Going from school to school, serving as both a teacher and a coach, Zac Wells became one of the Assistant Principals at CPHS. Wells was motivated to work at CPHS by how welcoming the Crown Point community is to him.
“I’ve lived in the community for 25 years. For 18 years, I was a teacher in Merrillville, and then I spent the last 10 years at Homewood-Flossmoor High School. I love this community, as I lived in it the whole time I was at these schools,” Wells said. “Both of my daughters graduated from this school, playing basketball and soccer. We know the school district is top-notch and one of the best in the state. This is the place you would want to go as a professional in education. I luckily had the opportunity to apply and be hired to work here.”
Since Wells is the new Assistant Principal, he has multiple tasks to face each day as he learns more and more about working here.
“My larger responsibility is being the AP coordinator. My other schoolwide responsibilities are being in charge of first-year teachers and mentors, and random drug testing,” Wells said.
These tasks can also be challenging for Wells, as he is new to the school rules CPHS follows.
“Some challenges here have been the change in policies and processes. Anytime someone goes into a new organization, no matter how much experience they have, there will be things done differently,” Wells said. “For me specifically, there were slightly different laws when I worked in Illinois, so going from one school to another was quite the challenge.”
These challenges bring questions, and Wells has utilized the community around him at the school to help him as he settles in.
“I have been really fortunate that my team, the assistant principals and the administrative team with Mr. Marcinek and Ms. Alkire, has been incredibly helpful with my transition here,” Wells said. “I have been able to lean on them for a lot of the questions that I had, and they have been very generous with their time and their resources they share with me. This has helped me get the ball rolling a little bit so I can be more independent in carrying out my responsibilities.”
Even though Wells is still learning about the clubs and extracurriculars CPHS has to offer, one new sport has caught his eye.
“I’m very excited for the girls’ flag football team this year because at my previous school, I helped coach our flag football team,” Wells said.
Although Wells has been here for two months and is still learning about the fundamentals of the high school, he has found certain aspects enjoyable, making him excited to come to work every day.
“The people and the kids are my favorite part about working here. This school is a place with exceptionally bright and very polite students,” Wells said. “The adults have been incredibly welcoming. It has been a really enjoyable transition.”
In all, as Wells adjusts to the new school, he shows his positivity and his willingness to help maintain a safe environment for all students and faculty.
