West Islip teacher Brian Haldenwang is a link in a chain of inspiration

Brian Haldenwang fell in love with biology thanks to a “great teacher” he had as a freshman at West Islip High School — Dianne Munno, who, he said, “just made class exciting.”

He ultimately became a biology teacher at the same high school, and the two were colleagues for years before her retirement in 2021.

“The kids absolutely love him,” said Munno of her former mentee, whom she described as “one of the best teachers West Islip has ever had, I’m proud to say.”

Haldenwang, 48, said he tries to incorporate the unexpected, for example teaching students to build their own scientific equipment for labs.

“I want them to see how exciting biology actually is. And it’s all around you — it’s your body, it’s how you interact with the environment,” he said. “That’s where I focus. The grades are great, but I want them to appreciate science.”

For Haldenwang, it’s not just about his students getting high marks. His goal is to make class memorable so students walk away with a better understanding of the world around them.

“Let’s learn it to learn it so that you become a better person and you know about what’s going on, rather than ‘I’ve got to get this 95% so I can get into whatever college I’m trying to get into,’ ” he said.

Mary Kroll, another teacher at the high school, said Haldenwang is “the science teacher that everyone wishes they had in high school.”

She described one instance when students had to use an electrophoresis chamber, which uses electric currents to separate molecules. But rather than just handing out the machines, Haldenwang helped students build their own “so they can truly understand how it’s working so they can visualize their experiment.”

“He makes science fun. He has such a passion for it that it’s contagious to his students,” Kroll said. “He just has that natural ability to get kids to want to learn.”

Haldenwang’s educational approach won him the 2025 Suffolk Section Teacher of the Year award from the Science Teachers Association of New York State, as well as high praise from the person who first inspired him to pursue biology.

Ryan Deegan is among the West Islip students who name Haldenwang as a favorite teacher. He described Haldenwang as a mentor.

Deegan graduated last year and now attends Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, where he is studying biology. 

“He really did play a big role in shaping me into the science student I am now,” Deegan said. 

By Sam Kmack

sam.kmack@newsday.com

Sam Kmack covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and previously worked as a city watchdog reporter in the Phoenix metro area, as well as an investigative journalist at the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.