BELL IN HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE

Principal Frank Bell went to high school, too, but not much is known about his time there. Learning more about the principal is a good way to cultivate a relationship.

“I was a rule follower,” Bell said. “I was kind of boring. I played sports but I wasn’t all this and all that. I was in choir so I’ve always liked music. I was always under the radar as a kid.”

Bell’s favorite movie during high school was The Breakfast Club. It helped him decide that moving into a teaching position is where he wanted to be.

“It showed a light on the greatness and magic of being a teenager, but also a high school,” Bell said. “I think I knew at that point in the back of my mind I wanted to work with teenagers.”

Bell experienced many weird things during his high school career, but the weirdest thing that happened was streaking in the commons. 

“This was kind of a thing back then but we had a streaker,” Bell said. “We had a kid that decided he was gonna be suspended out of school forever and he ran through the commons completely buck naked. Bad decision on his part and bad decision on anyone here part.”

Bell has a wide variety of music he enjoys and cannot pick just one. 

“[I enjoy] Prince, Van Halen, Duran Duran, and I still play their music all the time,” Bell said.

Bell enjoyed music a lot, but not many people know that Bell was also in a garage band.

“I was a lead singer in a garage band called the Shifty Fish,” Bell said. “We never made a record but we had big dreams. In my duplex before I was married though we would jam.”

BELL AS A PRINCIPAL

Bell loves his job working with teenagers. He loves the students the most about his job.

“I just knew I wanted to work with young people,” Bell said. “I like the adults in the building. It’s unbelievably great staff, don’t get me wrong. In that COVID year last year when I walked the halls here and it was empty it was dead. When you guys came back in the building it reminded me of my calling.”

Bell has tons of visions, but the place he imagines most is what he shares with every student here.

“It starts with everyone here feeling welcome, that everyone is safe, we all know that learning is the priority here, we can provide incredible experiences for everyone here,” Bell said.

Bell believes that his biggest challenge this year is from the COVID year. 

“I think we’re still fighting a battle with kids fighting that COVID year rut, and maybe adults [are] too,” Bell said.

Bell has a son who is a junior in high school and multiple kids who help him see how kids deal with coming back to school and what school life is like. 

“I’ve got this full spectrum of four children,” Bell said. “It gives me great insight to watch my children as teenagers and how they cope with things like coming out of the COVID year, how they juggle business schedules, and all the things that go into a teenager.”