Most students at Cal High know Mr. Dayton in one of two ways: either standing at a whiteboard explaining the laws of the physical world, or pacing the sidelines of the basketball court shouting plays. At first glance, a science lab and a gym don’t seem to have much in common. But for Mr. Dayton, a fixture of the Cal High community since 1998, they are simply two different classrooms where he helps students reach their full potential.
Over his 27-year tenure, Mr. Dayton’s role has evolved. After starting as a teacher, he added “coach” to his resume in 2001, viewing athletics as a natural extension of the classroom. For him, the gym is a space to support student growth beyond academics and engage with them in a completely different environment.
This versatility is essential, as Mr. Dayton teaches some of the school’s most challenging courses: College Prep Physics, AP Physics, and the Physics Academy classes (A&E and Auto Academy). Because these courses attract such diverse groups, he must constantly adapt his tactics. His Academy students are often sophomores facing their first quantitative science class; for them, he focuses on building essential problem-solving skills. His AP students face the opposite challenge: “They have to adjust to the pace of an AP classroom and learn how to answer specific AP-style questions,” Dayton notes. Through years of experience, he has learned to identify these specific needs and pivot his instruction accordingly.
For those who see Mr. Dayton in the gym, his coaching style is just as intentional as his teaching. While he spent much of his career coaching lower levels like Frosh-Soph—where the focus is heavily on fundamental learning—he notes that the approach changes at the Varsity level. “There is still just as much preparation, but it’s more about game strategy and preparing for the next opponent,” he explains. “You’re making sure everyone is functioning at a high level and trying to get the players to work together as a unit.” Occasionally, these worlds collide when his players show up on his physics roster.
While physics and basketball may seem like polar opposites, Mr. Dayton sees them as parallels. While the classroom requires more varied instruction to get a diverse group of students on the same page, the gym demands a different kind of intensity. “I would say that I am a lot more demanding in the gym than I am in the classroom,” he says, explaining that athletes are often held to more rigid, fixed performance standards. However, the core philosophy remains the same: “In both cases, students and athletes respect when you actually teach them something. That is the focus in both areas: helping them understand that I am there to help them learn.”
Reflecting on his nearly three decades at Cal High, Mr. Dayton believes experience is his most valuable tool. Mastery of his subject matter allows him to be adaptable, whether he’s adjusting a lesson on the fly or pivoting during a practice when plans change. What continues to motivate him is the culture of Cal High itself—the colleagues he has worked alongside for decades and a student body that genuinely wants to learn. It is this sense of community, combined with a lifelong dedication to teaching, that has kept Mr. Dayton invested in the home of the Condors for twenty-seven years.