Teaching at La Jolla Country Day School

Faculty/Staff Directory

Department

Grade

Last Name

Jennifer Boock

Administrative Assistant, US

(858) 453-3440 x126

Bio

“I inspire greatness for a better world by helping everyone who walks through the door of the Upper School administrative building. Whether it is a student, parent or faculty member, I am ready with a smile and a willingness to help make their day a bit better. Sometimes it is a student who has lost a backpack or a parent dropping off lunch. Every encounter is important and meaningful to me.”

Jennifer Boock is the Upper School administrative assistant. Her job is to make sure that anyone who needs anything related to the Upper School is taken care of, whether that be finding an answer or directing them to the person who can help them.

Mrs. Boock has been a part of the La Jolla Country Day School community for more than 20 years. She started as the main school receptionist then moved on to work as the assistant for the development office. Seeking more interaction with the students, she transitioned to the Upper School administrative office, where she has been helping students, faculty and parents for the past 18 years.

Mrs. Boock loves spending time with her family and watching her son play a variety of sports, from ice hockey to lacrosse to baseball. She also enjoys reading novels and watching just about any movie.
Rafael Eaton

Director of Libraries

(858) 453-3440 x165

Bio

“I inspire greatness for a better world by guiding collective curiosity, by connecting us to new perspectives to create a dynamic worldview, and by supporting the informed asking of questions that drive our day-to-day lives.”

Knowing how to competently navigate and utilize a world of information is the key to creating well-informed global citizens. Rafa Eaton’s goal is to provide guidance to students’ independent learning and self-discovery through the library’s digital and physical programming.

Originally from Oregon, Mr. Eaton began his career at Portland State University and finished his Bachelor’s at The City College of New York, where he concentrated on English Literature and Judaic Studies. He received his Master’s Degree in Library Science from Drexel University in Philadelphia. Before joining La Jolla Country Day School, Mr. Eaton plied his trade across the US as a line cook and an archivist-trainee for the San Diego Museum of Us, Democracy Now! Productions, and Canyon Cinema.

In his free time he [still] enjoys cooking for his wife and two sons.
Robert Grasso

Assistant Director of Athletics and Physical Education; Coach - Football

(858) 453-3440 x259

Bio

“I inspire greatness for a better world by mentoring students and athletes on a daily basis. I also conduct leadership training workshops to help develop the next generation of inspirational leaders.”

Robert Grasso has been working at La Jolla Country Day School since 1999. He is a member of the athletics department, serving as assistant director of athletics. Mr. Grasso was a student at LJCDS from 1978–1985. He is a graduate of La Jolla High School where he played football and baseball.

After graduating from Georgetown University and earning a teaching credential from the University of San Diego, he began teaching at the elementary school level. At LJCDS, Mr. Grasso taught third, fifth, and eighth grade before moving to the Upper School as a humanities teacher. He also served as an assistant football coach for 11 years and an assistant baseball coach for 19 years, winning league and CIF titles with both programs. He mentors students and coaches, develops leadership skills and helps to define the athletic department’s culture as leadership coordinator. In addition, Coach Grasso directs athletics communications including managing the LJCDS Torreys app. In 2022, Coach Grasso earned a Master's in Athletic Administration from Ohio University.

Coach Grasso and his wife Claudia are the parents of two Torreys, Gabriella '20 and Santino '25.
Luke Jacob

Director of Writing, Communication and Media Literacy

(858) 453-3440 x345

Bio

“I inspire greatness for a better world by helping young people develop their voices as writers and their skills as readers of all media—text-based, visual, electronic, and more. The gift of communication is one of the most fundamental aspects of being human; learning to appreciate and use that gift is, therefore, a humanizing, humbling, and rewarding process.”

Lucas Jacob serves as LJCDS’s Director of Writing, Communication, and Media Literacy. This role involves working with all three divisions on initiatives related to communication, focusing especially on writing and on 21st-century literacies.

Mr. Jacob is the author of two full-length poetry collections (Sympathetic Beasts, 2023, and The Seed Vault, 2019) and two chapbooks of poems (Wishes Wished Just Hard Enough, 2019, and A Hole in the Light, 2015). He serves as co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Media Literacy Education. Mr. Jacob’s poetry, essays, and fiction have appeared in more than 70 literary and trade journals. He earned his bachelor’s in English and African/African-American studies from Carleton College and his master’s in creative writing and literature from Temple University. For the past 25 years, he has worked as a teacher, coach, advisor, and administrator in independent schools in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Texas, and California. He had the privilege of being a Fulbright Scholar in Budapest, Hungary, in 2004-05.

When he is not writing or working with young people, Mr. Jacob plays guitar (sometimes in amateur bands featuring rock and blues repertoires, and more often in his living room), walks or runs for miles on end, follows the Chicago Cubs, and experiments with new dishes in the kitchen. Mr. Jacob and his wife are enjoying getting to know their new home city of San Diego.
David Jenkins

Assistant Head of Upper School (Emeritus)

(858) 453-3440 x221

Bio

“I inspire greatness by working with our students to develop relationships based on dignity, learning about the things they want to do, finding ways to say yes, and helping them navigate the path they choose to follow.”

Dave Jenkins arrived at La Jolla Country Day School following a 20-year career in the U.S. Navy. After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, he attended flight school and earned his wings as a helicopter pilot. While on sea duty, he made multiple six-month deployments to the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas, and the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. His shore-duty assignments included a couple of years at the Pentagon, graduate school, and at Naval Air Station, North Island, here in San Diego. During his time in the Navy, he had the opportunity to serve in a variety of leadership positions.

LJCDS was a perfect landing place for Mr. Jenkins. He spent his first 12 years in the Upper School teaching in the math department. During this time, he also coached the girls varsity soccer team and the girls varsity lacrosse team, and served as the sophomore class dean. In 2014, Mr. Jenkins joined the Upper School administrative team as dean of academics and student life for juniors and seniors.

Mr. Jenkins enjoys reading and often has up to five books on his nightstand. He enjoys biographies, but you will also find Nelson DeMille novels and works by David McCullough.

Mr. Jenkins and his wife, Masami, are proud parents of daughter Lorin who is a 2007 alumna of LJCDS. They live in Bonita, and Lorin is a CPA living and working in New York City.
James Joseph

Head of Upper School

(858) 453-3440 x464

Bio

“I inspire greatness for a better world by fostering an ethos of collaboration, dignity, and excellence. I keep students at the center of my decision-making, support faculty and staff to be and bring their best daily, and partner with parents/guardians. I strive to create an environment where learning is optimized, and students can develop the skills and knowledge to launch into the next phase of their lives and become engaged citizens and leaders of tomorrow.”

As Head of Upper School, James Joseph is dedicated to enhancing the student experience. He draws on his passion for student learning, independent school experience, and team leadership background. As part of a lineage of lifelong teachers, including his mother through his great-grandmother, Mr. Joseph strives to further enrich the supportive and engaging environment in the Upper School.

Soon after graduating from Brown University, Mr. Joseph heeded his calling in education, beginning as an AmeriCorps middle school teacher and high school girls’ basketball coach. He has worked in schools in Miami, Oakland, and Seattle, where he earned his Master of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of Washington.

When not at work, Mr. Joseph enjoys exploring San Diego with his wife and hanging out with their two college-age children when they can. He loves watching basketball, cooking, reading, playing games (card, board, and video), chillin’ on a beach, and continuing his quest to find the best nachos in the area!
Aakash Kumar

Upper School Dean of Students

(858) 453-3440 x391

Bio

“I inspire greatness for a better world by helping all students feel comforted and supported to make mistakes, ask questions, and dive into their own passions—providing opportunities for students to build on what they already know and continue to be lifelong learners. Science is all about taking chances and exploring interesting phenomena, and I inspire greatness by helping to build strength and confidence to use science as a new way to look at the world.”

Aakash Kumar completed his undergraduate degree at Georgia Tech in Biomolecular Engineering and is currently working to finish his Ph.D. in Cognitive Science in Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. He is working on a project titled “Using Augmented Reality to Teach Physics.”

Before he started his Ph.D., Mr. Kumar was a high school math and science teacher in Arkansas, and he chose to go back to school to learn more about how to best help students learn science. He is so excited to have the chance to use all this knowledge every day and continue to learn from his students and fellow teachers.

Mr. Kumar has an extremely chatty (he calls this an “accent”) lab-mix named Onyx, who is still adjusting to being a West Coast beach dog instead of a New Yorker. His favorite book is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, and he watches way too much TV to pick a favorite show, although currently it’s a toss up between The 100 and The Good Place. The journey taken by the characters is what speaks to Mr. Kumar, and it is also why he, his fiancé Richelle, and Onyx spent two weeks traveling across the country to get to San Diego. They both love travelling and are hoping to head to Italy next summer and India after that.

Mr. Kumar’s hobbies include running, hiking, playing video and board games, and cooking. He is passionate about all kinds of gaming, staying positive amidst all of life’s uncertainty, and finding ways to connect the world to the students in a classroom.
Dan Lenzen

Director of Design & Innovation

(858) 453-3440 x352

Bio

“I inspire greatness for a better world by teaching our students to empathize with the difficulties others face and how to be proactive problem solvers. Human-centered design requires a deep interest in how others experience the world, a sharp analytical eye and the courage to try to improve the world. I teach students the technical and human skills that will allow them to tackle problems of any size.”

Before to coming to LJCDS, Dan Lenzen earned his Master of Science in cognitive science at the University of California, San Diego, where he designed methods to study gesture and sign language with the Microsoft Kinect and taught design to undergraduates. This work built on his interest in how cognition exists in our mind and bodies that began when he earned his Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Colorado College (with a focus on social psychology). He spent three years as a researcher at the University of Chicago, investigating the role of gesture in learning in middle school students. These experiences provided Mr. Lenzen with skills in human psychology, research design, web design and computer programming.

Mr. Lenzen is the director of Design & Innovation and teaches courses in the Upper and Middle Schools.

As a native Chicagoan, Mr. Lenzen has joyfully embraced the San Diego lifestyle—surfing, hiking and actually enjoying the months between October and April.
Jonathan Shulman

Educator, US History; Director of the Center for Excellence in Citizenship

(858) 453-3440 x302

Bio

“I inspire greatness by educating our students on the importance of civic engagement. In a free society, we have the constitutional right to say what is on our minds. As such, we can make the choice to speak truth or falsehoods, to speak laudably or reprehensibly. It is our obligation to seek out the facts and to respond in a way that recognizes our own as well as others’ sense of dignity.”

As the history department chair, Jonathan Shulman is passionate about promoting civic engagement. He develops partnerships with civic organizations, including the City Club of San Diego and the San Diego Historical Center, and coordinates off-campus and travel opportunities for students. Mr. Shulman is head teacher–coach of the Torrey Mock Trial Team, a program that is recognized as one of the best in San Diego County.

Mr. Shulman graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Tufts University and a master’s in war studies from King’s College London. He was the first K–12 educator to be elected president of the California World History Association, he is an active partner with EUROCLIO—the European Association of History Educators, and he has served as an AP World History exam reader for the College Board since 2010.

Before joining LJCDS in 2003, Mr. Shulman taught at the American School of Milan, in Italy; the Beijing Film Academy, in China; and the Greenhill School, in Dallas, Texas. He previously worked as chief of staff to the Appropriations Sub-Committee Chair in the Maryland House of Delegates.

A fan of the movies, Mr. Shulman was the co-producer and director of Minyan in Kaifeng, a documentary about the modern-day descendants of an ancient Chinese Jewish community. The film, narrated by Leonard Nimoy, played at several international Jewish film festivals to great acclaim.
Robert Wagner

Director of the Arts

(858) 453-3440 x234

Bio

“Through an arts education, is an education in the human condition. Through painting, building, singing, performing and shaping, students learn to understand themselves and the world around them. I inspire greatness by ensuring students have a safe place to discover their true selves as they experiment with how to create art which shapes, reflects and challenges the world around them.”

Robert Wagner received his Bachelor of Arts in theater and dance from Muhlenberg College. He founded a nonprofit high school performing arts program for inner-city youth in Allentown, Pa. and served as the manager of education and outreach for Muhlenberg College’s Summer Music Theatre.

Mr. Wagner started at LJCDS in 2012 and has taught Middle and Upper School dance and drama and choreographed and directed all of the theatrical productions. In 2022, he became the director of visual and performing arts.

Professionally, Mr. Wagner performed with the Enchantment Theatre Company’s national tour of The Velveteen Rabbit, sang and danced his heart out in countless summer stock productions on the east coast, and choreographed and assistant-directed the La Jolla Playhouse W.O.W. Festival productions of Heaven on Earth and Under Construction. He has served on the board of the international nonprofit Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed, Inc., and was the director of performing arts at the Swain School for four years.

In his free time, Mr. Wagner loves playing with his Goldendoodle, Midas, and traveling with his husband Brent.