Teaching at La Jolla Country Day School

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Faculty and Staff Directory

The La Jolla Country Day School faculty, administration and staff are strong, diverse and talented individuals who have been drawn together for a common purpose. Ours is a vibrant community with an exciting charge—to create a stronger, better place where our children and those of future generations can grow to become excellent individuals, citizens and adventurers of the world.

Below is a list of the administration, staff and faculty. To locate a member, click on the drop-down menus below to search by division, department or last name. Faculty and staff bios are also available below.

Faculty/Staff Directory

Department

Grade

Last Name

Jeremy Bank

Educator, MS Science and Design and Innovation Grades 5/6

(858) 453-3440 x154

Bio

“I inspire greatness for a better world by pushing students to improve every day. In all areas of life, small and incremental steps can translate to large changes over time. I ensure that students are striving to continually develop their skills in all subjects so that small progress over time can lead to large growth.”

Jeremy Bank believes that Earth science should be about observing and analyzing the world around us. As an eighth-grade Earth science teacher, Mr. Bank’s goal and mission is to provide a safe and mentally stimulating environment where students can learn how to not only understand the world but to realize change.

Mr. Bank graduated from the University of California, San Diego, with a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering. He worked in the fields of data analysis and energy efficiency before transitioning to a career in STEM education. He has been teaching children and adults in the fields of 3D printing, computer programming and robotics for five years.

Mr. Bank enjoys reading, movies and yoga. “The Martian” by Andy Weir, “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card and “Battle Royale” by Koushun Takami, are some of his favorite books.
Caroline Becker

Educator, Middle and Upper School Choir

(858) 453-3440 x198

Bio

“I inspire greatness for a better world by providing my students the opportunity to become articulate musicians, performers and communicators. I create an encouraging classroom atmosphere for my students to take risks and find their voice. Students who can tell a story through their voice will inspire others to do the same and become the leaders who will help impact the world around them.”

Caroline Becker believes that all music should tell a story and make someone feel like dancing. Without this basic concept, the beauty of a musical performance is simply lost to both the performer and their audience. Ms. Becker has taught and modeled this concept from the first day she stepped into the classroom.

Ms. Becker spent the first 24 years of her career teaching music education in the Upper Midwest, where she directed choral programs, orchestras, musical theater, jazz vocal and award-winning competitive show choir programs. She moved to San Diego in 2013 and loves everything about it.

Ms. Becker loves walking on the beach, singing, playing the piano, watching football and spending time with her three daughters, Kaila, Kelsey and Kylie. She is honored and thrilled to be a part of the LJCDS family.
Matthew Bessler

Educator, MS Science Grade 6

(858) 453-3440 x401

Bio

“I inspire greatness for a better world by empowering students to take control of their own learning. I want to foster well-balanced, caring, and open-minded individuals. As a science educator, I encourage students to ask questions and be curious about the world around them.”

Matt Bessler, M.A., joined LJCDS in spring 2021 as a long-term substitute teacher and started the 2021–2022 school year full-time. It did not take long for him to feel a connection to the students and his colleagues. Mr. Bessler loves teaching Middle School students because every day is a new adventure. Their needs change often, and he likes the challenge of figuring out how to empower them to be successful learners.

Mr. Bessler earned a B.A. in business marketing from Franklin College in Indiana and his M.A. in teaching from Point Loma Nazarene University. He has taught middle school science to sixth through eighth-grade students since 2010 and helped design and implement a successful STEM lab at his previous school. He was twice recognized as Teacher of the Year by The Greater San Diego Science & Engineering Fair.

Mr. Bessler loves to be in nature. He enjoys hiking, stand-up paddleboarding and golfing. He is also an avid sports enthusiast. During the fall, you can often find him cheering on his favorite football teams, the Cincinnati Bengals and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Mr. Bessler has a 10-year-old son who shares his love of sports.
Celeste Bilbao

Educator, LS and MS World Language

(858) 453-3440 x349

Bio

“I inspire greatness for a better world by conveying to my students the value of learning about the Spanish-speaking culture as well as connecting them with meaningful experiences to learn a second language in a safe and caring environment where everybody participates.”

Celeste Bilbao began teaching at LJCDS as a long-term substitute for the Heritage Spanish class in Middle School. She felt a strong connection and motivation with the school's vision, care for the students and sense of community. She is grateful to be part of this nurturing community where each person has a voice.

Ms. Bilbao was born in Santiago, Chile, where she earned her university degree as an ESL teacher. Before starting her professional path in Chile, she flew to London to experience living in a foreign country. This nurturing life experience made her recognize the importance of being a global citizen, which she is now passionate about instilling in her students. Back in Chile, Ms. Bilbao taught different age groups and one-on-one lessons in language institutes. Her most enriching career development was the 14 years teaching lower and middle school students at St. Ignatius El Bosque. During those years, she continued learning different strategies to teach languages and received training in Visible Thinking Routines and project-based learning.

Ms. Bilbao and her family are pretty new in the USA so she enjoys traveling around her new home, going to the beach, dining out on Mexican food, as well as surfing the web to learn more about second-language acquisition.
Piers Blyth

Educator, MS Science Grade 8

(858) 453-3440 x243

Bio

“I inspire greatness for a better world by emboldening students to tackle the problems they’re interested in, combining their own unique perspectives with scientific principles. In our world of unfettered access to information, I encourage students to take the broad view of problems in society and to create their own solutions based on reason and mental discipline.”

Piers Blyth believes education is the greatest opportunity to create change in our world. By serving the people who drive innovation in the future, and who will ultimately face societal problems head-on, his job is to equip these leaders with the foundational skills needed to help people across the globe.

Mr. Blyth’s educational career began in Phoenix with the Teach for America program. It was there that he increased his impact beyond the classroom by working as an education consultant and chief academic officer who wrote the application curriculum for new charter schools in Arizona. He also drove the creation of smartphone applications to enable teachers to use Bloom’s Taxonomy and the common core in their classrooms. Mr. Blyth transitioned back into the classroom by working as a sixth and eighth-grade science teacher at the Denver School of Science and Technology. As a teacher and instructional coach in Denver, he created a website that enabled instructional coaches to save time and leverage their knowledge by sharing instructional techniques and resources with their teachers.

Mr. Blyth is a voracious reader and is always looking for the next pedagogy book to better serve his students and fellow educators. His wife is also an independent middle school teacher so their household is all things education, all the time. Mr. Blyth proudly serves the LJCDS community and revels in the opportunity to shape the scientists of tomorrow.
Sean Bornhoeft

Educator, MS English Grade 7

(858) 453-3440 x237

Bio

“I inspire greatness for a better world by helping my students become better communicators and encouraging them to branch out and share their thoughts and ideas with those in the LJCDS community and beyond.”

Sean Bornhoeft believes his role as a Middle School English teacher is to use course content as a tool to develop students’ English language skills, thereby helping them become responsible global citizens with the ability to effectively communicate their ideas and beliefs, and understand and respect those of others.

Mr. Bornhoeft was born and raised in Chicago. He comes to the teaching profession after law school and a first career trading U.S. Treasury Bonds. Undergraduate summers spent as a camp counselor established that Mr. Bornhoeft enjoyed working with kids, and when his financial job became unfulfilling, he left the industry to enroll in the master’s in education program at Northwestern University. He has been working at La Jolla Country Day School in various roles since the 2008–2009 school year and has held his current position as a seventh-grade English teacher and assistant Upper School football coach since 2013.

When Mr. Bornhoeft isn’t at school, you can likely find him on a surfboard somewhere off our coast, or at home with his family. He lives in North Park with his wife, Julie, daughters Madelyn and Emma, and dog Kingston.

Faculty and Staff Directory

Faculty/Staff Directory

La Jolla Country Day School

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