Covenant Nursery School Teachers and Staff
The current staff of Covenant Nursery School is composed of many talented, nurturing, and dedicated individuals. Several are parents of former Covenant students who have now returned to help educate the next wave of Covenant children. Combined, the staff has over 75 years of experience in
Early Childhood Education!
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Linda has been teaching at Covenant Nursery School for eighteen years. She will be co-teaching in the Turtle Stars class with Jackie Jung. Linda has over 23 years of pre-school and early childhood experience – she founded and continues to run the Book Buddies summer program. Her background includes extensive Early Childhood Education coursework at Oakton Community College. Linda enjoys working with families of young children and helping them and their children adjust to the preschool environment. She is rewarded by the interactions that occur daily and by observing the many milestones that are reached throughout the school year. Linda enjoys nature and is sharing this love and knowledge through her photography and classroom curriculum. She is married and has 5 adult children...all graduates of CNS! |
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Jackie J. has been a lead teacher in the Turtle Stars class with Linda Goad for three years. Jackie has a great deal of experience working with children and is looking forward to meeting many new families. She has a bachelor’s degree in Art from DePaul University and a Master’s Degree in Art Therapy from the Adler School of Professional Psychology. She is excited to bring her vast experience with art and children to our program. |
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Allison has been teaching a multi-age preschool class here at Covenant for six years. She is currently co-teaching with Sonja Bruggeman in the Turtle Champs classroom. In addition, she teaches the Turtle Tunes and Pre-K enrichment classes. She has over 25 years of experience teaching pre-school children, with a strong emphasis on music and nature education. Allison has a Masters degree in Music as well as additional coursework in Early Childhood Education. |
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Sonja begins her fourth year as a lead teacher in the Turtle Champs classroom with Allison Ashley, with whom she also co-teaches Pre-K enrichment. The mother of two boys, one of whom attended Covenant, Sonja has extensive knowledge of young children and their development. After earning a master’s degree in Political Science from Northwestern, she attended Depaul University, where she worked towards a Masters degree in Education. Sonja loves exploring Science in the classroom, and shares Allison’s interest in bringing nature into the lives of children. As an educator and parent, Sonja feels passionate about great children’s literature and enjoys sharing her love of reading with her students. Sonja and her family live only blocks from Covenant – you may spot her walking her dog, Duncan, through the neighborhood after school! |
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Martha has a dual role at Covenant – she has been teaching the two year old classes at Covenant for the last six years and, two years ago, she also took on the role of Covenant’s Family Services Coordinator. Both of Martha’s two children graduated from Covenant several years ago during which time Martha was actively involved, even serving as the Board President! She has a Bachelor of Arts in Women’s History from the College of Wooster as well as additional coursework in Early Childhood Education. Martha will be co-teaching the Young Three’s class as well as acting as Covenant’s Family Services Coordinator. |
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Elizabeth has been teaching Covenant’s two year old classes for the last six years. Elizabeth has three children who graduated from Covenant during which time she, too, served as Board President and helped the school achieve its initial NAEYC accreditation – a huge undertaking! Elizabeth has a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Beloit College and has over nine years of experience teaching young children. In addition to the Turtle Two’s class, Elizabeth will also be co-leading the Young Three’s class this coming year.
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| Michelle is beginning her third year as a lead teacher in the Turtle Two’s classroom. She had two children come through Covenant’s preschool program and during that time was a very active member of Covenant’s Board of Directors. As the mother of two boys, Michelle has some of the best training possible! She loves working with the Two's because she enjoys the process of gently transitioning them from home to school. Creating a trusting, fun and creative atmosphere (plus using glitter wherever she can) is her #1 goal! She has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from DePaul University with a strong emphasis in Art education. |
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Jackie D. has been a teacher assistant in the Young Three’s and Turtle Two’s classes at Covenant for five years now. In addition to her years of experience with us, Jackie is a parent of four children -- she naturally brings a wealth of practical experience and knowledge to the program! She has over seven years of experience in Early Childhood Education.
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Tina has been the Executive Director of Covenant Nursery School for the last six years. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Northwestern University and a Masters of Education, specializing in Early Childhood Education, from the Erikson Institute (a graduate school specializing in child development) here in Chicago. Prior to having her own children and taking a couple years off she was the Assistant Director at Baby Toddler Nursery in Evanston. She is married and has two children, Will who is eight and a half and Sophie who just turned seven – both of her children are graduates of Covenant Nursery School. She is looking forward to getting to know all of you better and to helping Covenant Nursery School provide the best experience for your child and family! |
