Being a principal, in normal circumstances, is a challenge. Having to take charge of administrative tasks, manage students and teachers, having to discipline students, the list goes on and on. Now try to imagine everything they have to do this year because of Coronavirus. Having to juggle all of the challenges of COVID-19 protocols and remote learning are a whole host of “new” challenges administrators face. The new assistant principal, Mr. Rocco Telli, was hired this summer and has been a major contributor to the 2020-2021 school year so far.
Mr. Telli is actually a Norwin Alumni, having graduated from the high school in 1999. He then went to Mercyhurst College where he initially majored in sports medicine.
“I got a degree in sports medicine and I worked as an athletic trainer at Mercyhurst,” said Telli.
Mr. Telli then went back and got his history degree, and that’s when he decided “teaching is what I wanted to do.” He got a job in Charles County Maryland where he taught local state and national government in a high school for a year.
“I then got a job at Gateway after that,” said Telli. “ I was at Gateway for about 15 years teaching middle school social studies and being a principal.”
When asked why he chose this career path, Telli said “ I lived with my aunt and uncle and they were both teachers.”
Mr. Telli’s uncle actually taught at Norwin, and his aunt was a principal at a small Lutheran school in Forest Hills.
Even though he is passionate about what he does, Mr. Telli had a lot of challenges to face when he came to Norwin during the pandemic.
Telli said the hardest part was: “Learning a whole bunch of new procedures that aren’t very applicable in a traditional school setting, for example remote attendance. Trying to communicate that information out and letting you guys know what the expectation is, and communicating with parents and letting them know what the expectation is.”
Mr. Telli continued to say how it’s been nice because it has been like a “half start,” but he also wishes they are able to have everyone at the high school to “hit the ground running.”
Mr. Telli said his primary goal while at Norwin is “to help teachers get better at what they do, I believe that everyone can improve themselves, even students and teachers. I just want to maximize the potential in the building for teachers and for students.”
Fun fact about Mr. Telli: when he was asked what his dream vacation would be he said, “I used to teach a lot about ancient civilization and I think it would be really cool to do a two week tour through Europe.”

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