Health and Physical Education teacher Eric Einbinder is Lenape High School’s 2025-’26 Teacher of the Year.
Einbinder is also an assistant coach for Lenape girls basketball team and the school’s pep rally and football announcer. He was previously cited by the district as its Employee of the Month in March 2022.
The district commended Einbinder’s humor and his ability to building meaningful relationships with students and colleagues.
“Whether in the classroom, the gym, or out on the field, his energy is contagious,” school officials said in a press release, “and his welcoming spirit ensures that every student feels valued and included.
“His teaching is nothing short of inspiring. Even in challenging moments, (Einbinder) motivates his players to persevere and believe in themselves.”
“The first thing that went through my mind was just what got me there and all the people who have helped me along the way,” Einbinder said of the recognition in an in an interview with Lenape Digital Media, the school’s television production program. “Whether it be my parents, my wife, my former college friends, or the great community here that made me the teacher that I am today.”
Einbinder’s journey as a future physical educator began in 2011 in an introduction Motor Development (PED 201) class at the State University of New York (SUNY) in Cortland, New York. The class enabled students to work with kids at St. Mary’s, a local school. Students worked with a wide variety of children and were able to observe their motor skills for six weeks. In the third week they observed skills such as leaping, sliding, and horizontal jumps. The skills were implemented in different games that the students had planned and allowed the class to observe the motor behaviors in their natural element to see how the kids actually perform them.
“While being at this school I realized that these behaviors were age related, but not age dependent,” Einbinder noted. “This means that the children we observed had similar skills, but yet some stood out more than others due to the maturation of their bodies. These observations I recorded during our time at St. Mary’s helped me as a physical educator because I realize how kids mature and that everybody is
different.”
Einbinder joined the Lenape school district in 2019 after achieving a bachelor’s degree in physical education, in addition to a master’s degree in school health education.
One of his most memorable moments at Lenape was being a part of the coaching staff when the girls basketball team won a state championship in 2024. With a 43-28 victory over Morristown, Lenape captured the state Group 4 title at Jersey Mike’s Arena on the Rutgers University campus.
“That team was incredible,” Einbinder reflected, “but it was really the people we were able to share that whole experience with, and seeing the girls start out as just a group of players then become a team. That’s definitely a top moment for me.
“I love Lenape (High School),” he added. “I hope it’s clear in how much time I spend here, how much I try to do, and how many people I try to reach here.
“There’s no place I’d rather be.”
