Joe Montgomery has participated successfully in many aspects of high school music education, both vocal and instrumental, as well as theatre education. He has utilized his education, experience and familiarity with the National and California Standards for Visual and Performing Arts to write three Vocal Music curricula: Mixed Chorus, Vocal Ensemble and Concert Choir, which were unanimously accepted by the school board and the community for implementation. He has taught all three levels of the curriculum.

In addition, he co-authored four levels of Drama curricula: Introduction to Drama, Beginning Drama, Intermediate Drama and Advanced Drama, which were also immediately adopted and implemented. He has successfully taught all four levels of that curriculum, plus Stage Craft. Under his direction, the Performing Arts program at Highland High School was varied, involved hundreds of students and had exacting performance standards. While at the Highland program, which he initiated, he was nominated to Who's Who Among America's Teachers, 1998.

Joe Montgomery was also the Director of the "World Famous" Hollywood High School's Marching Band. When he arrived, the band was bedraggled, with no uniforms to speak of and barely any functioning instruments. They had been ostracized from the Hollywood Christmas Parade for many years. This parade is an internationally televised one, which passes in front of their school, without their participation. This was embarrassing to the students, the school as a whole and the community. Before Joe Montgomery left Hollywood High, they were once again back in the internationally televised Hollywood Parade. The HHS Band reached Parade Conformance Standards with a Dance Team, Shield Team, Rifle (ROTC) Team, Drill Team, both tall and short Flag Teams, and the band itself.

As can be seen, Joe Montgomery is a performing arts educator who is definitely an innovator and a program builder. He has designed, implemented and promoted several programs to benefit the students and increase their self-concept and self-esteem. These programs also develop esprit de corps, life-long friends, and job skills such as teamwork. As high school administrators are fond of saying, create "Snapshot Moments," which provide happy and glorious moments in the educational memory of the students, their parents and the community.