Returning to the UI

Despite going to school for business, Juli soon realized that her future was in education. After teaching in elementary schools in Linn-Mar Community School District in Marion, Iowa, for 33 years, Juli decided to retire and return to the UI to teach students in the College of Education as an adjunct supervisor.

Her typical work day, since COVID-19 forced many schools online, is Zooming into her students’ classrooms, advising on English and math.

Dale and Juli’s youngest daughter, Holly Caldwell, 30, said her mom loved teaching, but it got draining after a while.

“She ended up retiring a little bit earlier than she had intended to,” Holly said. “So, I think she knew, even when she did retire, that she wasn’t gonna retire from everything, that she would still do something, because like I said, she’s such a go-getter that, you know, she’ll always have something that she’s doing.”

Map by Molly Milder/The Daily Iowan

Gary Gabel, a UI elementary English and math coordinator and Juli’s supervisor, said her dedication to teaching is inspiring.

He added that she is always willing to take an extra step to lend support to her students or to Gabel.

“She built a good sense of community with her students,” Gabel said. “That's kind of what I've seen, you know, and what I hear from students, is how she advocates for them, and how she's just accessible and available all the time.”

Over her 33 years of teaching elementary students, Juli said she’s had 25 practicum students in her classroom, and now being able to teach those students is her “dream job.”

“I’ve learned as much from them as they did from me,” she said. “They bring new ideas and all kinds of cool things to do…so I always knew I was looking at a job like this for several years before I retired.”