Distinguished Faculty & Staff

Celebrating 25 Years of Service

the good fortune to experience at GCDS. Inherent in Hilary’s practice is a profound commitment to creating for students points of entry into the process of scholarship. He teaches them to develop their own highly personalized relationship with learning, and to use that relationship as a springboard towards a profound, lifelong love of reading, writing, literature, and learning.

A colleague notes, “Hilary exemplifies professionalism and is an educator who truly has a calling for teaching. He has the rare ability to be that teacher who pushes students to perform at their highest level and holds them accountable, all while making them laugh harder than any other person in the building.” We trust Hilary to speak his mind—using his booming voice and earnest demeanor—in holding both adults and students to the highest standards in their character and their work. “He is admired for his honesty, friendship, loyalty, and kindness. Plus, he’s a goofball.”

Hilary Childs, Middle School English Teacher and Dean of Students

Described by his colleagues as the moral compass of the Middle School, Hilary Childs takes his roles as educator, counselor, role model, agitator, and friend seriously. Hilary is humbled and motivated by the level of trust that students have in their teachers and he considers it his personal mission to deliver on that trust. He looks for as many points of connection as he can find with students to foster mutual respect; it is central to his integrity as an educator.

A Middle School English teacher and Dean of Students, Hilary came to Country Day as a Grade 4 teacher, noting that he was mentored by highly skilled and compassionate peers. He values the camaraderie and “soul-quenching” friendships he has had

Hilary is a leader in knowing, loving, and valuing every student in our care. Whether it is providing his colleagues with strategies for getting to know every new face in the division as early in the year as possible or using terms of endearment as he speaks to his students, he is determined that every child will feel a sense of belonging. As anyone will tell you, if it’s for the kids, Hilary is all in.

Here I am, half my life later because my integrity is directly connected to a simple truth, I serve children. In doing so I have to negotiate their naivete, their vulnerability, their impulses, their hubris, and their lack of confidence. I love it! I love it because, in the process, I get to watch them exercise their humility and resilience as they develop genuine faith in themselves. I love it because I get to network with a group of amazing, like-minded humans as we anguish over the complexity of our task and revel in successes, big and small, that we know are foundational to each child’s identity.” —Hilary Childs

Berta Aguilar, Dining Hall Staff

For twenty-five years, Berta Aguilar has made children and faculty members on Old Church Road feel special by greeting them affectionately as they enter the Dining Hall and checking that they have everything they need for lunch. Berta is responsible for setting and cleaning the tables for each lunch wave multiple times every day. She is particularly alert to our students with

Paul Clarke, Director of Food Services

Twenty-five years ago, Paul Clarke had a cooking test for employment with GCDS. He made a delicious, plated cinnamon shortbread vanilla panna cotta crumble for the Annual Dinner. Needless to say, Paul passed the test with flying colors and was hired as a chef in our Dining Hall.

When Paul became Director of Food Services, he transitioned the food services program to preparing fresh meals, using organic and locally grown ingredients whenever possible. He introduced a sustainable approach to the program, first by composting, and later by eliminating virtually all single-use, nonrecyclable packaging. Paul leads the team in making sure that everyone is trained regularly on food handling, particularly as it pertains to students with allergies. He ensures that the food served, not only at lunch, but for snacks as well, is food that will fuel a student’s mind and body throughout the day. His personal mission is to ensure that no child is hungry. Why? “Because they can’t learn if they are hungry.”

Paul’s colleagues describe him as a skilled, caring, and compassionate manager, with a calming presence that instills confidence and trust. He makes a point of coaching sports teams, volunteering for service projects, and running cooking clubs in order to get to know the students and community outside of the Dining Hall. When the Dining Hall is called on to cater a school event, his colleagues marvel that he needs minimal direction, “because he is that good.” Nothing ruffles his feathers . . . you want to serve a BBQ lunch for 2,000 people at the Walkathon and a separate lunch for alumni, a few hours later allergies and takes great care to ensure they receive the correct meals. Berta’s devotion to GCDS runs deep. Not only because she loves the work, the students, the teachers, and the amazing people she works with, but because when times were tough, GCDS was there for her.

When her children were younger, Berta faced health challenges. While she was receiving treatment, GCDS supported her in ways that went above and beyond typical workplaces, including providing childcare for her young boys. “I will always carry GCDS in my heart,” she says, recalling that period of time.

While Berta is quick to give credit to how generous her colleagues were in supporting her and her family, her colleagues say Berta was the true heroine of this story. They point out that while the treatments she was receiving had negative side effects, including exhaustion, Berta refused to stay home. She continued to show up each day to lovingly serve our GCDS community.

Berta is truly happiest when helping others and she does it all with a smile. Her colleagues admire the pride she takes in her work, her compassion for others, her lighthearted wit, and her sense of humor—especially when telling tales of her cat sneaking up on her. Berta is a true friend in good times and bad.

Your kindness and support during the Covid pandemic meant so much to me and my family. I just want to say that you are all part of my family, the GCDS family.” —Berta Aguilar you are hosting a mini-reception, and then a cocktail party all in the same day? What does Paul say? He says, “Sure, we can make that work.”

What I have learned at GCDS is that anything is possible with hard work and honest effort. But most of all, having people around you who are willing to challenge, nurture, and believe in what you are trying to build and support—a great-tasting, nutritious, sustainable food program.” —Paul

Clarke

GCDS works with every athlete to make sure that they are ready in all facets of the game. This requires a whole body approach that is both physical and mental that happens as much on the field as it does off. There are many factors that can influence an athlete’s ability to perform on the field; we educate our students on areas like nutrition, sleep, recovery, hydration, and mental skills—areas that often determine how an athlete feels and performs. As students go through their four years of high school, we give our athletes what they need to compete and show sportsmanship at the highest level.

—Director of Athletics Tim Helstein