Mr. JD’s (Jacob Dolan) path to Belmont Hill began in Pasadena, California, where he grew up just outside Los Angeles. Raised by parents originally from Brooklyn, New York, he attended Loyola High School, a Jesuit all-boys school in Los Angeles. Growing up in Southern California, he enjoyed the region’s warm weather. He developed an interest in football, supporting both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Los Angeles Rams during their years in Anaheim. However, his eventual journey to Massachusetts introduced him to a different environment, one he would come to appreciate for its changing seasons and Boston’s culture.
After graduating from Loyola, Mr. JD attended Boston College, where he majored in English. His appreciation for literature and writing developed during college, although his path toward teaching was a bit more arduous and less direct. Following graduation, he experienced several professions, working in construction, making pizzas, and eventually becoming a paralegal at a Boston law firm.
While working at the law firm, Mr. JD began volunteering to help adults earn their General Educational Development (GED) credentials. He found the experience particularly gratifying, as it allowed him to work directly with students and help them reach their goals. This experience ultimately encouraged him to pursue teaching, which led him to earn a master’s degree in teaching from Tufts University.
He began his teaching career in New Hampshire, at Keene High School, before eventually moving to Bedford High School in Massachusetts, where he taught for 26 years. Although he spent much of his career teaching high school English, he had the opportunity to teach sixth grade for roughly a third of his time at Bedford. He embraced the change and remained at the middle school level for six years before eventually returning to high school.
The transition proved especially rewarding, as he later taught some of his former sixth-grade students in his high school classes. Watching them grow both academically and personally allowed him to appreciate the long-term effect of teaching as he enjoyed “seeing them master the skills” and discovering “how they can go farther.”
His time at Bedford also helped him develop connections that would eventually lead him to Belmont Hill. Mr. Zellner, who previously taught at Bedford, reached out to him when Belmont Hill needed additional teaching support to cover some classes. Having attended an all-boys school himself, Mr. JD was already familiar with some of the characteristics of an all-boys education. However, his extensive experience in public schools also gave him a different perspective on the independent school environment. He noted the differences in funding, resources, and student expectations between the two settings, particularly the opportunities Belmont Hill students have to engage with their education and, of course, the food.
At Belmont Hill, Mr. JD now teaches American Literature, covers English IV and III for Mr. Conway, and will be covering more classes in the near future. Mr. JD also coaches 4th soccer. Outside of school, he lives in Arlington, Massachusetts, where he has lived since the 1990s. He met his wife during his senior year of college, and the couple married five years later. He also enjoyed playing soccer in local leagues. Mr. JD is also the father of 4 kids, whom he often took on backpacking and outdoor adventures, such as a year-long sailing trip from Maine to the Caribbean and back down the East Coast when they were ages 7 to 13, aboard a 45-foot sailboat from 2009 to 2010. They traveled to Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas; did a weeklong community service project; and even made friends with other families who were also sailing.
Looking back on his career, Mr. JD recognizes that teaching was anything but straightforward. From construction sites and law offices to middle and high school classrooms and even the open sea, his experiences have shaped his views on both education and life itself. He emphasizes the importance of remaining open to opportunities, making the most of the experiences that come their way, and striving to understand new perspectives.
For Belmont Hill students, his advice is this: “You don’t have to figure it out right now.” Instead, he encourages students to “go with the flow, work hard, show up, be nice.” His own teaching journey exemplifies that philosophy, demonstrating that finding a fulfilling career does not always require following a predetermined path; simply put, it will all come together eventually, and you should focus on the now and appreciate the little things because attention to detail is invaluable.
