Melissa Salguero is a teacher who is turning her classroom into a musical science lab and earning herself national fanfare.

She is popular among her students at P.S. 48 and also in the running for a national prize.

Salguero is among the 25 semifinalists for the Grammy Educator Award -- marking the second time she's been nominated for her musical lessons.

In one lesson, students say she "electrocuted" a pickle.

"I do things that your average teacher wouldn't do," Salguero says. "I make a clarinet out of a carrot -- or I am showing the kids how to electrocute a pickle because it's making a sound."

Salguero arrived at the school six years ago. At the time, P.S. 48 hadn't had a music teacher in 30 years. Since then, she's raised more than $150,000 for its music program.

"They leave here knowing that she believes in them and loves them that much," principal Sandra Zadrima says of Salguero's relationship with her students. "And it's evident in everything that she does."