An amateur magician-turned-Long Island teacher who has been pulling every trick out of the hat to inspire students just scored the “Oscar of Teaching.’’
John Melandro, a third- and fifth-grade teacher at Tangier Smith Elementary School in Mastic, told The Post on Tuesday he had no idea he was even nominated for the prestigious Milken Educator Award and its $25,000 cash prize until an ordinary school assembly last week “took a dramatic, wild, wonderful left turn.
“That day was a huge surprise to me walking into that assembly,” said Melandro, 29.
“And I think that only now a few days out from it, it’s just started to sink in about how prestigious this award is, and just being the only one recognized from New York state. It’s extremely humbling, and I just couldn’t be happier about it,” he said.
Melandro is the first recipient of the award — lauded by presenters as the “Oscars of Teaching” — in Suffolk’s William Floyd School District since the honor’s 1987 inception. The award was started by businessman philanthropist Lowell Milken.
Melandro is also the only educator from the Empire State to be honored this year. The national award is doled out to as many as 45 teachers across the country and limited to just one New Yorker per academic year.
Melandro has education in his blood.
The schoolteacher hails from a family of educators, with his mother sitting as the chairperson of social studies at Sachem East High School, and his father, a global history teacher, being awarded the Teacher of the Year in Center Moriches just four months ago.
Melandro’s parents — who he credits with inspiring his love for teaching — cried upon learning that he was chosen for the 2024-25 Milken Educator Award.
“I had a front-row seat to watch some of the best educators growing up, and the bar was extremely high,” Melandro said. “At the end of this day, [teaching] is more to them than just a job.”
With New York recently being lauded as the best state for teachers, Melandro certainly had plenty of competition to battle for the title — though his students would beg to differ.
The little Long Islanders call their teacher the “Magic Man” for capturing their attention and fostering their love of learning by using magic tricks.
“I like him because he’s very nice, and he has a different style of teaching. He’s very unique the way he teaches,” Malaki Gillard-Burris, 10, told The Post.
Magic tricks are a frequent occurrence in Melandro’s classroom, the student said.
“Yesterday he did a magic trick where he cut off somebody’s finger but he didn’t actually cut it off. It was for a kid’s birthday … He’s very slick — I mean his hair. His hair is slick,” Malaki said.
Emma O’Neill, also 10, credited Melandro’s unique style of teaching for inspiring her to one day become a fifth-grade teacher.
He has used magic tricks to help her and her classmates build a stronger grasp on their math work, she explained.
“I love how he teaches us in a fun and kind of easy way to learn,” Emma said.
“He does magic. Once he guessed what you were thinking. You thought it in your head, and he guessed it. He did that to me. I was thinking a name — I thought Jeremiah, and he guessed it.”
Melandro, who loved magic when he was an elementary-school student himself, said he resurrected the passion to help motivate his students.
He started by using three simple tricks: making a ball reappear out of a vase and into his pocket; guessing the card his students had picked, and making milk vanish after pouring it through a newspaper funnel.
But the teacher quickly learned that the three tricks wouldn’t be enough for his kids, so he added more to his repertoire — and taught them the secrets.
“I think that it’s always been a great motivator for my students. I do tricks for them. I teach the magic tricks that they can take home to their families. It’s great for public speaking, it’s great to build confidence, and it’s a great hobby that you can do your whole life,” he said. “So it’s really brought a lot of those hard-to-reach kids into the educational process and getting them to become a part of it. So that’s my first draw to get you in.
“I think that if you can draw them in with that, then you can get them into the real magic — the magic of learning.”
The educator’s desire to help his students extends well out of the classroom, according to youngster Bryan Puma.
Melandro was working as a substitute teacher three years ago when the 9-year-old boy’s cousin was on home instruction. The teacher went to the home to aid the child — and ended up helping Bryan get over his fear of the chickens in the back yard and also grow more comfortable in the family’s 3-foot-deep pool.
“He taught me how to read — and how to face my fear. My fear was chicken. He helped me carry the chickens,” Bryan explained.
“He helped me face my fear in the pool as well. No teacher has ever done that for me.”
Melandro said he looks forward to a long career of inspiring future generations of students.
And with the $25,000 award in his pocket, the educator says he’s also looking forward to splurging on his honeymoon — the accelerated teacher is getting married July 16.
Melandro said he plans on squirreling some away for his Tangier Smith Elementary School students, too — proving he was the right pick for thus year’s Milken Educator Award.
“I think some of it I’d like to give back in some way, which I’m trying to work out exactly how I would do that,” Melandro said.
“Obviously, the honor of having this award above anything else is what has meant most to me.”
