For the Love of the Work: Take Five with Jackie McGuigan

Take Five is a series that highlights members of the CPS community who are going above and beyond for our students. All throughout the 2024–25 school year, we will be spotlighting our amazing CPS teachers! If you know a teacher who is making a difference, nominate them to be featured here.

Meet Ms. Jackie McGuigan, a second-grade teacher at James B. Farnsworth Elementary School in Chicago’s Jefferson Park neighborhood. A CPS graduate herself, Ms. McGuigan has been teaching at Farnsworth for 32 years, and her four children also attended the school.

Ms. McGuigan is known for her engaging and creative classroom environment, as well as her patience and commitment to connecting with each student and understanding their individual needs. She also works hard to involve parents in the classroom community by regularly sharing photos and updates, as well as choosing at least five families a week to call with positive news about their students’ strengths and successes. 

“The amount of joy and enthusiasm Ms. McGuigan brings to her teaching every day astounds me,” said Brianna Thomas, whose son was in Ms. McGuigan’s class last year. “She sparked my child’s love of robotics and reading, corrected students without shaming them, and communicated with parents daily. My son loved going to her class each day.”

Learn more about Ms. McGuigan below!

Why did you originally want to become a teacher?

I didn't grow up with a mom, so my teachers became like mothers to me. My fifth grade teacher in particular! Her name was Mrs. Stanton, and I wanted to be just like her when I grew up. I could tell that she loved what she was doing, and I wanted to have that same kind of impact. We kept in touch, and the year I started teaching was the year she retired. She filled her minivan with all of her teaching stuff and gave me everything! She was so awesome.

You’ve been a teacher for 32 years—what keeps you in the classroom?

This is a job that you cannot fake. You're either here or you're not, and my whole heart is in this work. If I didn't feel like this, I would find another job, because the kids are depending on me. I'm always pushing myself trying to make things better or more interesting, and I love how creative and fun it is. Also, Farnsworth is a really good community of people. It’s multi-generational; I have three former students as current parents, and my full-time aide is also a former student! It’s a really good place to be.

As a veteran educator, what advice would you give to a first-year teacher?

Try not to compare yourself to others, remember to have a life for yourself outside of the classroom, and take care of yourself. I’m supposed to retire in June of 2026, and I don’t want to! So in order to keep doing this job and have the energy I need to continue, I know that it’s important to take care of myself. 

What are your hopes for the second half of the school year?

I hope that I can help my students learn more about the world, fall even more in love with reading, and work on remembering to say please and thank you. I am looking forward to seeing all of the individual academic growth, as well as continuing to build relationships with them so that they feel like they have an adult at school they can trust. I also hope to keep growing as a teacher; I learn new things alongside my students all the time.

What do you like to do when you’re not teaching?

People always say they love to travel, but I don’t! I like to do things around Chicago with the people who are close to me. I love walking my three dogs and riding my bike in nature. I like to read; mostly children’s books for my classroom! I know this is boring, but I also love to clean and organize things. It doesn’t take much to make me happy.