Mr Moore has been working in the district for 26 years. He mentions that he loves working in West Orange. As of last year, Moore switched from Principal to West Orange High School to the Superintendent. He truly misses working here, working with and being close to the students, and gaining that bond with the students. But with just a start at his new job, Moore has faced challenges. He mentions, “It’s so broad that there are so many people to look after, not only the students but also the staff, and I take those responsibilities very seriously.”
One way he finds the job slightly easier is because he grew up here, went through the system, and worked his way up. He believes that we have a standard and all have our unique ways all that are West Orange people. Moore says, “Keeping that standard and keeping that love that inclusivity is very important, and trying to hold everyone together is the biggest challenge.” When he mentions “he grew up here,” he means career-wise.
Moore was an immigrant from Trinidad, then, when he was younger, moved to New York. However, he did attend high school in New Jersey but went to college in New York. New York gave him a starting point of diversity and exposed him to so many people. Despite that, he likes New Jersey better and loves to raise his three children in West Orange. Mr. Moore’s background is Trinidadian, and he has a Caribbean background and a West Indian. The reason why he says he grew up here is because he got married here and had his first kid when he was here. He truly felt welcome here, and he is grateful for all the advice that he received.
When he first came to America, he faced many challenges with being an immigrant. He had to deal with a big cultural change and bullying because of his accent, and he sadly lost. Through all of this, he became a little bit tougher and understood that life is not perfect, but everyone is not bad. He didn’t only have bad things happen to him. There was some good out of this where some people wanted to learn about him, and he wanted to learn about them. Moore quoted, “Life is balanced.” Meaning sometimes it has good moments and sometimes it has bad moments.
As many students and townies, we all look at Mr. Moore as a happy and always smiling kind of guy. It may be hard to hold that reputation, but he advises that being genuine. He says, “Be real, I am not always happy but, like, I look at like like the balance.” Working with students and feeling out a great vibe, he gets an energy boost and feels good. Having all these relationships and being a role model to a lot of people, he truly feels lucky. He is warmed up knowing that his kids have great friends and family around them that will also support his kids.
One piece of advice Mr. Moore has for seniors about exploring college life is, “When choosing the school, I would say it’s not just about the eye test, it’s about the energy. Visit the school during the day visit the school at night.” With that, Mr. Moore started playing baseball at KEAN College, but then he went to NYU. He had a great experience because NYU is in the village. He got into Art, dance, DJing, and theater. He expresses how he met great people going to NYU because of how unique the students were.
Moore wanted to be a clinical therapist, so he started with that as his major. He made sure he had something to do with education, knowing that it would be good to have. He earned a clinical social work degree. He learned how to look and understand the behaviors of different age groups. Now Moore works on policy, works with the town, changes in the town, and how it may impact the school. Then there is the day-to-day speaking to parents, meeting with principals, meeting with students, and committees. It’s a lot in the day for him, but he enjoys what he does. As long as the people are happy, just know that Mr. Moore is happy.
Therefore, as the days go on, we understand that he works for us and he tries to make sure everyone is happy. Moore is a genuine and a people person he tries his hardest to come to the games and support each athletic team that is going to big games or meets. Behind all of this, Moore is a coach for the PAL baseball team. He loves to volunteer his time out to help the younger kids enjoy their time in these sports. He is devoted to meeting families and getting to know these kids right when they join the program. Mr Moore is truly someone you can count on. His loyalty and honesty beyond no other person has shown through the 26 years he has been working in the district. He truly shows leadership within the staff and town, and I hope to see more of him at events.
