Honoring the life and legacy of beloved East Meadow elementary teacher, ‘Mr. J’

An exceptional teacher can change a child’s life.

That was the case with Arthur Josephson, a former East Meadow School District teacher, who taught particularly bright students in the Experimental Acceleration Program, which began sometime in the late 1950s.

At Meadow Lawn Elementary School, which is now McVey Elementary, students who got into the program completed fourth, fifth and sixth grades in the span of two years.

And while Josephson left his mark on many students who passed through his doors throughout his time in East Meadow schools, what happened with his 1963 graduating class is remarkable.

In 2019, about 50 years after his students graduated high school, the group began to reconnect with their beloved teacher, who decades earlier opened their eyes to a world of possibilities, when they were just young, impressionable 11-year-old students.

The Class of ‘63

Josephson was not an East Meadow native, but was born in Connecticut in 1927 and spent his formative years in Danbury. After high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and trained to be a pilot and flight instructor.

After World War II, he attended the Danbury State Teachers College, graduating with a degree in elementary education. When the Korean War began, he re-entered service with the U.S. military.

Jim Drucker, one of Josephson’s students, became an attorney and later the commissioner of both the Continental Basketball Association and the Arena Football League. He called the class’s reconnection with Josephson an “amazing story,” driven by a “totally unpredictable” chain of events.

Drucker said that in the 1950s, during the space race and Cold War, the National Science Foundation wanted schools to create programs that would give students better training in math and science, in the hopes that they would become bright scientists who would lead the country through periods of innovation. East Meadow created the Experimental Acceleration Program, or EAP, and Josephson, who was affectionately known as “Mr. J.” was selected as a teacher because of his background in aviation while in the military.

“When I tell you he was the most outstanding teacher I’ve ever had in my life, it’s an understatement,” Drucker said.

Bob Israel, another former student, ended up in California, working in entertainment. He produced the 1984 film “Bachelor Party,” starring Tom Hanks, and co-produced “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” which starred Jim Carrey. He now does some work in theater production and owns a movie advertising agency.

Israel said he felt like Josephson truly inspired all of his students — but particularly girls, who graduated feeling like equals to their male classmates.

“It was essentially a gifted program,” Israel said of EAP. “But, you know, the passion that he brought, is I think what inspired us, and it just created a curiosity about learning that I think stayed with us throughout our lives, really.”

As 9-, 10-, and 11-year-olds, they learned calculus, geometry, psychology and foreign languages — among other advanced material. Israel even recalled Josephson reading them Time Magazine every week.

Josephson retired from teaching in the early 90s and returned to Connecticut. One day, while he was at a dentist appointment, the dentist began speaking to him — and it turned out, they both were familiar with East Meadow, and they both knew Drucker.

At that point, Josephson wrote Drucker a letter, and they became pen pals. In 1999, their class held its 30th reunion, and Drucker informed some of his classmates about his writing relationship with Josephson, and more of his former students also decided to reach out.

Over the next 20 years, what went from writing letters evolved into Zoom calls during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and continued through earlier this year.

Bill Rudich, a career Naval officer, had one of the longest, continuous relationships with Josephson, because of their military service. He said the students’ relationship with Josephson in later years was “much different” — and yet, he was still inspiring. Most of his students had lost their parents, and Josephson almost filled that role.

“He was a good teacher,” Rudich said, “and he was kind of like a surrogate parent for all of us.”

Jeff Gutterman became an engineer and started his own firm that served customers like the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. He said Josephson knew they were all turning 70 last year and sang them “Happy Birthday” on one of their Zoom calls.

“His life lesson was you should make your 70s the best years, because you have no obligations,” he said. “You have money. You have the time — the resources. You should do the things that you want to do.”

Thanking ‘Mr. J’

Drucker helped orchestrate a book that was given to Josephson, called “Thank You, Mr. Josephson.” Drucker was able to track down most of his classmates from 1963, and each was able to contribute to the book, which detailed what they did after graduating, and offered their many thanks to Josephson.

Josephson died on June 9, 2023, at the age of 95. In his honor, classmates decided to establish a scholarship fund for elementary education students at his former college, now Western Connecticut State University.

“We decided to start a scholarship fund,” Drucker said, “and the question became, what should it be for? It became clear very fast. He was a great elementary education teacher. Well, why don’t we help the next generation of elementary ed. students?”

The intention is to give the scholarship to two students, who will be awarded $1,500 per year, for five years of study. If the scholarship fund grows large enough and is sustained, more students may be able to benefit from it in the future.

To contribute to the fund, checks can be mailed to: WCSU Foundation, Inc, Attn: Julie Pryor-Bennett, Western Conn. State U., 181 White St., University Hall No. 101, Danbury, CT 068410.

“The thing that we thought would help inspire people who didn’t know Mr. Josephson is ‘make this donation in honor of that special teacher,’” Israel said, “and indicate that when you submit your check. This isn’t about honoring Mr. Josephson. It’s really about honoring the thing that mattered to him, which is creating more, amazing public school teachers. I would encourage people to do that, in their honor and in their memory.”