‘One-of-a-kind’ teacher Salvatore Mulé retires from Wantagh

Salvatore Mulé, who is retiring after more than 30 years as a science teacher in Wantagh schools, is leaving a “growing” legacy behind in the school district.

Mulé arrived in the district as a student teacher at Wantagh High School in the spring of 1992, before taking a job as a leave replacement, teaching earth science, that fall. Then he taught earth science and biology at Wantagh Middle School.

“I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” Mulé said.

His real passion, however, has been hydroponics and aquaponics — the process of growing food without soil and creating a self-sustaining model using fish in tanks, respectively — which he studied at Hofstra University. Fish waste provides fertilizer for the crops, and the crops provide oxygen for the fish. While teaching at Wantagh Middle School, Mulé started a hydroponics lab of his own — in, of all places, a custodial closet. The project began with plastic shoeboxes and 10-gallon tanks.

From that closet, his lab graduated to a classroom across the hall, where it grew even bigger. Mulé was able to eventually move it to an even larger classroom, and with help, built all of it himself — something that makes his lab unique, since most schools buy hydroponics equipment. Half of the classroom is set up with plants and fish tanks, with the remaining half for lecturing.

“I moved to this current classroom in the summer of 2019, the summer before Covid,” Mulé recounted. “I remember hearing Superintendent John McNamara giving the commencement speech as I was moving furniture in here. Any other school district, I don’t know if they would have given me the freedom that Wantagh has given me with this.”

In addition to teaching biology, Mulé created an elective course of his own, called modern food production, which focuses on hydroponics. The course has become a hit, one of the middle school’s expanding elective opportunities.

Despite being forced to mostly clear out the lab when the pandemic hit, Mulé persisted for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year with the modern food production class, doing remote work. When students returned to school in September, Mulé said that they were very helpful in making sure the lab stayed strong through the pandemic.

In addition to literally bearing fruits and vegetables, Mulé’s efforts have borne academic fruit through the years: Last year’s valedictorian at Wantagh High, Julianna Rose, is studying plant science at Cornell University, a passion she discovered in Mulé’s classroom.

“When I hear kids just wanting to study and work hard, that to me is the payoff, even if they don’t want to do science,” Mulé said. “My dad told me, ‘If you work really hard, you’re going to be successful. Money will be there, don’t worry. But try and do something you want to do every day.’ And I did that.”

Reflecting on his 31-year career in Wantagh schools, Mulé said, “Wantagh gave me everything. I met my wife here. I have a son because of Wantagh. I met a lot of great teachers and administrators who showed me how to make everything work. I’m very appreciative to everyone.”

Mule’s wife, Kathy Stuart-Mulé, is a science teacher at Wantagh High who has also been teaching in the district since the 1990s. In her husband’s absence, Stuart-Mulé will look after his lab, although he will stop by throughout the summer, and next year as well, to make sure everything is in good shape.

In addition to the students and parents that were positively affected by Mulé’s teaching, school administrators have expressed their appreciation for the work he’s done.

“His presence in the building is going to be missed,” middle school principal Anthony Ciuffo said. “He is one of the most dedicated educators that I’ve ever come across. His passion is what drives his program. He demands a lot out of his students, and he gets a lot out of his students. He built that lab on his own, and even comes in during the summer to check on it. Even though he’s retiring, I know he’ll still come in for that lab. But his daily presence in the school will be missed.”

Mulé grew up in Port Jefferson Station and graduated from Comsewogue High School. He attended Suffolk Community College and Hofstra, where he earned a master’s in biology. His passion for teaching developed in high school, he said, under the guidance of Bill Bodkin, a criminal justice teacher.

“There were a lot of great teachers at Comsewogue,” Mulé said. “Bill Bodkin said, ‘Why don’t you look into teaching?’ one day when I was in his criminal justice class. And I did.”