So it's difficult to fathom how a Modesto resident such as Charles "Chuck" Montoya discovered that the school even existed. A 20-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, Montoya works at Montebello three hours a day in his own quest to become a teacher. He mainly volunteers with the class that combines the fourth, fifth and sixth grades, and finds that Montebello's unique qualities are fostering his own teaching experience.

"I'm learning a lot more here," he said. "If they had this school in Modesto, I would work there for free. I think I'm in heaven."

Montoya currently works a full day while gaining credits for his teaching credential. He leaves Modesto every morning at 4 a.m., driving two hours to his job as a recruiter for the Navy in the South Bay. After working from 6 to 8:30 a.m., he drives up to Montebello and helps with Leonard Brink's class, tutoring youngsters one-on-one and lecturing on occasion. "The things that I learned in the Navy definitely help out in there," Montoya said. "I'm able to keep control of the class."

But when he's finished with his students, he returns to work and doesn't leave for home until about 8 p.m. "You can't cheat the federal government," he said. "I work my full eight hours." His wife, Yvonne, and 12-year-old daughter Samantha don't see much of Montoya with his schedule.

He grew up in Modesto as the son of a Naval officer, and said it was a natural thing for him to enlist in the Navy in 1984, just as teaching is. "It's something I've wanted to do since I was a kid," he said. "I just had to serve the country first." Montoya served with the Navy all over the world—working in computer programming—including Somalia and the Persian Gulf. After he returned stateside, he worked in recruiting in San Diego, Phoenix and New Orleans before returning to Northern California.

But even as he splits his workday with the Navy, the military is still paying to help him earn his teaching credential through CalStateTEACH. The non-traditional program allows college graduates and those already in education the chance to earn a credential through a self-study program instead of enrolling in college courses.

Kate Welch, another teacher at Montebello, went through the program, too. When Montoya was looking for a placement in a school, the program sent out emails to its current participants, and Welch referred Montoya to the administration at Montebello. "He has a promising future," said Thomas Hall, Montebello's principal and superintendent. "He's been around the world, so he's much more mature. A good head start like that helps a lot."

Montoya is currently midway through his first year of the two-year program. He's able to continue drawing his Navy salary while he gains the necessary experience, but is already looking toward the semester he has to spend in the classroom full-time. "That's the only bump in the road," he said. But his commanding officer has been very supportive of his endeavors thus far.

After graduating from the program, Montoya hopes to cut down on the grind and find a placement at a school in the Modesto area. He said the size of Montebello has helped him glean more knowledge than he might have otherwise gotten at a larger school. Montebello's 39 students come from many of the wineries up in the hills above Cupertino, including migrant children whose parents work in the vineyards. The percentage of Montebello's migrant population is 46 percent.

"Our goal is to have every new student reading at grade level in three years, and we're getting there," Hall said. "Our API scores started in the mid-600s a few years ago, but we got a 796 this year. We're making progress."

That positive attitude seems to have rubbed off on Montoya, who said that he'll stay in elementary education. "I love interacting with kids, knowing that I'm going to be an influence on them," he said.