Meet the Teachers and Staff
Lincoln Park Cooperative Nursery School is fortunate to have a dedicated, resourceful, well-qualified staff consisting of a Director, six teachers, Child Development Coordinator, and a Financial Manager. The teaching staff works together to plan and evaluate the program and to discuss the progress of individual children. The staff works as a team in both the planning and the execution of the daily classroom program.
Shannon Nagy, Director
Shannon holds a Master of Education in Early Childhood Instructional Leadership from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Valparaiso University in English. This is her sixth year in early childhood administration and she previously taught for seven years at a cooperative nursery school. Shannon is a past presenter at the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s annual conference and has also served as an adjunct instructor in early childhood education at the community college level.
Angie Butler, Teacher
Angie has been at LPCNS since 1987. She earned her M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education from the Erikson Institute and has an undergraduate degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Elmhurst College.
Rosalia Scholle, Teacher
Rosalia has a degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Northeastern University and an MA in Reading from Roosevelt University. She has taught at LPCNS since 1990.
Barbara Swem, Teacher
Barbara Swem earned her M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education at Erikson Institute and has a B.A. in English literature. This is her seventh year teaching preschool; she has also worked in education at Brookfield Zoo and the Illinois State Museum.
Sheila Bracken, Teacher
Sheila Bracken earned her Master of Art in Teaching in Elementary Education from National-Louis University and a B.A. in Humanistic Studies from Saint Mary’s College. Sheila taught for six years at the elementary level and computer lab at St. Josaphat Elementary. This is her fourth year at LPCNS.
Emily Cresswell, Teacher
Emily holds a B.A. in Early Childhood Education with a concentration in visual art from Columbia College Chicago and the Erikson Institute. Emily taught in the children’s art program at the Old Town School of Folk Muxic as well as in the nursery and junior kindergarten programs at Lincoln Park Cooperative Nursery School. She has spent four years in an administrative role in an early childhood site and is excited to return to the classrooms at LPCNS.
Melissa Boshans,
Child Development Coordinator
Teacher
Melissa holds a Master of Education in Early Childhood Instructional Leadership with a state endorsement for Special Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She began working in early childhood education in 2003. Much of that time was spent teaching in a cooperative nursery school. Her formal training as well as professional experience has included work with children with special needs. Melissa has been a presenter at NAEYC and has also published work regarding the relationship between attachment, play and early learning.
Dianna Rodriguez,
Associate Teacher
Dianna holds a B.A. in English and a B.S. In Family and Individual Development. She is also a certified Early Childhood Educator in Illinois, a certificate she earned at The University of Illinois, where she is midway to completing her Masters in Education. Dianna spent seven years in the Financial Industry, working in Trust Administration, before pursuing her love of Early Childhood Education. She has five years of experience in both Assistant and Lead Teacher roles working with all ages, from infants through Preschool children. Dianna is thrilled to be joining the LPCNS community.
Kathy Goggin, Financial Manager
Kathy is our Financial Manager. She graduated from the University of Dayton and taught elementary school for a few years before starting a family. After raising her four children, Kathy returned to school and earned a Master’s Degree in Computer Science/Education from Concordia University in River Forest.