Mr. Amore has always enjoyed getting to form relationships with his students. You may have seen him as a familiar face around the hall or maybe have even had a conversation with him, but it’s unlikely you know him as well as you know your teachers.

Our principal staff at RHS wants to remain friendly faces around the school and know that they are just as approachable as anyone else in the building.

“I like to get to know kids, and that’s something I’ve always enjoyed in the classroom, and I miss it a little bit now because I don’t have that same type of relationship with kids as I did as a teacher,” Mr. Amore said. “I work on trying to do that by talking to kids at lunch and at games.”

Mr. Amore began his teaching career at Van Hoosen Middle School, where he played a variety of different roles in the building between teaching and athletics.

“I was a seventh-grade history teacher at Van Hoosen Middle School,” Mr. Amore said. “That was my main subject that I taught, which was mostly ancient history. I also taught sixth grade for a while and I taught an eighth-grade class called multimedia. I had fun with that one; I did everything from photo editing to web page design, audio editing, videos. Also when I was at Van Hoosen, I was the athletic liaison, so that’s like the middle school version of an athletic director. I also started and coached an archery club. It eventually became a team between Van Hoosen and Adams, so we had a combined team.”

After having his teaching position for nearly a decade, Mr. Amore felt it was time for a change. He strived to accomplish more, driving him to apply for a position as an administrator.

“When the opportunity came up at Rochester High School I was super excited and I jumped on it,” he said. “I wanted to be able to have a bigger impact on a whole building level instead of just my classroom, and have a new challenge for myself.”

When the time did come for Mr. Amore to begin his new position at RHS, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted his transition. After teaching half a year at Van Hoosen, he moved to Rochester High in February.

“I was here for a total of three weeks before things got turned upside down with COVID,” Mr. Amore said. “Obviously March 11, 2020 was when that happened. I still enjoyed my time here, and it was not typical, but in a way it wasn’t a bad thing. For my family, my wife was pregnant with my son so I got to be home and help her, and still work from home and spend time with my daughter when things were shut down. The transition was tough, but it was a good thing for my family at the time. I learned a lot and I feel like it helped prepare me for now, now that we’re back in action.”

Mr. Amore notes that the school spirit at Rochester cannot compare to any other high school, and he wishes that he had had a similar high school experience.

“My high school was fine, I had a good experience and I enjoyed it, but I feel like here at Rochester everyone is more like a family,” he said. “There’s more togetherness, there’s more fun, there’s more school spirit, more pride in our school, and what it means to be a Falcon. That’s something I’m super excited to be a part of and something I wish I had as a kid.”

Mr. Amore notes that he values a lot of things in life, but one precious thing sticks out to him the most. He hopes that he can carry this understanding through all aspects of life.

“I value time,” Mr. Amore said. “Things like money and possessions, those things come and go. I try to keep that in mind every day that my time is valuable and I want to make the most of it. Whether that is servicing the kids and the staff here at Rochester and making sure I have an impact or making memories with my family, I think time is important.”