Welcome to 3rd grade at Jefferson Elementary! My name is Teresa Cardamon and it’s hard to believe, but this will be my 33rd 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 12th 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 32 years and I enjoy spending time with our 2 grown sons (former Jefferson students!) when they visit from Chicago. 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. This is my 22nd year of teaching for Des Moines Public Schools. Over those years I have been a classroom teacher, a reading interventionist, and an instructional coach. I earned bachelor’s degrees in education and psychology from the University of Iowa. I also have master’s degrees in reading instruction and teaching English Language Learners. I live in the country near Norwalk with my husband Paul, my 18-year-old son Ryder, and my 14-year-old daughter Polly We have 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.