Zack Lowell: 'Learning from our mistakes is the most important thing to have that resilience.'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zack Lowell

Dual Language Academy of the Monterey Peninsula

Physical Education Teacher

“If you do what you love for work, you don’t work a day of your life,” said Dual Language Academy of the Monterey Peninsula Physical Education Teacher Zack Lowell.

Teaching was not his original career path as Zack earned a degree from the University of Southern California in urban planning and development, and spent three years helping clients with commercial real estate investment at Marcus & Millichap. A water polo player himself in high school and college, Zack began coaching the swim and water polo program at Woodside High School in Redwood City, California, and immediately fell in love with it.

 

Coaching became the turning point of changing careers, pursuing a teaching credential at Norte Dame de Namur University in Belmont, and being hired as a middle school teacher for South San Francisco Unified School District. Zack always dreamed of living on the Central Coast and made the move to MPUSD, where he has been a committed member of the team for approximately 10 years; five at Walter Colton Middle School and now serving his fifth year at DLAMP.

“I love my administration. I love my team,” says Zack. Originally tagged to teach middle school with his single subject PE credential, he now has the opportunity to teach physical education to students as young as five-years old in kindergarten. “I love working with the little ones and watching them grow up.” Zack looks forward to watching his first group of kindergarten students promoted to high school in a few years. “It’s neat to see the process,” he says.

 

If Zack can impart anything on his students, it’s hoping they understand that failure is part of the process. “Learning from our mistakes is the most important thing to have that resilience. It’s not easy to become an adult and I hope one little thing I say to them (students), they might remember that,” he says.

Zack loves the job of being outside and playing and he tries not to make PE too overbearing. He plans a variety of lessons to keep student athletes engaged, including exposing them to new sports and emphasizing the importance of working together. He even introduced school records five years ago and finds it’s something for students to shoot for and creates synergy around athletics. “I want them to have fun, have a good time, and learn to work together,” he says. “It’s a great job and I really love what I do.”

What makes DLAMP so special for Zack is watching students become bilingual and biliterate. By the time students are promoted to high school they have earned their seal of biliteracy and can speak both English and Spanish.

Outside of work, Zack can be found spending time with his wife of 15 years, his twin daughters and son. He enjoys watching his own children thrive in sports and can be found fixing things around his home.