Teacher retires after 44 years in Juliaetta

Jul. 1—JULIAETTA — Dawn Quigley recently retired after 44 years of teaching in the same second grade classroom.

When she first applied to be an educator at Juliaetta Elementary School in 1977, Jimmy Carter was president, gas cost 62 cents per gallon and "Star Wars: A New Hope" had just been released in movie theaters.

Since Quigley accepted an offer for the teaching job in Juliaetta nearly half a century ago, a lot has changed. But at the small elementary school in Latah County, she remained a constant.

"I've been through the whole gamut," Quigley said. "Nowadays, things are a little different."

The longtime teacher still remembers what it was like to create assignments before the school had a copy machine. She often traced assignments on Ditto paper to make multiple copies.

"You couldn't just type it and print it," she said. "You had to do a lot of work."

Quigley holds a bachelor's degree from Lewis-Clark State College and a master's degree from the University of Idaho.

Her mother was also a teacher, and so were both her sisters.

"I've spent my entire life liking to work with kids," Quigley said. "So, it was a natural consequence."

On her last day before retirement, students at the elementary school gathered in the hallway to create a tunnel for her to walk through. Quigley exchanged hugs and said goodbyes.

Looking back on her time in the classroom, she says it's been an immensely rewarding career.

"It's kind of sad," she said. "Here I am, going through my room, trying to decide what to leave and what to take."

Quigley said when she started the job, many of the other teachers wanted to work with third or fourth graders. However, she found her wheelhouse with the second graders.

At that age, she said, parents are very supportive but not constantly present and the students are wonderful and often give out hugs.

"Initially, I hadn't really thought about second grade, but it's been the best thing ever," she said. "I always call it the secret grade."

Quigley said she's going to miss working in the school's building, which has housed her and her students for more than four decades. She recalled the dark wood floors, tall ceilings and windows that stretch toward the sky.

Over the years, she's witnessed the building go through a few changes. When she began teaching at Juliaetta Elementary School, it had no air conditioning.

"I'm on the side of the building where the sun just beats in," she said. "When I first came, we had little tip-out windows and a big plastic curtain to block the sun. It was like a steam bath."

As the years went by, the community added on a gymnasium and six new classrooms.

"It's just a beautiful building," she said. "I'm impressed how people have gone out of their way to keep it going. I'm really going to miss being here."

Palermo can be reached at apalermo@dnews.com or on Twitter @apalermotweets.