Cedar Grove Educator, Coach Earns NJ ‘Teacher Of The Year’ Award

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A “kind and compassionate” educator from Essex County who wears many hats – including as a championship-caliber coach – has been named one of the state’s newest Teachers of the Year.

Andrew Vander Horn, a social studies teacher at Cedar Grove High School, is among the 21 outstanding staff members who were honored by the New Jersey Department of Education on Tuesday.

Here’s what earned Vander Horn a nod for the 2025-2026 school year, according to the department of education:

“Now in his 11th year of teaching, [Vander Horn] has served Cedar Grove High School since 2019, instructing academic, honors, dual credit, and Advanced Placement (AP) history courses. His students consistently achieve academic excellence, where his AP class boasts a 100% pass rate, with 75% earning perfect scores of 5. One of his proudest accomplishments was to help bring the Kean University Holocaust, Genocide, and Modern Humanity course to his school. Within this course, it launched the ‘Pay It Forward’ initiative, which includes the annual ‘Orange Invitational’ fundraiser, raising over $5,000 each year for causes like homeless veterans and pediatric cancer patients. In addition to teaching, Andrew is a state championship football coach, girls’ basketball coach, and advisor to Key Club and Rho Kappa. He is also the Key Club advisor, further demonstrating his devotion to helping others and developing student leadership. Andrew leaves a positive and lasting impact on others by simply being kind, compassionate, and driven by a genuine desire to help those around him. This humility and selflessness are at the heart of everything he does, and they inspire those who work with him to do the same.”

Vander Horn earned a bachelor’s degree in historical studies and secondary education from Moravian College, and a master’s degree in education from The College of New Jersey (graduating summa cum laude).

“Great teachers make for great schools, and New Jersey is home to the best public school system in the nation,” Gov. Phil Murphy said.

“These awardees exemplify the very best our schools have to offer, and I am immensely grateful for the contributions of these exceptional educators to our school communities,” the governor added.

Individual schools select Teachers of the Year, who are eligible to apply for County Teacher of the Year through the Governor’s Educator of the Year Program, an initiative designed to recognize the commitment and expertise of outstanding teachers and educational services professionals. More information is available on the Governor’s Educator of the Year Program webpage.

A panel of educators will select the New Jersey State Teacher of the Year from among the 21 County Teachers of the Year based on written applications, video submissions, and interviews with the top finalists. The New Jersey State Teacher of the Year will go on to represent New Jersey in competing for the title of National Teacher of the Year.

Previous winners in Essex County have included:

• David Coster, a math and engineering teacher in Cedar Grove, earned a nod in 2020-2021
• Theresa Maughan, a social studies teacher in East Orange, took home the award in 2021-2022
• Kristen Dunleavy, a special education teacher in West Orange, won the award in 2022-2023
• Shamshadeen Mayers, a social studies teacher at Bloomfield High School, captured the award in 2023-2024
• El Houcin Houssam, a math teacher at West Side High School in Newark, earned the award in 2024-2025

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