Rockville dad Matt Bruneel has been a teacher with Montgomery County Public Schools since 2008, with the majority of that time spent at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland. Married for 15 years, Bruneel and his wife, Leshia, share two daughters, Eleanor (9.5) and Genevieve (6). Leshia Bruneel, who is finishing up her doctorate in public health, works full time at the National Cancer Institute.
How do you juggle working with being a parent?
We were very intentional about sharing a lot of the responsibilities of having a house and a family. I do most of the cooking, especially since I’m the one that gets out early as a high school teacher, so I get to have the whole afternoon. [I do] the evening shift, and Leshia does all of the morning stuff; getting them ready [and] getting out the door.
How do you spend your downtime in the summer?
We call summertime “Camp Dad.” I run point on how the days and the weeks go, while my wife continues to work full time. The economics [don’t] check out about me trying to get a part-time job to pay for full camps or daycare. … But we do balance that with a few camps here and there to make sure that they stay socialized and sane.
What’s your favorite part of being a dad?
I was kind of always looking to be a dad. Whenever I was young and thinking about what I wanted my life to look like, it included being a father, so it’s really nice to be able to live that reality. … My favorite part about being a dad is that I get to really share in all of the load, which includes the feeding and the shuttling and connecting with other parents to do the playdates — all of it. We’ve got a very intentionally egalitarian relationship, where we’re not saying, ‘Dad does this,’ ‘Mom does this,’ just because of gender.
How does being a dad help you be a teacher?
For the longest time when I had back-to-school night or parent-teacher conferences, I would always be in the mindset of the child. I would be more akin to a child speaking to a grown-up, so I was always feeling very young talking to my elders. … Now, [what] I see is the parent’s perspective. So that’s definitely evolved. … Having my own children does change [that]. I guess I just appreciate a little bit more what my students have to do to come to school ready to learn and to accomplish all those things that they need to do.
Family Favorites
Favorite Meal: Salmon and rice
Favorite Restaurant: Mission BBQ
Favorite Dessert: Ice cream sundae bar
Favorite Game: Ticket to Ride Jr.
Favorite Day Out: Biking and museums
