After a 38-year tenure at Harvard-Westlake, Former Vice President of School John Amato will be staying at the John Thomas Dye School indefinitely.

Amato left Harvard-Westlake at the end of the 2015-2016 school year to serve as the Interim Head of School for JTD and intended to return for the 2016-2017 school year. He decided to extend his stay for another year, however, and serve as the Director of Advancement for Special Projects.

After this school year, instead of returning to Harvard-Westlake, Amato will continue to serve in his current position and oversee the Ray Michaud Opportunity Fund and collaborate on the ongoing master planning process. He will also assist JTD’s Head of School Rose Helm with any other projects she identifies.

The JTD community expressed their enthusiasm with Amato’s decision.

“JTD has benefited from the warm, collaborative, child-centered leadership of Mr. Amato,” Helm said. “He is beloved by the JTD community, and we are thrilled that he will remain a presence on campus and part of the JTD family.”

Due to Amato’s official departure, the school has decided to eliminate the Vice Presidential position. According to President Rick Commons, Amato’s job was primarily focused on rebuilding the Middle School, which has been completed, and the upper school parking project, which is nearing approval from the city. Thus, a separate position is no longer needed and Chief Financial Officer David Weil will continue to oversee Amato’s ongoing projects.

Commons said Amato’s presence on campus is irreplaceable.

“Like many students, faculty, staff and parents, I will miss Mr. Amato’s incredibly warm embrace of everyone in our community,” Commons said. “We will all just have to try to remember the way Mr. Amato made us feel and make sure to give that to each other every day the way Mr. Amato always did with a wink or a friendly wave.”