At the start of this school year, Daniel Montejano replaced former IB and AP environmental science teacher Carly McKean, now a professor of agriculture-animal science at Mt. San Antonio College, as the new physical science teacher at CHS. Montejano had previously taught in many school districts such as Pasadena Unified, Mountain View, Los Angeles Unified, and most recently San Bernardino City, as a physical education teacher for 10 years due to his past career as a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS), as well as a fitness trainer for athletes. He trained athletes for 10 years with his own fitness company, Excelsior Fitness Professional, in downtown LA prior to becoming a teacher. His patients ranged from a high school student who wanted to prepare for the naval academy, to professional athletes from the LA Galaxy and the NFL Carolina Panthers. A prominent demand for science teachers led Montejano to become a teacher here at CHS.

“I am so happy to be here at CHS,”Montejano said. “I look forward to help students learn to value the benefits of science, not only in their lives at school, but also in the outside world. I want students to see, hear, and do science.”

Montejano was influenced by his father’s dedication to teaching, to the point where teaching became Montejano’s passion at a later age in his life. While he was working at a physical therapy and sports medicine office in Arcadia for three years and helping patients recover from their injuries by teaching them about the nature of their injuries and how it would affect the body, he came to a realization that he really loved the teaching aspect of his job. Because of this, he decided to go back to California State University, Long Beach for two years to get a credential for teaching full-time.

Montejano admires the benefits and knowledge of both science and physical education. He taught physical education in the past because he loves to exercise and he enjoys teaching kids how to exercise properly. He began teaching science because a background in science is mandatory for many jobs in the world currently and he wants to help students attain jobs later in life. He believes that through his teachings with media, peer evaluation, as well as hands-on projects, he can emphasize the importance of science to students and help them find learning it more enjoyable.

“Mr. Montejano is a really great teacher,” freshman Laura Monge said. “He is very excited for us to learn so he explains a lot of things in details. He wants us to be successful in life with the education that he gives us.”

Montejano’s personal motto is “education equals money.” At the very beginning of the school year, he demonstrated his interpretation of this motto by holding out a dollar bill from his wallet and ask a factual question to his students. Students who were able to answer the question were then rewarded with the dollar. This little example enabled students to experience the reality of how the outside world works with the benefits of education. With this, Montejano believes that it gave students a positive kick-off for the school year.

“It has been only a few weeks into the school year and it seems like he is fitting in very well,” head of CHS science department and science teacher Linda Moule said. “He is making connections with the students and he is also working very closely with [the other] science teachers.”

Although this is just the beginning of Montejano’s career at CHS, his progress thus far has given many students a promising outlook on the year to come. He makes a great co-worker and friend to all of the CHS staff members. With this, he has become an important part of the Wolfpack pride and future.