Love at Country Day: Thirty-three couples, one shared community, and a century of connection that goes beyond the classroom walls.

Throughout Country Day’s history, dozens of couples have found not only professional fulfillment but also a deepened personal connection within its halls — the opportunity to work at the same institution as their most loved one. In every corner of campus, love and partnership have shaped the Country Day story. Join us as we celebrate the many ways Country Day has brought people together — not just as colleagues, but as partners in life and learning. Below are anecdotes from a few of our 33 Country Day couples.

“We have so much gratitude to Country Day for the deep purpose, growth, and community our family enjoyed during our eleven years on Given Road. Our lives were fully centered around campus and its wonderful people. Stephanie found her stride as an administrator through the mentorship of [former Head of School] Dr. Rob Macrae and the inspiring work of the Upper School faculty. I found a home in Middle School, teaching and coaching under Hirsch’s leadership and with the warm camaraderie of the dedicated Middle School team. Our sons Jonas ’12 and Max ’16 found their passions for art and technology through the opportunities and encouragement given to them by wonderful teachers and coaches. There are so many names and faces of students and grown-ups whom we think of often and with such affection. Cross country and track meets…Friday night lights with a Dunn Burger…student art shows…eighth grade D.C. trips…middle school dances…Upper School kickball antics — and all the little and big moments in classrooms and hallways each day; we carry them with us, and we love when a Country Day moment arises in our Massachusetts lives.” — Mark Luebbers, former Middle School teacher, who worked alongside his wife, Stephanie Luebbers, former Upper School division head
 

“We love getting to share stories and experiences together. It isn’t just some random name or event that we tell each other about; it is someone that we both know and are able to celebrate. It brings a true feeling of home to the workplace for both of us.” — Evan DiTullio, technical theater director & video production teacher, reflecting on working with his wife, Elizabeth DiTullio, Upper School administrative assistant
 

“One morning on my drive to work at Country Day, I heard a familiar voice on the radio. It was Melissa, being interviewed about her role in the national Broadway tour of The Phantom of the Opera. Hearing her voice instantly brought back memories – we had attended grades one through four together and crossed paths a few times in our early twenties.

Feeling inspired to reconnect, I reached out and invited her to speak to our Middle School students about life on tour. I also asked if she would join me for dinner, joking that if she only had time for one, I hoped she’d choose dinner. To my surprise and delight, she agreed to both.

The day Melissa came to campus, I was so nervous at lunch with Susie Lewis that I couldn’t eat. Susie thought that was adorable, which makes perfect sense if you know her. For her presentation, Melissa originally planned a short talk followed by a long Q&A, but I convinced her to speak a little longer and keep questions brief, mostly because I worried that Lauren Legette ’07 and her friend Tori Hall ’07 might share what they knew from when they played the classic middle school game of MASH with me. Lauren and Tori had asked me to name potential “wives” for the game, and I included Melissa along with a few celebrities. They promised to keep it quiet, but during Melissa’s talk, I could see their excitement at having that insider information.

But Melissa’s presentation went perfectly, including our dinner at Trio. Soon after, we started dating and I visited Melissa on the road whenever I could. That was Spring 2002.” — Dan Wood, Middle School science teacher, about how he and his wife, Melissa, Middle School PE teacher, came to be a couple
 

“I did not just work with my wife Lucia at CCDS – she was a member of the eighth grade teaching team as the history teacher – but as the head of school living in Broadwell House, our entire family life and family revolved around 6905 Given. This allowed us to fully engage in the community and blend personal and professional lives together. While this can be a wonderful way to work and live in service to students, it can also present challenges. I recall one dark, wintry morning when I trudged over to my office after driving around Indian Hill and conferring with the superintendent of Indian Hill schools; it was clear we would need to call a snow day. I wrote the appropriate emails, recorded a voicemail – the one kids love to get! – and then sent a few additional communications. Since it was a quiet morning, I decided to do some work. What I neglected to do was to tell Lucia, who went through her morning routine and was on her way to classes hours later before she learned about the snow day. I think she was the very last person to learn about my early AM decision. People often think that working couples communicate about school all the time…especially if one spouse is the head of school. Not always the case!” — Tony Jaccaci, former head of school

“Being married to the head of school, people always assumed I knew a lot more than I did. Those who worked closely with me on the eighth grade team learned very quickly how clueless I sometimes was, as they were often telling me things that were happening around school…and were genuinely surprised that I did not already know. Snow days were often one of those times when everyone thought I – and our kids – knew way in advance. Tony grew up in Vermont, so he was very conservative in his calling of snow days, and he rarely did it in advance. He would get up at 4:00 a.m. on those mornings and go drive around the surrounding area to test the roads. One such morning I set my alarm for 5:00 a.m. to wake up and do some grading (those eighth grade history essays weren’t going to mark themselves). I took a quick peek at my phone to see if Tony had sent a text about a snow day, but there wasn’t anything. I didn’t want to go down the rabbit hole of checking my emails because I really needed to get my grading done...and surely Tony would have texted if there was a snow day, right? Well, two hours later, I was all dressed, my school bag was packed, and I was waiting for my coffee to brew before heading to school. Okay, time to check my school email to see what awaits for the upcoming day...and there is the email about no school! While I was annoyed about missing my sleep-in, I can assure you our son Nick, who was a senior at the time, was even more so. His friends were all asking him about a snow day the night before, and he said honestly that he didn’t know. That same morning, he was also all dressed and about to walk over to school when one of his friends happened to text him about the snow day; he was also not amused to miss his snow day sleep-in. Tony learned very quickly after that day that once he sent out the ‘no school’ announcement that he should then immediately send a text to our family group chat!” — Lucia Jaccaci, former Middle School teacher