Terezka Jirasek came to teaching in 1989, after 14 years in management as a long-term care administrator and executive director of eight skilled-nursing facilities. Although she believes her business experience has proven extremely beneficial in the educational arena, she has never felt more challenged than in the classroom. She notes, “I used to think I had the most demanding job in the world, then I became a teacher. The endless hours of preparation, heartache, joy, and discovery are at once draining and energizing.”

After completing her M.A.T. at National-Louis University in 1992, Terezka taught elementary school in the Chicago area at the primary level for six years, as well as English at the high school level in the Czech Republic for one year. Following completion of her Library-Media endorsement at Dominican University, she served as the sole librarian of a 950+ student, K-8 bilingual school on Chicago’s West Side.

While with the Chicago Public Schools, Terezka received national recognition by the School Library Journal for her student-centered librarian efforts. As noted in the article, “She has an uncanny grasp of how to get kids to invest themselves in reading. She’s someone the profession should clone as soon as possible.”

Terezka began working with the SLI team as a facilitator/consultant in Fall 1999, and currently serves as Professional Development Manager. In her work with SLI, she has helped to design and facilitate workshops, training sessions, and meetings on topics that have ranged from higher-order thinking skills to Building Background Knowledge and from Looking at Student Work to her personal favorite, Differentiated Instruction.

When Terezka isn’t involved with education, or traveling the seven seas, you are likely to find her teaching an aqua aerobics class, baking something sweet, or just plain curled-up with a good book. .