Welcome to Jefferson Elementary! My name is Teresa Cardamon. It’s hard to believe, but this is my 31st year teaching for the Des Moines Public Schools! I taught 2nd grade at Willard, 4th grade at Lovejoy, worked as a district Literacy Coach, as an Instructional Coach/Interventionist at Edmunds and now this is my 10th year here at Jefferson teaching 3rd grade. I received my Bachelors in Education from UNI, go Panthers! After receiving my Masters in Education from Viterbo University, I also taught graduate literacy courses there. My husband of 30 years and I enjoy spending time with our 2 grown sons (former Jefferson students!) when they visit from Denver. I love to stay active by playing tennis, golf, biking, walking, and attending sporting events. I truly love being a part of the Jefferson community and am looking forward to a great year with my new crew!
Welcome to third grade at Jefferson Elementary. My name is Julie Rietz. I have been teaching for Des Moines Public Schools for 19 years. Over those years I have been a classroom teacher, a reading interventionist, and an instructional coach. I received a bachelor’s degrees in Education and Psychology from the University of Iowa. I received my masters in reading instruction from Viterbo University. And I am currently finishing my second master’s degree in teaching English Language Learners from Grandview University. I live in the country near Norwalk with my husband Paul, my 16-year-old son Ryder, and my 12-year-old daughter Polly (and our three enormous dogs: Buck, Goose, and Barkley). We are a Hawkeye family that loves to be active and travel.
Hello everyone! I am a third grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary. I am a south sider, Des Moines Lincoln High School graduate. Go Rails! I have an Elementary Bachelor’s Degree (K-6) from Upper Iowa University. Go Peacocks! I received two endorsement in that field. One in language arts and the other in reading. I also have a Master’s Degree in Education from Graceland University. Go Yellowjackets! In addition to those degrees, I have attended over forty credit hours of training at Heartland Area Education Agency.
Before teaching, I worked at Flowers by Anthony for seventeen years and continued to do that on the weekends and in the summer after I started teaching. I spent fifteen years teaching middle school on the south side of Des Moines at Brody. Go Cardinals! I taught a variety of reading, language arts, social studies, math, and science classes over the years, mainly 6th grade but some 8th grade classes. I moved to elementary several years ago. Now, here I am at Jefferson. Go Jets! I have over twenty-five years of teaching experience and still every day is a new experience full of excitement and surprises, and just plain funny stuff from the kids sometimes. They make me smile!
I’m a mom to an Iowa State student, Go Cyclones!, a wife to a fantastic husband, a step-mom to a sweet teenager, a crafter, an artist, a dog-lover, a volunteer, a holiday decorator, a shopper, a nature-lover, traveler, and I always try to have a fun event to attend with friends. I am always on the go and wouldn’t change a thing!
The one thing I am truly passionate about is being happy in my professional and personal life. I will try my best to make your children happy at school too.