With the new school year now in session, a new leader has arrived at Niles West High School. Jeremy Christian is officially the new principal for the Wolves, bringing high energy, a welcoming persona and overall a new vibe for this school year.
Christian made it clear that he wants to create a strong bond with the students by posting regularly on Instagram, doing morning announcements and visiting classrooms throughout the day. It is the reason he decided to become a principal.
“I wanted to be a principal because I didn’t like how the other principals are honestly just not cool, or they just didn’t really know who the students were. Also, a lot of the other principals didn’t really interact with their students. My goal is to help students, look out for them and make sure they know there is someone who advocates for them,” Christian said.
Christian has had a lot of experience in this job, as he was a principal at two other schools: Richland Junior High School in Cresthill and Percy Julian Middle School in Oak Park. He came to Niles West because his career started in a high school building, and he eventually wanted to come back to where he started.
One of the biggest ideas Christian wants to implement is the 5 R’s: rules, responsibilities, rewards, routines and respect. He is also trying to make Niles West the #1 school in Illinois.
“We can do that by making sure our students are respected and cared for. Additionally, teachers will have the tools they need to teach students in innovative ways to think out of the box. The reason is that I want our students to think ‘hey this is our school, we respect our school and want to come to our school.’ I want Niles West to be #1 in academics, behavior and social-emotional learning,” Christian said.
Another idea he wants to pursue during his time here at West is to connect with the feeder schools that will come to Niles West. It is called The Bridging the Gap Program.
“This is where our students would mentor some of the other students at the feeder schools for two years before they come here,” Christian said.
Teachers are also very impressed and happy with the new change, and they see a lot of good coming to West from Christian.
“He has shown just about everything I think anyone can hope to see. He is involved, he cares, he is very supportive of teachers and students, he is very charismatic and he has a lovely personality. Christian is also funny and if things continue the way they started, I can’t imagine a better situation,” English teacher Sharon Swanson said.
He also loves speaking to students, inspiring and motivating them. Christian is also very family-orientated.
“I love my own kids: Joy (aka Punchin) and Javari. I like being with my wife, Latoniya, I like celebrating our family and my faith is really important to me,” Christian said.
Overall Christian is also already having a positive start to being the principal.
“I have learned that we have a great group of students. I have never seen many students as respectful as Niles West students. I think the community is very diverse from the difference in religion, ethnicity and race,” Christian said.
Students also have a positive mentality toward the new principal.
“I honestly really like him and his energy. It is refreshing to see someone who is so passionate about Niles West and someone who is working so hard to make a connection with the students,” junior Michelle Martcheva said.
It seems that Christian is getting lots of good feedback – and is a good fit for our wolfpack. Let’s all give Principal Christian a great welcome and a great year here at Niles West!
