For nearly three decades, Eileen Jacobs stood at the front of Mt. Lebanon classrooms, helping shape the literary minds of her students.

Jacobs, who was born in Pittsburgh and raised in the Chartiers City area, moved to Mt. Lebanon in 1973 after she and her husband completed graduate school at Colorado State University. Her husband began teaching Spanish at Keystone Oaks, while Jacobs set out to find a permanent teaching position.

“At that time, it was tough,” she said of the job market for teachers. During those early years, she worked in real estate, ran a small upholstery business and served as a substitute teacher.

The couple rented a home on Castle Shannon Boulevard, directly across from a grocery store loading dock where, as she recalled, “bright and early every morning, you heard the trucks come in.”

Following four years of searching for a permanent position, Jacobs was hired by the Mt. Lebanon School District in the fall of 1977, moving into a full-time role in the classroom.

She primarily taught ninth-grade English, working with both academic and honors students, while also teaching a variety of electives throughout her career. Her courses included composition, analytical reading and Irish literature, a subject she was drawn to through her Irish heritage and her exposure to Irish literature in college. To prepare for teaching the course, Jacobs spent a summer studying at University College Dublin, followed by several weeks traveling throughout Ireland.

Jacobs also played a key role in student journalism at Mt. Lebanon High School. She taught journalism for several semesters and served as the school newspaper advisor, guiding students through writing, editing and layout using PageMaker to prepare the paper for print. She also had experience in darkroom photography, a class she took in college that supported her work with student publications.

Even after retiring, she remained connected to the Mt. Lebanon School District by writing a newsletter that keeps former faculty members informed and staying involved in the group’s annual luncheon. She also remains closely connected to books and reading, volunteering at least eight hours a week at the Mt. Lebanon Public Library’s Book Cellar, where she helps sort and sell donated books to support library programs and services. 

In 1983, Jacobs and her husband moved to a quieter street in the Sunset Hills neighborhood, where they transformed their property into a carefully designed garden that was featured in the 2013 Mt. Lebanon Garden Tour. Her interest in gardening eventually led her to rent a plot on the Mt. Lebanon golf course for several summers.

“You can only grow so much zucchini before people start avoiding you,” Jacobs said with a laugh.

After decades in the same home, Jacobs decided in 2020 that it was time for a change and moved to Providence Point. There, she has remained active in her new community, including serving as editor of the resident newsletter, continuing her work with writing and publicatio ns in a different setting. She also enjoys the view from her apartment overlooking the Chartiers Valley.

“I have one of the best views,” Jacobs said. “On the Fourth of July I see at least 8 or 10 different sets of fireworks. Sometimes I just sit there and watch the lights.”

Though she no longer stands at the front of a classroom, Jacobs’ connection to reading, writing and learning continues to shape her daily life — a lasting reflection of the years she spent teaching in Mt. Lebanon.