Mepham teacher's projects involve plants, paint and public service

Neeru Partap, a science teacher and club adviser at Mepham High School in Bellmore, invites students to autograph their work when they’re volunteering for one of her extracurricular activities: fixing up Habitat for Humanity houses.

“We usually write, ‘Mepham LEOs,’ the date or the year, and all the kids get to sign it,” Partap said of the LEO Club, a service-oriented student organization that helps clean up and paint Habitat houses in Western Suffolk. “It [the signature] gets covered up by the sheetrock, but we know it’s there.”

Known for her community-service-oriented approach to education, Partap, 49, of North Bellmore, teaches biology and advanced science research classes while working alongside students on grassroots projects she organizes. Whether painting houses in her “designated pair of jeans and a Mepham staff sweatshirt that has paint all over it,” weeding a local church community garden or baking holiday pumpkin pies for families in need, Partap sees service as an extension of the classroom.

Such unbridled enthusiasm makes Partap “a natural leader who brings a fresh, innovative energy to our school,” said science chairwoman Heather Bizewski. “She makes kindness and inclusivity a priority, showing our students that being a good person is just as important as being a good student.“

Partap carries that same spirit of inclusion into the extracurricular clubs she advises.

“I try to be as involved in the community as I possibly can,” said Partap, who also advises A World of Difference, a student club raising cultural awareness and acceptance. The club hosts events celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and Lunar New Year and observing Ramadan, and it recently teamed with the high school’s Black Student Union for an international night dinner.

Partap, a lifelong Long Islander, grew up in East Patchogue and graduated from Bellport High School in Brookhaven. She earned a bachelor’s in psychology from Stony Brook University and a master’s in biology education at LIU Post in Brookville and served for a year as a Mepham student teacher before being hired full time in 2001.

Over the past decade, she has taught grade 10 through 12 science research, guiding several students to the Regeneron Science Talent Search Semifinals, including one top 300 Scholar who received a $2,000 award.

Partap has also earned recognition of her own. In March, she was named one of eight Long Island distinguished teachers by the Harvard Club of Long Island. And on June 2, for the second consecutive year, Partap will receive Mepham’s student-nominated Pirate Treasure Award in recognition of her contributions to the school community.

“She’s a source of support for everyone around her,” said LEO Club co-president Samira Ramoutar. “Whether it’s offering guidance, helping others stay on track or simply being someone people can rely on.”

Nominate the passionate, engaging and innovative educators of Long Island to be featured in our Teacher Spotlight series by sending details to LILife@Newsday.com.