Coach and math teacher Dave Fortino has a big year ahead of him. Not only is he the newest head football coach, but he also is starting a new chapter as a math teacher here at FHC.
“It was a combination of a few things [that helped me decide to apply], of just feeling that people around here respected what I have done the last five years as a coach and appreciated my hard work, and there was interest from both sides,” Fortino said. “The idea of getting to teach where I live and where my kids went to school was an extremely attractive situation [for] me because I drove in 40 minutes to work every day [and] 40 minutes home. So [it was] the combination of both.”
Fortino has taught for 23 years and coached for even longer. He started coaching in college and has since coached for many different schools and sports. He has coached baseball, hockey, and football and has done so all at the high school levels, including at East Lansing High School, Lansing Sexton High School, Grand Ledge High School, and Greenville High School. He most recently taught at Greenville High School for freshman math and Algebra 1.
Along with all of his experiences, he has had the chance to experience different demographics in school. He was able to teach and coach in different environments and learn about different people. From all his experiences, he believes that FHC is close to how he grew up in terms of the school and community.
Fortino has noticed that his transition between schools has been a lot smoother than some experiences. It may be from already coaching as an assistant football coach the last few years or having so many connections because of his two kids attending FHC. Either way, it has been a positive experience.
“I’ve had really good relationships with the kids, so the respect level was already there, and the trust from both directions was there,” Fortino explained. “So I do feel like it’s been a ridiculously smooth transition. I’ve been very, very lucky that way.”
Dave Fortino is lucky to have the unique roles of coach and teacher. He also gets to teach at the middle school and high school levels. Although middle school is a new teaching environment, he is enjoying it while learning what it is like to work with slightly younger students.
“I’m finding that right now, being at the middle school is not that much different than teaching ninth graders,” Fortino said. “I mean, I’ve taught ninth [grade], and this is the first year in my teaching career that I don’t have ninth-grade algebra, and teaching eighth-grade math is very similar. They’re a little bit squirrely right now because it’s early in the year, and I’m not used to some of it.”
The middle schoolers are very similar to the high schoolers, except for the giggling that is added to the boys in his classes. He does enjoy the younger kids as well as the high schoolers, though.
Although he may not be as experienced with middle schoolers, he does have experience teaching and coaching at the same time. He enjoys the role of seeing the players in class while also on the field because he learns more about the kids. It gives him a better understanding of what each person goes through in different environments. Especially by teaching different classes, including math and teacher cadets, he can see people in classes other than math.
“I actually like [teaching and coaching at the same time] better,” Fortino said. “I think that they get to see a side of me outside of teaching, and I get to see a side of them outside of school because sometimes you forget that kids have a normal in real life outside of school, and math is not usually their favorite thing to do in the world, so it’s kind of nice for them to get to see me doing something else besides math.”
There are, of course, other benefits to the job. He has a mere drive of two minutes to and from work compared to a 40-minute drive, and there’s no commute between the two roles. He also gets to work with teachers he already knew and had relationships with before because of coaching and gets to teach where his kids used to and do go to school.
“It’s been amazing,” Fortino said. “Students have been awesome. The teachers have been awesome. My drive is literally two minutes. I can’t tell you how awesome it’s been. I mean, not acting [at] all.”
Overall, Fortino is using his new jobs to gain more connections from what he already had. He is excited for the rest of the school year and football season, hopefully making it to playoffs like last year. He gets some great advantages and new experiences, and he is so thankful for the easy transition and welcome he has gotten.
“It’s been kind of tough the last five years teaching in one school and coaching in a different one,” Fortino said. “I was very fortunate to have a lot of understanding people at both places who allowed me to do it because I originally did it. After all, it was a way to spend more time with my kids.”
