Alice Ždrale- ​skola@czechslovakschoolpgh.org
Director & Teacher
Alice is originally from Prague, Czech Republic where she graduated from the University of Public and International Affairs. Alice has been living in Pittsburgh since 2018 with her husband and now two sons. Alice worked for the University of Pittsburgh as an Immigration Specialist and received her Public Policy and Management Master's degree from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.
Petra and Alice founded the school in 2015. Alice teaches the youngest group of students "Mravenecci".

Petra Viragová- ​Petra@czechslovakschoolpgh.org
Organizer & Teacher
Petra Viragova was born and grew up in the small town of Pisek in southern Bohemia. She received a master’s degree in civil engineering from the Czech Technical Institute (CVUT) in Prague. After finishing college, Petra worked as a swimming instructor and gymnastics coach. At this time, she found that work with children brought her more fulfillment than her technical training. In 2001, Petra relocated with her husband and three children to the United States. In their new home, she helped her children adjust to life in a new country, while maintaining their connection to Czech Republic by home schooling them in Czech language and history and preparing them for yearly exams in these subjects. From 2006 to 2014, Petra worked in ABC Daycare as a teacher. Recently, she has joined the staff of the Sunrise School in Monroeville, where she works as a personal care assistant for students with special needs. Working with children is not only Petra’s job, it is her passion and joy. Petra lives with her family and dog in Murrysville, close to Pittsburgh, PA. She spends her summers in her beloved hometown Pisek, where she enjoys biking, swimming and spending time with family.

Jitka Benedíkova- Jitka@czechslovakschoolpgh.org
Učitelka​
Jitka is originally from South Moravian region in the Czech Republic.
She graduated from the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague and worked in Academy of Sciences in Prague for couple of years. In 2000 she moved to San Diego, USA, where she lived till 2007, working first as a volunteer later as a Research Assistant for a small
Bio company. In 2007 she moved together with her husband to Pittsburgh, where both sons were born shortly after. 
Her priority is helping her kids to become full members of the society and at the same time maintain Czech language and heritage.
   She decided to help in the Czech and Slovak School of Pittsburgh, not only because she likes working with kids, but also because she firmly believes how important it is to know your family origins and to teach our kids become proud Czech

Blanka Jožová 
​Teacher​
I grew up in small town Vodnany in Southern Bohemia. I studied economy school in the Czech Republic and worked there as an accountant for a few years. I came to Pittsburgh with together with my husband who is from Southern Bohemia as well. We have two sons who were born in Monroeville. Even though our sons are Pittsburghers 😉 we speak Czech in our house every day. I enjoy to be with kids, so I really welcomed the offer to join the team of Czech and Slovak school of Pittsburgh!

Ludmila Khila
​Teacher's Aide
​​Ludmila comes from little town Mikulov in South Moravia. This region is famous for growing wine and her family is no different from most of the residents around here. The grape harvest brings lot of joy not only to those who take part in caring for the vineyards. 
Ludmila lives in Pittsburgh since 1999. She has two children, Maria and Adam, who attend middle and elementary school. Even though they were born in Pittsburgh, they speak fluently Czech and visited school in Mikulov many times.
Ludmila studied School of Tourism in Brno. Then she came to USA to explore, meet new people, and learn the language. She worked in hospitality service most of the time. In years 2009 - 2015, she and husband owned a little restaurant called Kous Kous Cafe. Now she works in senior assisted living community.  
She likes to travel, specially back home. She also enjoys dancing. She and her children joined folk dance group PAS couple years ago and are performing since then.

Klara Fisher
Teacher's Aide & Cultural Heritage Event Volunteer
​​Klara originally comes from Prague, Czech Republic. She graduated with a degree in Diplomatic Relations from an University in Prague and later moved to Upstate NY in 2005 to pursue a career in Human Resources. She has an older brother Jakub and a twin sister Alice who runs the school. Klara enjoys volunteering at school and helping out at various Czech/Slovak events during the year, learning about new cultures and people from around the world.  In her free time, she loves to travel (35 countries) and spend time with her two nephews Kristijan & Adrian and 2 rescue dogs Chloe & Eddie.

Katarína Ishman
Katarína Ishman sa narodila v Košiciach na Slovensku, kde vyrastala a vyštudovala vysokú  školu Ekonomickú. Po skončení štúdií získala internship v Ocean City v Marylande, kde spoznala svojho manžela. Do USA sa Katarína natrvalo presťahovala v roku 2004 a najprv žila v štáte Colorado. Až neskôr sa s manželom presťahovala do manželovo rodného mesta Seneca v Pennsylvánii. Katarína pracovala viac ako 10 rokov v agentúre pre Ekonomický Rozvoj Severozápadnej Pennsylvánie na oddelení medzinárodného obchodu. Túto prácu však opustila, aby mohla venovať viac času rodine a momentálne pracuje v rodinnej firme vo Frankline. Katarína má dve deti, Jakubka a Elenku, ktorí navštevujú Českú a Slovenskú školu v Pittsburghu. Všetci raz za rok cestujú do rodných Košíc navštíviť slovenskú rodinu a priateľov a oboznámiť deti so slovenskou kultúrou a jazykom.

Ingrid Lexová
Ingrid was born in Chicago to Slovak parents, and moved to Austria at a young age. Ingrid was taught Slovak by her parents and grandparents. She is a recent graduate of Washington & Jefferson College, where she majored in English and Environmental Studies. Ingrid moved to Pittsburgh in August 2018. She enjoys being outdoors, reading, baking, and speaks several languages. She is very excited to start teaching Slovak because she understands the difficulty of learning additional languages at a young age, and is happy to bring a piece of Slovakia to the kids.