2024-2025 Iowa Reading Teacher of the Year Recipient

Posted: July 9, 2025

Our 2025 Iowa Reading Teacher of the Year is Jill Swanson.  Jill is a member of both Midlands of Iowa Reading Council and the Northwest Iowa Reading Council. Jill is a third grade multi-age teacher in Mapleton, Iowa and she is passionate about reading. On social media she is known as jill_the nerdy book geek who is “always looking for her next great read”.

Jill is always looking for ways to connect readers and to get them excited about books. Jill put together a multi-generational book club of retired teachers and some of her students. They all read the same book and then met to discuss it. They read and discussed five different books during the school year. The “Mapleton Press” did an article about the program and quoted Jill in the February 24, 2022 issue, “Teacher Jill Swanson says her students have learned so much as they have learned conversational skills. having relevant conversations about what they have read, the importance of reading through role modeling, learning about significant historical events, hearing/sharing stories and making personal connections to their reading and promoting a lifelong love of reading.”

Jill is not just a classroom teacher; she uses every opportunity to teach teachers and librarians about the power of reading. Jill has presented at the Iowa Reading Conference and at the Northwest Reading Council and Midlands Reading Council. At the 2024 Iowa Reading Conference, Jill’s presentation was titled “Books and Boosts ‘24: Elevating Scores with Top Shelf Tales”. She invited her attendees to be prepared to add books to their  “To Read” shelf as she shares her top books of 2024 – from picture books to middle grade. In addition, she would show how incorporating book groups boosted her students’ reading scores. Needless to say, her room was filled to capacity. Excited teachers left with lists of books and ways to immediately get their students excited about reading. Jill’s presentations are always changing as she gathers new books and ideas to share with her audiences.

A woman stands indoors holding a wooden award plaque, smiling at the camera. She is dressed in black with a patterned cardigan and sandals, standing on a patterned carpet.
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