Jody Lansing’s love for education began early. A Milwaukee-area native, Lansing attended Good Hope Elementary School, where an accelerated math program in third grade first sparked her interest in math and education. By fifth grade, inspired by her teacher Vicki Olsen’s warm, personalized classroom environment, Lansing knew she wanted to be a teacher.
“Connecting with kids has always been natural for me,” Lansing recalled. “I loved watching their progression, building relationships with them. Even as a teenager, I was often on the floor playing with the kids, fascinated by their creativity and how their minds worked.”
She said that passion has never wavered. Now in her 25th year of teaching, Lansing said she remains just as enthusiastic about working with children as when she first stepped into a classroom. Throughout her career, she has taught a range of elementary grades. For the past 15 years, she has been a beloved educator at Milwaukee Jewish Day School, where she taught third grade and senior kindergarten, which is for 5-year-old students. The past eight years have been spent in senior kindergarten, a role she initially hesitated to take but quickly grew to love. “I’ve always had a passion for working with younger kids, for being there at the beginning stages of learning,” Lansing said. “At first, I wasn’t sure about making the shift, but now I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
Her favorite part of teaching senior kindergarten? “I love seeing their confidence grow,” she said. “At the beginning of the year, something might seem tricky, but then all of a sudden — they get it! That moment of realization is incredible.”
Because MJDS serves students from kindergarten through eighth grade, Lansing also enjoys seeing her former students continue to develop beyond her classroom. “It’s special to watch them grow year after year and to maintain those connections long after they’ve left my class,” she shared.
Lansing earned her teaching degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she also met her husband, Rich. After teaching for ten years, she took seven years off to raise her two daughters. During that time, she stayed involved in education, working as the education director for two synagogues in Springfield, Ill.
When Lansing and her family moved back to the Milwaukee area and her youngest daughter entered first grade, she knew it was time to return to the classroom. She enrolled in a course to renew her teaching license, where she met Barb Lutsky, who encouraged her to apply for a third-grade teaching position at MJDS.
There was just one catch — Lansing wouldn’t be teaching math right away. The school wanted her to first familiarize herself with the program before stepping into the role. When she asked about the curriculum, she was stunned — it was the very same accelerated math program she had taken as an elementary student. “At that moment, I knew it was meant to be,” Lansing said.
Lansing and her husband, Rich, now live in Mequon, where they raised their two daughters, both of whom followed in their mother’s footsteps as educators. Their eldest, Caitlyn, teaches second grade in Appleton. Their youngest, Taliah, is set to graduate in May and has already secured a position with the U.S. Navy, where she will teach math, physics, and science to enlisted sailors at the Nuclear Power School in South Carolina. Outside of teaching, Lansing prioritizes family time. She enjoys hiking, exploring Milwaukee’s museums, restaurants, and theater scene, and taking morning fitness classes at the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center before heading to school.
After 25 years in the classroom, Lansing’s enthusiasm for teaching remains as strong as ever.
“Every day, I get to be part of these incredible moments of discovery,” she said. “There’s nothing else I’d rather be doing.”
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MEET AN EDUCATOR
Writer Nicole Boico is the associate director of the Coalition for Jewish Learning of Milwaukee Jewish Federation. This regular feature, from the Coalition for Jewish Learning, is to celebrate local educators. To suggest someone for coverage, contact Boico at NicoleB@MilwaukeeJewish.org.
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