by Jim Masters
LANSING, Ill. (September 23, 2021) – After a months-long application process, Monica Terry recently accepted appointment as a member of the School District 158 Board of Education.
Terry is serving the remainder of the term vacated by Dr. Sarah Wallace, who moved out of town.
“My husband Brandon and I have always been active in the community, and our motto has been ‘don’t complain if you’re not going to affect change,’” Terry said.
Now, as a school board member, Terry is looking forward to creating change both small and large. She is particularly interested in how District 158 prepares students to transition from elementary to middle school and then on to high school. She’s seen how such drastic change in academic life affected her own daughter, Brandi, a junior at TF South High School. When her son, Brandon Jr., a fourth-grader at Coolidge Elementary, eventually makes the jump to middle school, she plans on ensuring that he and his classmates are all prepared make a smooth transition.
“I know it’s a long road ahead and it’s not going to happen overnight, but even the smallest changes bring us victories,” Terry said.
She believes the Village of Lansing itself is a driver of change because of how close-knit the community is. And by fostering more involvement of parents with respect to their child’s education, she sees District 158 continuing to improve in the future.
“Lansing lives up to its name as a village — because it takes a whole village to raise kids,” she says. “I like that fact that I can go into a store, or walk down the street, or my kids are out walking the dog and people know who you are. It’s such a family oriented feeling here.”
Terry works as a manager of investment properties and condominium associations. Outside of work, Monica and Brandon Terry are actively involved in the Southtown Stallions Pop Warner Football organization, and Brandon Terry is president of the organization.
