It was February of last school year when Mr. Daniel Amore’s life changed for the better as his domain expanded from Van Hoosen Middle School to the entirety of Rochester High.

Mr. Amore joined the RHS administrative team in February of the 2019-2020 school year. Before being an administrator, Mr. Amore found his passion in education. Prior to working at RHS, Mr. Amore was a History teacher and athletic director at Van Hoosen Middle School. 

Mr. Amore knew he wanted to become a teacher with the help of a mentor and friend, who was a teacher at the Jr. High Mr. Amore attended.

“When I was in college, he gave me the advice to study what I enjoy, and try to make a career out of it,” he said.  “I always enjoyed social studies and working with kids, so becoming a History teacher made sense.” 

Previous students of Mr. Amore speak very highly of him and the learning environment he created. 

“He was really fun and chill and always did class games about History,” Adams High School Freshman Cooper Yakima said. “He used visual learning which helped him teach a lot, and his classroom was pretty cool with posters and history objects everywhere.”

As much as he loved teaching, he also wanted to become an administrator so he could have the chance to impact more students. Hence, when he saw the opportunity arise at RHS he had to go for it. 

So far, Mr. Amore has loved being part of the Rochester family.

“I enjoy working with people; an awesome admin team, an amazing staff, and incredible students. The people I get to work with make my job fun and meaningful,” Mr. Amore said. 

Among other things, being a part of the class of 2020’s celebrations has been Mr. Amore’s favorite experience at RHS so far. 

“Seeing the seniors smile during the ‘Glow for Grads’ event and during graduation reminded me why I love what I do, even during a pandemic,” Mr. Amore said. The administrator looks forward to more moments like this during his career at RHS.

He is also looking forward to creating new traditions and adding to the Rochester spirit.

“During my time so far at Rochester, I’ve learned about many of the traditions that have been built over the last 137 years,” Amore said. “Each of those traditions had a beginning and I look forward to creating new traditions in a new chapter of RHS.”

Of course, with his first full year at Rochester being initiated online, it has been a different experience from an in-person administrative job. However, Mr. Amore views the situation with optimism: “I’ve learned so much and enjoyed every experience, but it’s been strange with no students or staff in the building,” he said, “While it’s not my ideal situation, I think it’s made me stronger and even more eager to get students back in the building!”

Mr. Amore said his favorite part of being an educator is connecting with people and building relationships. With the transition to online learning this year, that has proven to be harder from a virtual setting. However, he solves this by finding creative ways to connect with people, and the remote learning situation has brought up a lot of new experiences for Mr. Amore.

“This situation has also given me experiences that I would have never had in a normal school environment,” Mr. Amore said. “I’ve learned to be more flexible, creative, adaptive, and also have had many opportunities to work alongside great educators.”

Although  this new online learning environment has brought up both positive and negative effects, Mr. Amore is looking forward to the safe integration of students back into the building. 

“Working with kids is what I love most about being an educator and I can’t wait to have kids back in the building again,” he said. “It’s what my job is all about and what makes it enjoyable.”

Mr. Amore finds passion in many things: His family, his job as an administrator, and many hobbies which he enjoys in his free time. Outside of being an administrator, Mr. Amore has a variety of hobbies and passions that he likes to do. He is always sure to make time for his family, which he says is his biggest motivation.

“I have been married to my wife Anna for seven years. We are high school sweethearts, so maybe that gives some of you hope. We have a three year old daughter named Eliana (Ellie) and a four month old son named Domenico (Nico),” Mr. Amore said. “They are the most important part of my life and I spend time with them whenever possible.”

Mr. Amore’s children drive him everyday and have been his biggest motivation in life since becoming a father. Career wise, his biggest motivation is watching students succeed, learn and have fun.

“As a teacher, I loved watching ‘eureka’ moments with my students. As an administrator, I get to see those moments on an even larger scale with the entire Falcon staff,” Mr. Amore said.

Mr. Amore is also very passionate about the outdoors. From archery to snowboarding, there isn’t much he has not done. Outside from his outdoor activities, he also enjoys a variety of other hobbies. 

“I am an avid hunter, a certified archery coach, a conservationist, and enjoy fishing, hiking, biking, kayaking, and snowboarding,” Mr. Amore said. “Outside of my outdoor adventures, I also play guitar and love music, I enjoy cooking, gardening, and listening to podcasts.”

Above all else, Mr. Amore wants the students of RHS to know one thing: “I want students to know that I will always work for them,” he said, “I will always work to make sure that students are safe, learning, and enjoying their time at RHS.”