Originally from a small country in south of South America by the Atlantic Ocean, Uruguay. Born and raised from a Brazilian mother and a Uruguayan father. Grew up as an only child in a bilingual family. Attended an only girls’ school for PreK-12th grade. Graduated from college in 2008 with Regular Education and Special Education Degrees.

Favorite Book: Little Prince.

Favorite Author: Paulo Coelho from Brazil.

Favorite things do: travel and get to know people and cultures.

Favorite Places in the world: Paris and Montevideo.

Favorite Food: French Onion Soup and Uruguayan Empanadas.

Dreams: to live in Paris, and to spend a summer in Uruguay doing my favorite activity as a child, enjoying the sun, the ocean and walking on the warm sand.

Favorite Activities at school: Reading and Gardening.

What I love about James Baldwin Elementary:

• The warm community centered around our students
• The vibrant curiosity of our students
• James Baldwin Staff commitment to teaching the whole child
• I get to learn something new from my students every day!

Teaching and learning from students from all over the world makes this a wonderful place to be! In addition to teaching, I enjoy reading, traveling, and spending time with my children.

I started teaching in the Seattle Public Schools in 1996. This is my 20th year at James Baldwin. I have taught first through third. Everyone in our family attended Seattle Public Schools and graduated from the University of Washington. Jake, our son, taught kindergarten at Emerson Elementary and Mandy, our daughter, taught children with autism. Stacey, our eldest daughter, worked in finance. All of our children are taking time off to stay with their children.

I am honored to be a part of a diverse community and staff. Our staff works as a team to support all of our students. I am an advocate for my students who strives to support my students growth. It is important to me that I help my students to learn academically, emotionally and socially.

When I am not teaching, I love going to Husky games and spending time with my family.

Heather McQuarrie (Ms. McQ) has been teaching in Seattle Public Schools since 2018. After three years as a second grade teacher in Ballard, she worked as a head teacher at Adams Elementary to support admin, teachers, families, and to create a building-wide Social Emotional Learning plan to help the building transition back to in-person learning. Following her maternity leave in 2022, she joined the James Baldwin family and loves being a part of this community.

Heather lives with her husband Toby and her toddler son Cavan in Edmonds. In her spare time, she enjoys singing & playing music, cooking, reading, and crafts.

I am originally from Cuba. I speak Spanish and English. I am a mother, a wife, and a pet owner. I have been an educator since 1993.

Hello James Baldwin Community [COME-UNITY],
Welcome to Kindergarten!

I have been an educator since 1993. I began my teaching career in Cuba prior to coming to the USA in 2002. There, I taught students from Pre-Kindergarten-6th grade.

I started teaching in Seattle Public Schools in 2003, and came to James Baldwin Elementary in the Fall of 2014. My experience as an educator working with Seattle Public Schools have covered Kindergarten- 5th grade.

As an educator, I integrate extra curricular activities and skills with the core content subject areas to ensure learning is relevant and meaningful for our diverse group of learners. Furthermore, I believe in meeting students where they are at and help them move along while keeping them learning, engaged, and having fun.

In addition to teaching, I am a wife, a mother, a pet owner, and a lover of arts such as music, dancing, and crafts.

Let's work together to have a wonderful school year!

Thank you/ Gracias!

Proud graduate of Seattle Public Schools. Bass trombonist and brass doubler in Puget Sound Symphony Orchestra, Harmonia, and Better As Brass. Cat mom to Orion.

My schedule:

• Monday-Friday: Catharine Blaine
• Monday: Leschi
• Tuesday: James Baldwin
• Wednesday: Laurelhurst
• Thursday: North Beach
• Friday: Sand Point

Random facts about me:

• I ride unicycle (sometimes while playing an instrument)
• I won a frozen yogurt eating competition
• I love MOD Pizza
• I don’t actually eat much froyo or pizza
• My real favorite food: decaf coffee
• Favorite music: listening to my students after they've practiced something they're excited about!

I am originally from Laos. I can speak Lao, and Thai, in addition to English. I am a wife and a mother of twin boys.

Welcome to 2nd grade at James Baldwin Elementary School. I am really excited to get the school year started and on its way! I hope to make it a truly successful experience for your child. It is my priority that your child leaves school each day feeling positive and excited for another day of learning.

I started teaching in Seattle Public Schools in 1998 and came to the Northgate/James Baldwin community in the fall of 2017. I love the diverse students and staff at James Baldwin Elementary. I have taught 1st through 5th as well as split grades.

When I am not teaching, I love spending time with my family, I enjoy traveling, learning new languages, and experiencing new cultures.

I have been a librarian for 10 years now, and love talking books with young people. Originally from the Midwest, I earned my teaching and library degrees at the University of Washington and a master's from Western. I am proud to be part of Seattle Public Schools. Being with children inspires me.

When I am not at school, I enjoy reading, gardening, being outdoors with my dog, or challenging my husband or daughter in a game of cribbage. I also enjoy getting loud as a drummer in the Riot, the OL Reign's pep band.

I have worked in Seattle Public Schools in various roles since 2001. I have taught Kindergarten since 2012 and been at Northgate/James Baldwin  since 2015.

I came to this school because I love the community, the families and the rewarding challenge of teaching a group of students that all bring their strengths, perspectives and diversity to the classroom. I love Kindergarten because of the energy this age brings to the class--they believe they can do anything, and I help them channel it so they do!

I am so glad to have the opportunity to lead such a wonderful school! Before switching to a leadership role, I taught in the Seattle Schools for 20 years.

I love being in classrooms, problem solving, and supporting our amazing teachers, students and families. I have 2 daughters, one who attends Roosevelt high school and one recently graduated from college. When I'm not working, I love to read, travel and hike.  I believe that all students can be successful with a supportive environment, positive relationships and strong instruction.

Volunteer at James Baldwin! Visit our online volunteer application process

Together with our Office assistant, I am here to make your time at James Baldwin a success. Please stop by the office with any questions you might have and we will get them answered! We handle everything! Bus information, attendance, personal information updating, concerns, school supply needs, family support needs, etc. etc. etc. If we can't help, we know who can!

I started my teaching career in 2000. I taught middle school math for the first 17 years. I switched to 5th grade in 2017 at Northgate/James Baldwin Elementary. This will be my 7th years teaching 5th grade, 2023. I am a mom of two teens. I loved being at James Baldwin for the following reasons: It’s feel like a family, it’s very diverse, all the staff care about our students, and we celebrate our differences.