Jezabel Rabaneda Boo first chose La Jolla Country Day School as a mother. She was looking for an educational environment that would inspire her daughter to think big and have an open mindset, to develop her abilities and to embrace and support the emotional aspect of her being. Then, Ms. Rabaneda Boo had the opportunity to be part of LJCDS as an educator, which she thought was a true blessing, as she aligns with the school’s core values. She started in 2019 as a Spanish educator in the Early Childhood Center and the Lower School.

Ms. Rabaneda Boo received her B.A. in Education from Barcelona University, followed by a postgraduate degree in Social Theater and Educational Intervention. She taught in Spain for a few years of her career and then moved to the United States to work as a Spanish teacher in bilingual schools and at an International Spanish Academy in Florida. That was followed by five years as a Spanish teacher at Ideal School of Leadership, a multiple intelligence school that applies current brain research to educate.

Ms. Rabaneda Boo believes knowledge is the beginning of improvement, love is the way, and oneness is the ultimate truth. She likes being in nature, reading, writing, listening to music, practicing yoga and learning about neuroscience and growth mindset. She is passionate about essential oils and holistic medicine. Her goal is to be a better version of herself every day and help to build a world where everybody wins.

“I inspire greatness for a better world by creating an environment that allows each student to find their true potential physically, emotionally and intellectually. Being a teacher and coach for the past 40 years, I have experienced the greatest sense of community at La Jolla Country Day School. There is no other institution that provides a young person with all the tools necessary to go out into the world to make it a better place.”

Kevin Reaume has been teaching and coaching for 40 years and began coaching full-time at LJCDS in 1990. As LJCDS’s physical education educator, athletic performance director, full-time football coach and head men’s and women’s track and field coach, Coach Reaume is the most successful track and field coach in LJCDS history, with a combined men’s and women’s dual meet record of 282-75, with 19 team championships. Throughout the years Coach Reaume has produced eight individual Division 2 CIF champions, seven California state qualifiers and 19 Torrey student-athletes continuing their growth at the likes of Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Middlebury and Emory.

Coach Reaume was instrumental in all 12 of LJCDS’s football championships (four of which were CIF Championships), including the school’s first-ever 11-man CIF title as well as three 8-man titles. He has worn many hats for the Torrey football program, including defensive coordinator, offensive and defensive lines, and athletic performance director.

Coach Reaume grew up in Canada, where he was a standout football, basketball, and track and field athlete. He played football at St. Francis Xavier University, earning a Bachelor of Science in physical education, two-time first-team All-League honors, preseason All-Canadian and three conference championships. He was also the captain of his team for two years. After graduation, Kevin was drafted by the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, opting instead to pursue a career in teaching and coaching.

 

Kevin Riel, Ph.D., joined the LJCDS faculty in 2021 after spending two years at the Webb Schools, a position he started a week after finishing graduate school in 2018. Within a week at Webb, Dr. Riel knew that channeling the unstoppable energy of high schoolers was his calling.

Dr. Riel earned a Master of Arts in literature and creative writing and a Ph.D. in English, both from Claremont Graduate University (CGU). While his research specialty is 20th-century American poetry, he has a broad, transdisciplinary track record in the humanities. In graduate school, Dr. Riel lectured and adjuncted throughout the Claremont Colleges area and worked full-time for CGU as a grant writer and speechwriter for two university presidents. Additionally, Dr. Riel launched and headed CGU’s literary magazine, Foothill Poetry Journal, in partnership with the Kingsley and Kate Tufts Poetry Awards. His academic essays and poems have appeared in internationally recognized publications, including the Journal of Modern Literature, the Iowa Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, Prelude and many others. 

A native San Diegan, Dr. Riel is delighted to be back home teaching near family, the world’s finest taco shops and (as an avid surfer) the beach. He and his wife have three young children and a rowdy labrador.

 

Before joining LJCDS in 2016, Ms. Robinson received her Bachelor of Science degree in physics and math at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, where they researched superconductors and solid state physics. She also coordinated the university’s science hackerspace, and worked on upgrades to undergraduate physics labs, adding computer controlled delta bots to increase the precision and speed of data collection.

 

Emily Rote is passionate about helping students recognize their unique strengths, interests, and areas of growth and using that learning to empower them as they develop into lifelong learners. As a learning specialist in the Learning Resource Center, Ms. Rote provides personalized academic instruction to kindergarten through Grade 12 students. She gives explicit, systematic and multi-sensory-based instruction to individuals who benefit from reading, writing, math and executive functioning support. 

Ms. Rote earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of San Diego, a master’s degree in educational psychology and a Reading Specialist Certification from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a master’s degree in teaching from Dominican University. She is a Nationally Board Certified Teacher in literacy: reading-language arts. Before joining the Torrey community in 2023, Ms. Rote served as an elementary school language arts specialist and a kindergarten and first-grade teacher. 

In her free time, Ms. Rote enjoys reading, baking and swimming. She is excited to be back in San Diego after living in Chicago and looks forward to taking advantage of the warm weather and hiking trails in the Greater San Diego Area. 

Alina Rozas believes that all students have talents and strengths to achieve their personal and academic goals, and she encourages them to always work at their highest potential.

As an Upper School Spanish educator, Profe Rozas likes to instill in her students the passion for learning Spanish and grants them the confidence to use it both in their community and abroad. She engages students to learn in a pleasant and safe environment where taking risks and making mistakes are part of the learning process. Profe Rozas believes that learning a foreign language, and the culture involved in it, makes people more open-minded and compassionate, characteristics that all future leaders should have.

Profe Rozas was born and raised in Madrid where she earned her master’s degree in agricultural engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid. Once she started teaching Spanish, Profe Rozas discovered a new passion and pursued a second master’s degree in Teaching Spanish as a Second Language.

Before joining LJCDS in 2022, Profe Rozas taught at the Rhoades School in Encinitas, National University in San Diego, King’s Training in Madrid, and the Awty International School in Houston. During her career, Profe Rozas has taught students in grades 6–12, college and adults.

One of Profe Rozas’ greatest joys as an educator is to hear back from former students studying abroad in Spanish-speaking countries.