Virginia (Ginny) Jagla received her PhD in 1989 from the University of Illinois at Chicago in Curriculum and Instruction.  Her Masters Degree (MST in the Social Sciences – Reading) is from the University of Chicago, 1976.  Her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education is from DePaul University, 1970. 

Dr. Jagla taught various grades from K through 8 and served as a Reading Consultant for the Chicago Public Schools for ten years.  She worked with Urban Gateways (an arts-in-education organization) for thirteen years as an artist/instructor and artist-in-residence; traveling to various schools in the Chicago area teaching photography to a diverse array of students, teachers, and parents.  She taught a variety of classes through the education department of the Museum of Science and Industry including: gifted 8^th grade, gifted High School, family classes, computer programming, holiday camps, and summer camps for eight years.  She was a district level administrator for the Waukegan Public Schools for three years, mainly directing the reading programs in the elementary and middle schools, but also instrumental in facilitating teacher development in elementary through high school.

Dr. Jagla was an instructor for: the College of Education of the University of Illinois at Chicago for twelve years, DePaul University’s School for New Learning for thirteen years, Barat College for six years, the College of Education of Roosevelt University for three years, and Barat College of DePaul University for two years.  Instruction ranged from supervision of elementary, middle, and secondary student teachers; to introductory and methods courses in education; to photography as a communication and artistic technique; and the use of drama in education.

Dr. Jagla’s book, Teachers’ Everyday Use of Imagination and Intuition: In Pursuit of the Elusive Image, was published by State University of New York Press in 1994.  Other published works include a chapter in Teacher Lore: Learning from Our Experiences edited by William Schubert and William Ayers, Longman (1988) and an article in Phi Delta Kappan  (1991).  Dr. Jagla has presented at AERA in 1989 and 1997.

Dr. Jagla’s long time research interest in imagination and intuition in education continues.  Other research interests include the use of the visual and creative arts in education, with particular emphasis on creative drama; and service learning, particularly as it applies to middle level education.

Dr. Jagla is married to Jeff Setesak, a mechanical engineer for Abbott Laboratories.  They have two children Frances, a middle school student, and Nicholas, in primary grades.  They take pride in being “older” parents, keeping up with their life-stage counterparts, ten to twenty years younger, as they volunteer in the schools, scouts, religious education, and sports; while their same-age peers are becoming grandparents and watching their children launch careers.