Organizational Skills-Focused Preschool Opens in Sparkill

Red Owl Academy, a preschool that recently opened in Sparkill, emphasizes the importance of organizational skills, while focusing on STEAM education.

Red Owl Academy is a “really fresh, modern approach to early childhood education,” says owner and director Liana Sargsyan-Quinn, who has more than 15 years of teaching experience. Sargsyan-Quinn says she decided to open the preschool after failing to find a program she felt would be a good fit for her 3½-year-old daughter.

The Sparkill preschool, which opened in late January, has a structured curriculum that emphasizes the importance of organizational skills. Ages 3-5 “are very critical years for human development. These are the years when you can plant the seeds of organizational skills, which is the key to success,” Sargsyan-Quinn says. “I think if they develop the skills at this age, it will help them, and it will stay with them all their life.” 

The curriculum also features STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) education, and includes yoga, gardening, and learning French using the QTALK method. Sargsyan-Quinn says QTALK is a picture-based way of learning a foreign language that is fun for kids.

Red Owl Academy is open year-round. The curriculum for 10 months of the year is focused on academic learning, and for two months during the summer, kids will have “a little more fun” with outside play, free play, and arts and crafts, along with some guided learning, Sargsyan-Quinn says. 

Children can enroll in three, four, or five full- or half-days per week. While the regular school day is 9am-4pm, the academy is open 7am-6pm for those parents who need to have early drop off or late pickup options.

“I really believe this is going to make a big difference in our community, because honestly I couldn’t find something similar,” Sargsyan-Quinn says. “Parents will see the difference when they visit.”

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Main image: A Red Owl Academy student takes care of seedlings the preschool planted as part of its gardening unit.
Courtesy Red Owl Academy