8 Long Island educators named 'Distinguished Teachers'
Madeline LoMonaco, left, and Neeru Partap teach at Wellington C. Mepham High School in Bellmore and are among the eight chosen as 2026 Distinguished Teachers by The Harvard Club of Long Island. Credit: Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District
Eight Long Island educators have been honored as 2026 Distinguished Teachers.
The Harvard Club of Long Island selected them based on nominations from students who attended local schools and are current undergraduates at Harvard University.
The honorees were celebrated during a March 15 awards ceremony held at the Heritage Club at Bethpage.
“The Harvard Club of Long Island honors these teachers because they are superb teachers whose excellence stems from mentoring students in learning how to learn, figuring out their passions and being kind to themselves, not just to others,” said Judith Esterquest, chair of the club’s Distinguished Teacher Selection Committee.
This year’s educators: Jeanette Collette, Commack High School; Kristen Hamilton, Roslyn High School; Brian Higgins, Island Trees High School in Levittown; Joseph Ko, Great Neck South; Daniel Lerner, Long Beach High School; Madeline LoMonaco and Neeru Partap, Wellington C. Mepham in Bellmore; and Nicole LoPinto, Paul D. Schreiber in Port Washington.
Hamilton was praised by her district’s administrators for her “commitment to excellence and student growth.”
“Ms. Hamilton brings passion, insight and purpose to her classroom every day,” Roslyn High School Principal Dave Lazarus said in a statement. “This recognition reflects not only her exceptional skill as an educator, but the lasting mark she leaves on every student fortunate enough to learn from her.”
DIX HILLS/ HAUPPAUGE/SYOSSET
Coca-Cola Scholars
Yiran Liu of Syosset High School, Blake Rabinowitz of Half Hollow Hills High School East in Dix Hills and Jacob Wolmetz of Hauppauge High School are among 150 high school seniors nationwide named 2026 Coca-Cola Scholars by the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation for their academic achievements, community service and leadership skills.
They will receive $20,000 college scholarships and be celebrated during a Coca-Cola Scholars weekend in Atlanta from April 23-26. They will also participate in a leadership development institute facilitated by program alumni, according to competition officials.
This year’s scholars were selected from a pool of more than 107,000 applicants nationwide, the foundation said.
WESTHAMPTON BEACH/LONG BEACH
STEM Challenge
Teams from Westhampton Beach High School and Long Beach Middle School took first place among high schools and middle schools in a STEM Challenge held in conjunction with the Long Island Regional Science Bowl at Brookhaven National Laboratory in January. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math.
The challenge, open to teams that did not advance to the bowl’s double-elimination rounds, asked students to solve “a series of puzzles to ultimately unlock a box full of sweet treats,” laboratory officials said. This year’s puzzles included topics such as astronomy and atmospheric instrumentation.
The second-place teams were from Longwood High School in Middle Island and Jericho Middle School.
ISLANDWIDE
Metropolitan Youth Orchestra competition
Four Long Island students were first-place winners in the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York’s 2025-26 Concerto and Vocal Competition. They each won $500.
The first-place winners and their schools, instruments and divisions: Bohdan Budash, Smithtown High School West, bass voice, vocal division (grades 9-12); Riley Fergus, Half Hollow Hills High School West in Dix Hills, viola, instrumental division (grades 9-12); Jayden Rivers, Robert Frost Middle School in Deer Park, child’s voice, vocal division (grades 4-8); and Lucas Wu, Grand Avenue Middle School in Bellmore, viola, instrumental division (grades 4-8).
For winning, Budash and Jayden were featured performers during the orchestra’s March 1 concert at the Staller Center for the Arts in Stony Brook, while Fergus and Lucas will be featured during the orchestra’s 2026-27 season, according to competition officials.
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
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