Crown Point board honors dozens of students and staff for academic, robotics and leadership achievements

The Crown Point Board of School Trustees used its May 18 meeting to present a string of commendations recognizing student teams and staff across the district.

The board read resolutions and presented certificates to teams including the Jerry Ross Elementary Math Bowl team (2025–26 state runner-up in the orange class), Taft Middle School and Colonel Wheeler Academic Super Bowl teams (county and state placings), Colonel Wheeler Robotics teams (excellence award and a third-place division finish at the Indiana State VEX competition), and Crown Point High School Project Lead The Way biomedical students, who won first place at the Big Cell Pitch competition at Purdue University Northwest and received a $10,000 seed fund for their project "Glucco." Coaches and teachers spoke briefly about practice schedules, teamwork and the academic rigor of competitions.

"I can't tell you how proud I am of you," Coach Carrie Lucas said to the Jerry Ross students, praising their commitment and the support of parents and teachers. Coach Miller, speaking for Colonel Wheeler’s teams, described consistent practice and close competition and said he was proud of how students grew both academically and as teammates. A PLTW teacher said the biomedical students completed a four-year sequence of classes and competed against finalists from across the region.

The board also recognized students in the Crown Point High Business Professionals of America program. Mason Erbini described his winning presentation at nationals on how schools should approach artificial intelligence in education; another student, Caesar Kieran, said his work focused on improving equitable access for pediatric oncology patients and that the competition taught him about advocacy.

Why it matters: The recognitions highlight district programs that connect students with regional and national academic competitions, and officials used the public meeting to record these achievements in the board minutes as part of the district's public record.

The meeting included brief coach and student remarks, photo opportunities, and an expression of appreciation from board and district leaders before the meeting moved on to the consent agenda and other business.