Seward educator named one of the state’s 105 master teachers

ALBANY — Ernest VanderKruik, a science teacher at S.S. Seward Institute in the Florida School District, is one of the 105 “most qualified math and science educators” in the state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in announcing the first group of New York State Master Teachers.

“As part of our efforts to build a world-class education system in New York, the Master Teachers program will allow this first group of talented teachers to assist their peers in the classroom, further develop their own expertise and enhance the overall learning experience of our students for years to come,” the governor said in the press release naming the master teachers.

VanderKruik is one of 19 teachers from 12 school districts in the Mid-Hudson to be selected. In Orange County, one teacher from Middletown and four from the Newburgh City School District also were named as master teacher.

1,500 years of experience
The first group of Master Teachers has nearly 1,500 years of combined full-time teaching experience and is comprised of 78 high school teachers, 21 middle school teachers, and 6 with dual responsibilities. Subjects of expertise include calculus, algebra, physics, earth science, chemistry, engineering design and development, and mechanics.

Cuomo established the master teacher program to identify, reward and support master math and science teachers throughout the state. The role of master teachers as professional mentors and content experts is key to developing the current cadre of outstanding educators as well as developing skilled future teachers, the governor's office said in its press release.

Real world contributions
VanderKruik was the faculty advisor for a team of Seward students who won a $7,615 Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam grant last year. The team developed a portable, solar powered autoclave to be used by medical professionals to sterilize medical instruments where no electricity is available.

An autoclave is “an apparatus in which special conditions (as high or low pressure or temperature) can be established for a variety of applications; especially an apparatus (as for sterilizing) using steam under high pressure,” according to its definition in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

'Inventing something completely new'

The team’s goal is to have this device used to introduce a higher level of medical care and health than is currently available for many people in developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and Central and South America.

Here’s how Jacob Weber, a member of the team and a senior that year, described VanderKruik’s role with his students in a story that appeared in The Warwick Advertiser in April 2012:

“The InvenTeam can be compared to a revamped version of science and math class for the 21st Century,” Weber said. “Members have to go out and do their own research, testing, design, everything. Mr. VanderKruik basically leaves it up to us, and as a whole, we aren’t just doing worksheets and assignments that have been used for years.

“We are inventing something completely new that has never been made before,” Weber added, “making InvenTeams and organizations like ours necessary for the educational future of the our country.”