Opening Doors

By: Maisie O'Brien

There are many ways to make the world a better place, and many career paths open to those with a passion for justice. Chris Montero, MAT '23, was contemplating impact when he decided to become a teacher.

He had considered becoming a lawyer to advocate for underserved communities or a diplomat working for peace, but he was ultimately drawn to the foundational, formative work of education.

“I like the idea of working to set communities up for success from the start, as opposed to coming into a situation when things have gone wrong,” Montero says. “Education is a great place to achieve that early, preventative impact. It’s important not just on an individual level, but for society to function in an equitable and productive way.”

He is currently taking a break from the classroom, serving as president of the Cambridge Education Association (CEA), a labor union that represents over 1,500 education professionals and service workers in the Cambridge Public School system.

In this role, he works to negotiate and enforce contracts and resolve conflicts when they arise. “I genuinely enjoy being able to help somebody who’s stuck,” he says. “The best part of being in a union is that no one’s alone—we’re a family, we’re a team, we have each other's backs.”

The CEA is advocating for the welfare of teachers as well as the students they serve. One current initiative the union is trying to pass is a law prohibiting landlords from evicting families with school-aged children during the academic year—an action which has been shown to be detrimental to students’ learning and well-being.

“This is just one example of how we’re working to help our students do their best, so we can, in turn, do our best to educate and support them,” Montero says. “Cambridge is a city with a lot of resources, and there’s so much we can and should be doing for our students.”

Montero came to the Master of Arts in Teaching in Middle and High School Education (MAT) after earning a BA in political science from Vassar College and an LLM in human rights and international criminal law from the University of Galway, Ireland. He was working as a history teacher in Lawrence, Massachusetts, while earning his MAT, and worked as a history teacher at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School after graduating from Tufts.

He was drawn to Tufts because of the opportunity to learn from Steve Cohen, a nationally recognized associate teaching professor of history and education specializing in identity, race, and classroom dialogue. The program also came recommended by Montero’s wife, Amanda Montero, who earned her BA '08 in History and MAT '09 at Tufts and is a reading specialist in Acton-Boxborough.

“I had a great experience at Tufts,” Montero says. “Most of the faculty have been educators for a long time and were grounded in the practical, day-to-day realities of what it’s like to be in a classroom. Making connections with this network of educators was really helpful in advancing my career and complemented the knowledge I gained.”

“I appreciated the diversity of the student body,” he added. “The students came from many different backgrounds and were passionate about teaching different subjects. The classes were small and there was an emphasis on building relationships with your peers and professors.”

After his time as president of the CEA ends, Montero is looking forward to returning to teaching. “My dream is to be a lifelong career educator—it’s something I’m excited to get back to.” He loves how the classroom is different every year, with the fall ushering in a new crop of students with distinct personalities, learning styles, and passions.

“When I think about the impact of my career so far, I’m most proud of the relationships I’ve built and seeing kids set up for success,” he reflects. “Some of them are Latino like me and come from a working-class background where they’re poised to be the first person in their family to go to college.”

“I’ve always wanted to be able to crack the door open and pull up as many people as I can because of the luck and privilege I had to receive a great education. When I see students succeed, I know they’re pulling up others along with them. It’s a great feeling and it makes a difference.”