Welcome to Kindergarten!  My name is Brenda Caligiuri.  I have been teaching in the Des Moines School District for the past 32 years!  This is my 10^th year teaching at Jefferson.

Most of my teaching experience has been in Kindergarten but I have taught first and second grades years ago.  Kindergarten is such an exciting year of growth and joy of learning new things!

I received my BA in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from the University of Northern Iowa.

I received my Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from Graceland University.

My husband and I have 3 grown sons and a daughter in law who have all attended the University of Iowa.  Go Hawks!  We also have a 6 month old granddaughter that brings us lots of joy!  In addition, we have a 2 year old chocolate lab and a 5 year old black lab.  They keep us busy!

When not in school, you may find me walking in the neighborhood, spending time with family and friends or out shopping!

Welcome to Kindergarten!  My name is James Puderbaugh.  I have been teaching in the Des Moines School District for over 20 years!  This is my 6^th year teaching at Jefferson.

Most of my teaching experience has been in Kindergarten but I have taught first and second grade and have been a behavior specialist in the past.  Kindergarten is such an exciting year of growth and joy of learning new things!

I received my BA in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Drake University.

I received my Masters in Administration from Viterbo University.

I live on a small farm in St Charles Iowa with my wife and daughter where we train and show horses in our spare time.

When not in school, you will most likely find me riding a horse, teaching horse riding lessons, or working on my farm.

Hello! My name is Lexie Stevens. I am so excited to be teaching kindergarten at Jefferson this year. This is my 7th year teaching. I have previously taught kindergarten for 5 years and was an academic interventionist 1 year. Working with the littles is my passion and happy place! I graduated from Iowa State- GO CLONES- with my undergrad and Drake with my masters. I have endorsements in reading, language arts, ML, and social studies.  Outside of teaching, I enjoy going on walks with my 2 dogs, Teddie and Tika, going to yoga, shopping, and spending time with my friends and family.