Terri Dalla Riva, candidate for school board in Edwardsville CUSD 7, IL
Name: Terri Dalla Riva
Political party (if applicable): Nonpartisan
Age as of April 6, 2021: 53
Campaign website or social media page: terridallariva.squarespace.com
Office seeking: Edwardsville Community Unit School District 7 School Board Member
Are you an incumbent: Yes
Have you run for elected office before? Yes. I first ran in 2015 and was on the ballot in 2017.
Occupation: Realtor, Coldwell Banker Brown Realtors
Education: B.A. English Literature, Creighton University; Cert. Paralegal Studies, College of Saint Mary, Omaha, Nebraska
Please list highlights of your civic involvement: Since my family moved here over 25 years ago, I have been active in the schools and PTO, volunteering my time, and sponsoring a variety of EHS activities, including fine and performing arts and athletics. I have donated and been involved with local charities as well, including the Lynne F. Solon Foundation. I have also served on the Zoning Advisory Group for the city of Edwardsville.
Why are you running? I take my role as a representative of our community very seriously, as I have for the last six years. I will continue to represent and reach out to stakeholders and students. As a parent of four daughters who grew up in the Edwardsville community, I recognize with pride the positive impact that their District 7 education has had on their lives. I know I want to keep working hard to improve our academics, continue to fund updates to the curriculum and to integrate new technology into the classrooms. I will advocate that we continue to focus our energy in increasing awareness of career paths for our students. As we work together to confront the challenging educational climate that the pandemic has created, we will identify creative solutions to address this and our other concerns. The pandemic changed our lives radically, and we need to examine how our children have been challenged: academically, socially and emotionally, and begin to repair that.
What is the top issue in your race, and how would you address it? Financing education is always a key issue. As chairman of the finance committee, I know firsthand that the school district has committed significant resources to providing our students with an excellent education. At the same time The District has delivered balanced budgets for the last three years (ending 2021) with working cash reserves. Since the pandemic’s onset, challenging issues have arisen; our community responded, and we are well on our way back to full in-person learning and are now better prepared for the continuing need to build and operate effective remote learning methods. Clearly, as we look to the future, we must continue the technology plan and replacement cycle that enables all students to have access to devices. The district committed resources to purchase devices for our teachers and high school students in 2020. Looking ahead, our middle and elementary grades need universal access to devices. Technology offers powerful tools to assist in both in-person and remote learning environments, but it does not replace the value of a well developed, updated curriculum. That being said, I am committed to ensuring the board continues to adhere to a curriculum review and replacement cycle. Importantly, we have worked to expand access to apprentice programs, and Career Technical Education. I will continue to listen to our community as we identify how our children and our educators have been challenged through the pandemic — academically, socially, and emotionally, and to learn how we can best direct our resources. Identifying the issues is vital because then, quite frankly, we can begin the difficult task of determining how we can allocate resources to satisfy those goals.
Why should people vote for you? Vote for me because I am committed to excellence in education for all students. I understand the powerful support our community has upon the education of its students and will continue to represent our stakeholders. I am qualified and understand that as we strive to achieve excellence, we must do so within the context of our resources — financial and otherwise. I have served on the Curriculum, Facilities, Policy, and Finance committees over the last six years. That experience allows me to understand the functional operations of our school district, so in working with our community of educators, parents, students, and stakeholders, we may best educate our students in the present and prepare our students for the future.