Great Neck teacher loses 'LIVE' contest

Great Neck South High School teacher John Motchkavitz was surrounded by his colleagues and his son, Ryan, 14, Tuesday morning when he tuned in to “LIVE with Kelly and Michael.”

There he was, one of five finalists on the screen, waiting to find out whether he would win the show’s Top Teacher Contest.

Turns out it was not to be.

It was Stacie Starr, a teacher at Ohio’s Elyria High School, who won the top title and the grand prize, a 2014 Ford Escape.

But Motchkavitz said he already felt like a winner.

“The whole experience has been great and so uplifting,” said Motchkavitz, 46, a technology teacher, volunteer firefighter and Great Neck native.

His colleagues in the school’s Business and Technology Department had nominated him for the contest, and he learned late last month that producers selected him to be one of 12 semifinalists.

He earned enough online votes to earn a spot in the finals and a guest appearance on the show on May 13, during which producers aired a video package shot in Great Neck over the course of two days.

The package featured footage of Motchkavitz teaching, coaching the school’s robotics team and volunteering at the Great Neck Alert Fire Company. There were also interviews with his students, colleagues, fellow firefighters and his first-grade teacher, Anna Schweiger.

While the package played, Motchkavitz said he stood next to fellow guest and former New York Yankees Willie Randolph.

“Willie and I watched the video together,” he said. “It was really cool.”

During the broadcast, Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan presented him with a finalist trophy, and also two surprise gifts: 30 Intel-powered Dell Latitude 10 tablets for his school, and a weeklong Alaskan cruise.

Motchkavitz said Alaska has been on his bucket list. He’s planning on taking the cruise next summer.

He added that the best part of the contest has been the outpouring of support he’s received from current and former students, colleagues, friends, his own teachers and the community at large.

“I’m proud that I’m a product of this place,” he said.

Great Neck Schools Superintendent Tom Dolan said of Motchkavitz, “He is always a winner in the eyes of Great Neck.”

Motchkavitz said he is grateful that Ryan, and his daughter, Julia, 11, are old enough to appreciate the experience, and he hopes his story has had a positive impact on others, too.

“Maybe, somehow, I inspired someone to do something good.”