Wantagh High School educator discusses career, Harvard Club recognition

This is part two of a series on two Wantagh educators who were recognized as distinguished teachers from the Harvard Club of Long Island.

When Melanie Volz graduated from Wantagh High School as the Class of 2021 valedictorian, she wanted to find a way to give back to the teachers who helped shape her education.

Volz, now enrolled at Harvard University, joined the Harvard Club of Long Island, where she learned about the club’s distinguished teacher award. Each year, the club asks current Harvard undergraduates to write a letter nominating teachers who made the greatest difference in their lives.

Volz nominated Wantagh High School English teacher Heather Naughton, who won the Harvard Club of Long Island Distinguished Teacher Award for 2024 and was featured in last week’s issue.

Physics teacher Richard Colavita was also nominated, and was recognized by the club as a distinguished teacher. Though he did not win the award, Volz said Colavita is a passionate educator who always finds ways to engage his students in his lessons.

“I just love his zeal for life and how he approaches life,” Volz said. “He’s so knowledgeable and so curious every day, and I just don’t know how he’s able to maintain that curiosity.”

In her letter, Volz said she strives to be like Colavita, who is “someone who is genuinely curious about the world around him and interested to learn all of the details and intricacies life has to offer.”

Colavita said he was surprised to be nominated as a distinguished teacher when he received the letter in February, and speaks highly of his colleagues as well.

“I think all of our teachers are distinguished,” Colavita said. “I don't think one is set apart from another.”

Colavita, 55, has taught science in the district for more than 30 years. He currently teaches AP Physics, one of the toughest classes the high school has to offer. He described his teaching style as conversational, making it easier for students to understand the often-difficult concepts of physics.

“We just kind of talk things through, and I let them ask questions,” Colavita said. “I think that's a big part of it too, just making sure there's enough time for them to ask as many questions as they have.”

Wantagh High School Principal Paul Guzzone said Colavita’s strongest asset is his ability to engage students and make science fun to learn. Guzzone added that whenever he stops by the AP Physics class, Colavita and his students are always laughing, smiling and having a good time.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all that he would be recognized by Harvard, because I know that for him and the kids in his class, the work that goes on there, it’s greater than the curriculum that’s being delivered,” Guzzone said. “It’s the relationships, the partnerships and how he guides them into growing up to be strong individuals and prepare them for life after high school.”

Volz said of her former AP Physics teacher, “He would just work with the kids so well, and if any problem popped up, he would try his best to resolve it and find funny ways to do it.”

Colavita said students today are more personalized in how they consume information. They watch videos and listen to music of their choice on their phones, as opposed to hearing whatever song or show comes up on the radio or television, he added. He said education is not as personalized, and sees how it can be tough for students, so he tries to engage them with class exercises, such as presenting a discussion on the rate of acceleration of objects falling to earth at different heights.

Colavita said not knowing something is troubling to students, so he tries to use that to his advantage to make them think of solutions to questions in physics.

“I think there's a value in pondering something,” Colavita said. “I think it's getting lost, so I tried to kind of reverse that.”

In addition to physics, Colavita is also the advisor for Science Olympiad, in which teams of students compete in events spanning all the disciplines of science, including chemistry, biology and physics. Volz, who joined Science Olympiad in high school, said Colavita was passionate about the program and wanted the Wantagh club to be seen as a worthy competitor with strong Science Olympiad programs.

Colavita said the program, in which he has been an advisor for 25 years, is a great supplement to teaching, because students love being in the club and learning about science.

“It's really great to see, and I'm glad I got to do this all this time,” Colavita said of Science Olympiad, “because it really is fantastic watching the kind of work that comes out.”

Volz said she was not always interested in science, but Colavita changed that for her. She is studying applied math as a junior at Harvard, which she added is “probably his doing.” She said that one of the most important lessons she has learned from him was to have a smile no matter what happens, and being able to get through whatever life throws at you.

“He really taught me that mistakes are okay,” Volz said, “that everything somehow manages to work out, and there’s always somehow a movie quote that can be referenced that relates to whatever is happening to me right now.”