18-year DMPS board member Teree Caldwell-Johnson recalled as inspiring mentor, trailblazer
The Des Moines community lost one of its most prominent activists to cancer on Easter Sunday.
Teree Caldwell-Johnson was the CEO at Oakridge Neighborhood and served on the Des Moines School Board for almost two decades. Caldwell-Johnson also worked tirelessly to lift up Black and brown communities.
She died Sunday at age 68.
"Teree was inspirational, a waymaker, a trendsetter, a mom, and a mentor to so many," her friend, the Rev. Rob Johnson, said in a statement. "She will be greatly missed."
Last year, Caldwell-Johnson announced she had been diagnosed with cancer. In early March, she resigned from the Des Moines School Board, where she has served since 2006, because of her declining health. Over the years, Caldwell-Johnson served multiple times as school board chair or vice chair.
At the same time, she pulled back from her role at Oakridge Neighborhood, a Des Moines nonprofit that provides services such as housing for families in need.
"It has been my privilege to have been elected to serve on the Des Moines public school board over the past 18 years," Caldwell-Johnson wrote in her board resignation letter. "And my greatest honor is to have served … as the board chair. Our district's commitment to student outcomes and policy focused governance has created a win-win for our district and our current and future students."
School district officials were informed she died early Sunday morning.
“I have had the pleasure of working with several school board members over the years, and Teree Caldwell-Johnson was in a class of her own,” Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts said in a news release. “Her dignity and grace combined with her determination and will has had a positive impact on countless lives. Des Moines Public Schools is a better place thanks to her nearly 18 years of service to our students, teachers and families.”
Teree Caldwell-Johnson 'tirelessly championed' for underserved communities
Caldwell-Johnson's time on the board was marked by two national superintendent searches, the COVID-19 pandemic and work to improve the academic outcomes for students, including Black male students.
In total, she has helped oversee three superintendents and one interim superintendent. Most recently, Caldwell-Johnson and the board hired Roberts, the first person of color to oversee Iowa's largest and most diverse school district.
At a meeting the night she resigned, current and past school board members spoke about her impact on Des Moines Public Schools and the community.
Caldwell-Johnson "tirelessly championed" for marginalized communities and the "empowerment of Black males in our district," board member Kim Martorano said at the time.
She was not afraid to push back when she thought it was needed.
In February 2023, she told Iowa lawmakers to "leave our public schools alone" during the district's State of the Schools address in response to a question about what legislators can do, besides increasing funds, to help schools.
At the height of the pandemic, Des Moines schools and former Superintendent Tom Ahart came under fire for the board's decision to have students start the 2020-21 school year online. The superintendent later received a written reprimand from the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners for the move.
Caldwell-Johnson is most remembered at Des Moines Public Schools for helping to herald in changes.
“Teree’s years of leadership and service, to our school district and the entire community, are a remarkable legacy and a great memory for us to celebrate and find comfort in at this time,” Jackie Norris, school board chair, said in the statement. “We have lost someone who was a trailblazer as well as a mentor to so many people, helping everyone around her become a better person in their work.”
'The voice': Teree Caldwell-Johnson was a longtime community activist
Caldwell-Johnson was Oakridge's CEO for 20 years. The neighborhood at 14th and Center streets in Des Moines provides housing and supportive services to 1,000 low-income individuals and families, 60% of whom are immigrants and refugees, who speak a variety of languages.
“She was tireless in her efforts to raise others to achieve their full potential,” Andy McGuire, president of Oakridge Neighborhood’s Board of Directors, said in a news release. “Her impact as the President and CEO of Oakridge Neighborhood for the last 20 years cannot be overstated.”
Caldwell-Johnson made major accomplishments while in Oakridge leadership, including a total renovation of the neighborhood’s townhomes, a new senior housing facility, numerous campus beautification projects and the addition of wellness and recreation amenities, according to the release.
She also championed numerous education initiatives with Oakridge, including an "accredited preschool to ensure children are as school-ready as their peers when they enter kindergarten; in-school and out-of-school programs to keep students on track through graduation from high school and in their post-secondary choices; and English language learning, citizenship, job training and career placement efforts to support adults," the release said.
"Every day of her life, Teree modeled hard work and a positive, supportive approach,” McGuire said in the release. “She served others as a mentor, an employer, a volunteer, a community leader, a friend, a wife and a mother. She was truly an exceptional inspiration to so many.”
In an interview with the Register earlier this month, McGuire said Caldwell-Johnson was motivated to run for school board in part after the district announced a plan in 2005 to close Edmunds Elementary School, 950 15th St. The school served some of the district’s poorest students and was within walking distance of Oakridge, a key factor in getting the neighborhood's students to school and their finding success in class.
After supporters rallied, the district decided to keep the school and in 2012, broke ground on a new building to replace the old one.
“I ran understanding that kids that are in need and live in impoverished neighborhoods need a voice,” Caldwell-Johnson said in an interview the district included in a video tribute to her. “And so I decided that I wanted to be the voice for our little brown and Black children.”
McGuire said Caldwell-Johnson had been a mentor to her since they first met in 2005 when McGuire ran for lieutenant governor. Ten years ago, Caldwell-Johnson encouraged her to volunteer at Oakridge Neighborhood to read with the children who live there. She still does every week, now also with her daughter.
"She's just infectious. She pulls people together. She gets things moving forward," McGuire said. “She’s just that kind of person. When Teree calls, people come.”
As a child of educators and civil rights activists, Caldwell-Johnson worked tirelessly for social justice in central Iowa. Part of that work was as chair of The Directors Council, a group of Black CEOs and executive directors working to find solutions to the disparities and inequalities experienced by Black people in Polk County.
Renee Hardman, president of Lutheran Services in Iowa and the first Black woman to serve on the West Des Moines City Council, said they leaned on each other as they broke through barriers. When first elected in 2006, Caldwell-Johnson was the only person of color on the school board.
"We were very close," Hardman said. "As African American sisters, we talked a lot about our struggles, our triumphs, our successes, our disappointments and what it meant to show up as Black women in this community from time to time in spaces where we were alone."
Hardman said she saw Caldwell-Johnson around two weeks ago and knew then it was likely the last time.
"I told her that she's loved," Hardman said. "I told her that she's left the community a better place. She breathed this air that we all breathe."
Teree Caldwell-Johnson's work recognized over decades of service
Prior to her time at Oakridge, Caldwell-Johnson was the Polk County manager from 1996 to 2003, the executive director of the Metro Waste Authority from 1988 to 1996 and was assistant to the city managers in San Antonio and Ames.
"Teree lived a life of mission and purpose serving as Chair of the Des Moines School Board, former Polk County Manager, an outspoken community activist and much more," the Polk County Board of Supervisors said in a statement. "She touched many lives and Polk County is forever grateful for her lifetime dedication of service to our community.”
Caldwell-Johnson also served on several nonprofit boards, including the Mid-Iowa Health Foundation, Greater Des Moines Community Foundation, Planned Parenthood and Spelman College Museum of Fine Art.
Her work has been recognized a number of times over the years. She was honored with the state's 2024 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award, Cristine Wilson Medal for Equality and Justice and the President's Volunteer Service Lifetime Achievement Award. She was named a 2022 “Remarkable Woman” by WHO-TV’s Nexstar Media Group.
State Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad announced earlier this month that Caldwell-Johnson had received a certificate of recognition from the Iowa House of Representatives for “her long-lasting positive impact on the students of Des Moines Community School District, the community of Des Moines and the state of Iowa."
From Salina, Kansas, Caldwell-Johnson earned a bachelor’s in English from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, and an Master of Public Administration from the University of Kansas. She also completed post-graduate studies at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
Her husband, Vernon, is a retired nonprofit executive. They have two adult children, Baley and Baxtyr, both of whom graduated from Lincoln High School.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct a misattribution from Andy McGuire.
Register reporter F. Amanda Tugade contributed to this report.
Samantha Hernandez covers education for the Register. Reach her at (515) 851-0982 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @svhernandez or Facebook at facebook.com/svhernandezreporter.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Former Des Moines school board member Teree Caldwell-Johnson has died
