. Johnson has enjoyed exercise classes, magicians, ventriloquists, the circus, trout parades, Halloween outfits, fixing parents pants, make the weight loss group fun, picking up Pierre Beat at the airport, roller skating, throwing fish at her staff, bringing outfits from Ghana, baking contests, dressing up as Officer Ionta and she even kissed a pig.
  Her educational background includes a Certificate of Advanced Study in Administration and Supervision from SUNY Cortland, Master of Science in Education-Guidance and Counseling from Alfred University and a Bachelor of Science in Education-General Business Major from Bloomsburg State College, Pa.
   Mrs. Johnson is also the recent recipient of the Golden Anniversary in Teaching Award and Superintendent Deborah L. Fox noted in a letter to Mrs. Lynne Cruger of the Mid-Hudson School Study Council that Mrs. Johnson " made no secret that she was celebrating her 75th birthday, but that I had to politely tell her that we couldn't take her birthday as a holiday on the school calendar."
  Also in the letter to Ms. Cruger Superintendent Fox  pointed out that Mrs. Johnson "is a role model for not only our students from pre-kindergarten through seniors, but individuals of any age," and "her tireless energy, optimistic attitude, persistent passion and enthusiasm for teaching and learning are unmatched."
  Mrs. Johnson is married to her husband Ryann, they have three children, Molly, Libby and Billy and grandchildren Jacob, Anna, Kyle and Camden.
  She gave strong indications that she is making plans to retire following the 2016-17 school year.


PHOTOS FROM THIS ASSEMBLY HONORING MS. JOHNSON