To say that a young Brian McDaniel faced formidable challenges to success, in even the most basic sense of the word, would be an understatement. As a child growing up in Desert Hot Springs — a community with less than a good reputation, as McDaniel described it — he endured the suicide of his father, an abusive stepfather, a period of homelessness.  Yet, with the help and support of his teachers and a determination to go beyond expectations, McDaniel overcame those challenges, graduating from high school and earning his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees.

To say that a young Brian McDaniel faced formidable challenges to success, in even the most basic sense of the word, would be an understatement. As a child growing up in Desert Hot Springs — a community with less than a good reputation, as McDaniel described it — he endured the suicide of his father, an abusive stepfather, a period of homelessness.  Yet, with the help and support of his teachers and a determination to go beyond expectations, McDaniel overcame those challenges, graduating from high school and earning his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees. And, in the fall of 2017, as the music teacher and director of bands and choirs at Painted Hills Middle School in Desert Hot Springs, he was selected as one of the state’s five 2018 Teachers of the Year. On top of that, he was named by state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson as California’s nominee for 2018 National Teacher of the Year. “I am just beyond shocked and surprised and in awe to represent Painted Hills as their teacher of the year,” said McDaniel, who earned his master’s in curriculum and instruction from Cal State San Bernardino in 2008. “It’s beyond my wildest dreams.”   When McDaniel arrived at Painted Hills in 2014, all he had to work with was an empty band room — no instruments, no music stands, no chairs. He swept the floors, built shelving, installed locks, then wrote grants and sought donations for musical instruments. “The in-between was rough,” McDaniel recalled.  As donations and instruments came in, the students decided to call themselves The Regiment. More than a name, it was an attitude they sought and developed — one of unity aimed at achievement and success.  The Regiment also wanted to raise the stature of their school, which once had the reputation of having discipline problems, McDaniel said. The idea: to go “Beyond All Expectations,” which the students wear on hooded sweatshirts. One way they did that: Their first competition in band and choir, and for many, their first time to travel outside the Coachella Valley, they took first place in a music festival in San Francisco in 2016. With the title “Teacher of the Year” attached to his name, McDaniel wants to make sure he gives back, and hopes to establish some sort of pipeline with Cal State San Bernardino trained teachers who were once local students.  “The way I look at it, I invested my life, my energy, into my students,” he said. “Maybe it’s greedy, but I want a return on my investment. I want them to give back. And to be honest, it’s this perpetual motion, where it’s exponential growth — the pebble that splashes in the pond, and it just ripples, ripples, ripples.” The idea may sound lofty. But if McDaniel’s track record is any gauge, it wouldn’t be wise to bet against him. His students certainly won’t. One of them, Itzel Posada, an eighth grader who is president of the choir, said: “One of the most import things that he’s taught me is that you can change your future, your destiny, by working hard, by being the best you can be.”