Some men work from dawn to dusk, but this coach is hardly ever done.

It is the start of another work day for Ted Marquez, one of 80 teachers at Artesia High School, but one with an extraordinary schedule that begins long before sunrise and ends long after sunset.

3:45 a.m.

Marquez rolls out of bed and jogs about three miles around the neighborhood near his Ontario home. Then he showers, dresses and prepares a peanut butter sandwich to take for lunch, as Missy, his black-and-white mixed terrier, looks on. He grabs a cup of decaffeinated coffee and climbs into his black 1988 Ford Festiva.

As he clears the driveway, his wife Sandy and their three children, Tiffany, 13, Tamara, 9, and Taylor, 6, are still asleep. He listens to the Ken and Bob radio show as he rolls west and south along the Pomona, Orange and Artesia freeways.

5:46 a.m.

In the dark, cold quietness, Marquez is wide-eyed and alert as he arrives at Artesia High and unlocks the gate to the campus outdoor swimming pool. The 45-year-old former Marine wears a blue-striped T-shirt, lightweight tan slacks and deck shoes and has a whistle dangling from his neck. He bends and removes the blue plastic cover from the pool, being careful not to splash the chlorinated water on his clothes.

5:58 a.m.

The sun is barely up as the first swimmer emerges from the locker room for the 90-minute workout that Marquez will oversee. The swimmer’s eyes do not appear to be completely open.

“You have to admire these kids,” Marquez said to a visitor. “They work out in all kinds of weather, before and after school, weekends.”

Marquez was born in San Francisco. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps he earned a sociology degree at California State University, Long Beach, in 1970, while also competing as a cross-country runner. He entered teaching as a part-time assistant at Gahr High School in Cerritos, then landed a full-time post at Artesia High in 1974. Both schools are in the ABC Unified School District.

One day when he was hanging around the pool, Coach John Guzman asked him to help. Marquez considered himself just an average swimmer, but he accepted. For five years now he has coached the girls’ swim teams while Guzman has concentrated on the boys. Last year, the girls’ junior varsity won the league title. He also coaches the cross-country team.

8 a.m.

Marquez’s first class is ninth-grade geography. He faces 20 students who are learning about Mexico. Artesia High has 1,692 students, of whom 35% are Latino, 33% are white, 20% are Asians, 5% are black and the remaining include Filipino, Portuguese, American Indian and Pacific Islanders.

He gets a big laugh from his students when the classroom telephone rings and with a deadpan face, he quips: “It’s my mother-in-law.”

9 a.m.

His second class is a beginning U.S. history course. It presents him with a special challenge, since most of his students come from Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Mexico, Vietnam and other countries. All are learning English as a second language, and Marquez must rely on Korean-speaking and Spanish-speaking teacher’s aides.

10 a.m.

He gobbles the last of his peanut butter sandwich as the next history class begins. This time, Colombian-born student Lina Gordillo is having difficulty understanding why only white men were allowed to own property and vote in the American colonies.

“That’s not fair,” Gordillo declares.

When lunchtime comes, Marquez does not pause. He grades papers and runs errands to the administrative offices. He has always been that way, his wife said.

Marquez draws about $35,000 a year as an Artesia High teacher, and he gets another $4,000 for coaching and performing some additional teaching chores. Still, until last year, he worked weekends as a ride operator at Disneyland to earn a little extra. He said he needs every penny to give his children the dancing and swimming lessons that his parents were unable to afford when he was young.

“Before he quit Disneyland, we didn’t see him at all,” Sandy Marquez said. “Now we see him on Friday nights and Saturdays and Sundays.”

1 p.m.

The subject this hour is mathematics. Marquez talks of the satisfaction he feels when he sees a student striving to learn.

“That student is a gang member,” Marquez said, pointing across the room. “But he really tries. He usually receives D’s but the other day he received a B. . . . It made him very happy. And it also made me happy.”

2 p.m.

In his next math class, Marquez talked about a problem student.

“He won’t do anything in class,” Marquez lamented. “He refuses to participate. He is failing in at least four other classes. Some students just don’t care.”

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3 p.m.

After nine hours on the job, it is time again for swimming. Marquez supervises the girls’ workout while Guzman watches the boys. The two coaches stand at the south end of the pool, each barking orders to the swimmers doing laps.

“Starting from the top, you will do 10 laps, then 25 laps. . . . Go,” Marquez shouts, then blows his whistle.

6 p.m.

With swimming practice over, his work at Artesia High is done. But instead of heading home, Marquez drives to the ABC adult school in Cerritos. There, he hands out papers to about 80 students. He teaches there three, sometimes four, nights a week.

“They are coming to school because they need to get a diploma,” he said in admiration of his adult students. “This might be their last chance. They are very cooperative.”

9 p.m.

At last, Marquez is back on the freeway, headed for Ontario with the car radio tuned to KABC’s Ira Fistell, his favorite talk host.

10 p.m.

Missy greets him at the door. He pushes a plate of leftover meatballs and corn into the microwave. And as he eats, he corrects his daughter Tiffany’s history paper.

The rest of the family is asleep. And it is Monday--four days before he will see them together. Maybe they will take in a movie over the weekend. For sure, they will go to church.