_________________ WANTAGH ________________
HERALD
IS IT TIME FOR A HEARING CHECK-UP?
Senior Health expo and Beyond VOL. 74 nO. 18
Page 20 APRIL 30 - MAY 6, 2026
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Student artists honored for work
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One of Long Island’s Top Audi Presented by
Celebrating Emily Crupi’s 100th birthday life. In 1948 she married Peter Crupi, and together they built a Wantagh resident Emily close-knit family, raising three Crupi reached a major mile- children. Over the years their stone this month, celebrating family grew to include three her 100th birthday surrounded grandchildren and five greatby family and friends in the grandchildren. In 1962 the coucommunity she has called ple settled in Wantagh, and the home for more than community would six decades. become central to To h o n o r t h e Crupi’s life and legaoccasion, her family cy. organized a drive-by While her huscelebration outside band served as a her Wantagh home. detective in the New Well-wishers lined Yo rk C i t y Po l i c e the street with signs Department for 33 and balloons, and years, before he died among those joining in 2004, Crupi in the tribute was became a familiar S t a t e S e n . S t eve and trusted presence Rhoads, who has as a Nassau County known Crupi since crossing guard at he was a child, and STeVe RHOAdS Merrick Road and stopped by to recog- State senator Atlantic Avenue in niz e her lifelong Wa n t a g h . Fo r 2 5 contributions to the years she ensured community. the safety of countless students Crupi was born Emily Bruno in the Wantagh School District, on April 8, 1926, in Brooklyn, many of whom would later and her early life was shaped by remember her kindness and hardship and resilience. After dedication as a part of their losing her mother at the age of daily routines. 12, she moved in with her sister, One of those children was an experience that helped Rhoads himself, who rememinstill the strength and deter- bers Crupi on patrol when he mination that would define her
By HUnTeR FenOLLOL
hfenollol@liherald.com
I
Courtesy Wantagh School District
State Master Teacher Casey Clark, second from left, was joined by students Cara Coseglia and Charlotte Heron and Paul Guzzone, the principal of Wantagh High School.
Wantagh High science teacher Casey Clark earns state recognition
By HUnTeR FenOLLOL
hfenollol@liherald.com
A Wantagh High School science teacher has earned statewide recognition for her work in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, classes, building a program that is shaping how students engage with science. Casey Clark, who has spent the past three years at Wantagh High School, was recently accepted into the New York State Master Teacher Program, a designation that recognizes educators for excellence in teaching, leadership and community involvement. Clark is a Long Island native who began her teaching career with Teach for America in Camden, N.J., and then spent 11 years at St. Francis Preparatory School, in Queens. There she taught a range of science courses, and gained experience in science research education — which ultimately led her to
Wantagh. “I heard about Wantagh looking to start a science research program because they didn’t have one,” Clark recalled. “It was a fantastic opportunity.” Since arriving in the district in 2023, she has built the high school’s Science Research Academy largely from the ground up, transforming what had previously been informal after-school opportunities into a structured, in-school program. Today it includes more than 60 freshmen, sophomores and juniors. Students learning foundational research skills before developing their own interests, and eventually take on independent research projects. “I definitely do not assign topics,” Clark said. “If you’re going to do independent research, you have to want to do it.” Her approach emphasizes student choice and curiosity, allowing participants to ConTinued on PaGe 9
t really was a reflection of the lives that she’s touched throughout the course of her 100 years.
ConTinued on PaGe 2