After a year away at Olentangy Liberty, Jake Shafer, former math department head, AP calculus/Algebra 1 teacher and Prospect Hill member, has returned to Hayes this year as assistant principal.
Throughout his years working in Prospect Hill, Shafer was known for creating a safe and fun environment for all students, making sure every student was included with ice breakers and music quizzes.
“Some teachers only participate with the students who are actively participating and just let students hang out in the back of a classroom,” senior Carson Maharry said. “But Mr. Shafer, he always dragged everyone in. No matter if it was heads up or a word search, he always got everyone involved.”
Maharry, along with other students, had Shafer for house their freshman and sophomore years, shaping their view of the extra period.
At the end of the 2022-23 school year, after eight years at Hayes, Shafer left to pursue his goals of becoming an administrator. Rather than start his supervisor journey here at Hayes, he opted to be assistant principal at Olentangy Liberty High School.
“It was a really hard decision, but it’s good in some ways, when you’re an administrator to go experience a different school for a year,” Shafer said. “At the recommendation of some of the administrators that I knew and looked up to, I decided to do that, even though I knew that I wanted to be here.”
During Shafer’s year away, Ric Stranges left to be superintendent at Buckeye Valley, creating an administrative opening at Hayes. With Shafer’s intentions to come back, the decision was easy for him and everyone involved in the hiring process.
“I just made a call and said, ‘Hey, it’s time to come home, we want you back,’” principal Rex Reeder said.
Having Shafer back as an assistant principal takes a lot of things off of Reeder’s plate, helping in the administration’s ability to run the school smoothly.
“To have another full time administrator is pretty powerful,” Reeder said. “He’s going to lead [academics and more] with staff, students, communication, branding and those types of things.”
Students are already feeling positively about his return to Hayes.
“Mr. Shafer being back at Hayes is awesome,” Maharry said. “It’s really good to see him around and see him participating and interacting with students and just being there.”
Along with students and his fellow administrators, Shafer said he is beyond ecstatic about being back in his home district.
“I can’t say enough how excited I am to be back here with all of [the students] that I care about so much,” Shafer said.
