Meet the Principal: Hasbrouck Heights Has Always Been a Part of Lesa Brinker's Life

Hasbrouck Heights has always been a part of Lesa Brinker’s life. The Lincoln School principal was born and raised in the borough and has been a part of the school district for about 25 years.

When Brinker first came into her new role of principal last July she admits it was a big change for her after being at the middle school for 22 years but once those children walked through the door in September she said everything changed.

“I felt like I died and went to heaven,” she said adding that this is truly the best time of her professional life.

She loves the staff at Lincoln and calls Pat Carlin in her office "amazing and dedicated" and says she can't do it without her.

In 1986, Brinker started teaching in the art room at Euclid and Lincoln schools and two years later was transferred to the middle school where she stayed for about two decades before taking on the role of director of technology in 2008. The next year she became director of curriculum, scheduling and technology before she moved into her principal position.  

Education needs to be built from the ground up, she said and now that she  is back at the elementary level after teaching in the higher graders she truly has a full understanding of the entire process. When her fifth graders move on to the middle school she has that knowledge of exactly where they are going.

One of the things Brinker has been focusing on is the alignment between the two elementary schools as she is working with the team at Euclid to make sure they are on the same page as she believes that all students should have some the same experiences.

She has been encouraging civic citizenship in her students by introducing REACH awards – R.E.A.C.H. which stands for Relationship, Example, Applause, Confidence and Hard Work works like a feeder program to prepare kids for future community service opportunities so they are already familiar with it by the time they become upper classmen.

Things happen for reason she said and she knows she was meant to come to Lincoln School.