Rob Moore to Retire After 29 Years at DHS

DAYTON - When Rob Moore started teaching typing and business at Dayton High School in 1987, following three years at Pateros High School, Ronald Reagan was President, the Soviet Union was still together, and typewriters were still in use at DHS.

Moore, who has just finished his 29th year on the staff at Dayton, has decided to close the curtains on his teaching career at the end of the academic year. He is widely known among his former students (of which I am one) and co-workers for his compassionate and fun nature, all while still being serious about the success of his students.

When you walk into the business lab on the second floor of Dayton High School's main building, the first thing you notice is the walls covered in awards from the annual Future Business Leaders of America state conference, and Microsoft Office certificates earned by his students. Moore has been the FBLA advisor since he started at Dayton.

"FBLA has been really positive for me, and hopefully for the kids as well," Moore said about his involvement in the extracurricular club.

Moore has impacted the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of students at Dayton through both business and technology classes as well as FBLA. He has had students go on to work and be successful in many fields. "Watching kids put in the effort to be successful, and then be successful, is really cool," said Moore when asked to describe the best moments of his nearly three decades of work for DHS.

Due to his long tenure at the school, Moore said the hardest part of his job was keeping up with technology. "When I started teaching here, we had typewriters in this room," he said. "Now we're almost at a point where...desktop computers are almost obsolete because they're not portable. Trying to keep up with that has been a challenge."

Last week, Moore described his 29 years at Dayton as, "Wonderful. I can't imagine finding a better teaching job in Washington. It has been way more positive than negative."

His hard work and dedication has earned him great respect from students, as many still go to Moore when they need pointers on resumes or cover letters. Many parents also volunteer to help with FBLA fundraisers and events, and he also receives support for his club members from various community organizations, such as the Lions, Kiwanis, and the Dayton Alumni Association.

The respect he has gained from his students and the community is reciprocated by Moore as well. "I really gain a lot of energy from the kids, from the students," he said. "I really don't even like to call them students, they're people. Getting to know them and their families', that's going to leave a pretty big hole."

When the news broke that this would be Moore's final year at DHS, many people (including me) wondered how someone who had spent so much time and become such a big part of the school community could be replaced.

The district promptly began searching for a suitable replacement to take over the business classes that would now be without a teacher. The search did not take long, as a successor was found in short order.

Moore's replacement is Bob Cummings, a 44-year-old from Oregon who is currently at Kennewick High School. Cummings is a graduate of Whitworth University in Spokane who started gaining classroom experience during his college days, and is looking forward to teaching full-time in Dayton.

"I want to have a positive transition. It may take a little time, as these are big shoes to fill. But I want to fill Moore's shoes my own way," said Cummings. He is from Rainer, Oregon and once ran a mental health service for kids in Idaho.

Moore left some parting words from his time at Dayton: "I will never forget the support that I've had over the whole 29 years in Dayton from my school board, the parents and the families. The support that I personally and the business program has had from the community has really been amazing. I don't want to leave anyone out, my coworkers have been amazing over the years. It has been a great, warm experience."

Dayton's final day of school is June 15.