Quinn Hunter McGonagle
M.S. - Associate Director

Quinn Hunter McGonagle has been volunteering, working and studying in the child development field for nearly 15 years. Quinn’s formal training in the field began during her undergraduate college years in California when she worked at a teenage mothers program, taught in a preschool and was a nanny for multiple families. After graduating, Quinn began teaching at Pacific Oaks Children’s School and was asked to be the artist in residence as well. In 2007, she began her graduate studies at Erikson Institute here in Chicago, and received a Master of Science in Child Development.

Quinn’s current responsibilities at Sprouts Academy include lead teaching in the Bean Sprouts classroom for the morning program, then focusing on the education curriculum development in the afternoons as Associate Director. Further responsibilities include the monitoring and publishing of lesson plans, organizing meetings for both teachers and parents and serving as a conduit for suggestions and concerns from the parents and staff alike. Quinn is looking forward to her continued communication with all Sprouts Academy families as she helps strengthen and broaden the schools overall education philosophy.

I attended Pacific Oaks Children’s School in California as a youngster (1982-1985). Pacific Oaks is a very progressive preschool that wholly exemplifies the emergent curriculum approach in a naturally healthy environment. Because of these significant influences in my early childhood, I have been fortunate enough to easily carry these positive and humanistic philosophies well into my adult life.

During my undergraduate years studying photography and sociology at UC Santa Cruz (2000-2004), I eagerly engaged in a wide variety of teaching experiences including a commitment to a day care for the toddlers of teenage mothers as well as a teaching position in a preschool classroom.

Upon graduating the UC, and really coming full circle, I was then hired as the Artist in Residence and a Preschool Teacher at Pacific Oaks Children’s School (2004-2007).

Because of the many experiences I’ve had nurturing the positive growth and development of children age 2 through 13 - which truly began during my own playful and exploratory preschool days - I am fortunate enough to be fully versed in the emergent curriculum, anti-bias, and natural living philosophies from a young age, to the point where it has now become a natural and very fulfilling part of my teaching life today.

Lately, over the past five or so years, I have been working with young children age 2 through 13 years of age in various educational settings. I have experience in both private and public school environments, with positions such as the Art Instructor, Teacher, and Educator. Most recently, I was the Technical Director and Artist in Residence for the children’s program at Lillstreet Art Center here in Chicago, while finishing a year-long internship in the Arts and Culture Department at the Chicago Children’s Museum. Most recently, I received a Master of Science degree in child development from Erikson Institute in May of 2010.

I sincerely look forward to my continued educational path alongside the children at Sprouts Academy, while thoughtfully implementing the emergent curriculum philosophy per what is developmentally appropriate, mentally and physically healthy, as well as an enriching experience for the children overall. All the while, I will be enthusiastically applying the valuable child development skills and academic insights, gained at Erikson Institute, to my work with the children of Sprouts Academy Preschool. This progressive and highly applicable knowledge revolves around the “whole child” concept, always keeping in mind the biological, cultural, psychological, and social aspects of each individual child and their families. Through both long and short term projects that will take place at school, led and executed by the children, and facilitated by myself and our dynamic teaching team, I have no doubt that the children of Sprouts Academy will thrive in this playful yet academic environment, sprouting into happy, healthy, and critically-thinking young people, throughout adolescence, and even beyond.