Berry appointed HS/JH Principal at North Greene

By Editor | August 24, 2022 |

By Carmen Ensinger

The North Greene School Board didn’t have to look too far to find their next high school/junior high principal after the abrupt departure of Amanda Macias earlier this month.
The board, at the Aug. 15 school board meeting appointed Brett Berry, who was currently serving as Dean of Students and Athletic Director to the position.
Berry has been with the district since his graduation from Illinois College in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education. In addition to serving as the Dean of Students and Athletic Director he has also been a teacher and coach.
But through it all, he never thought he would become a principal, though it is something he has been preparing for. He received his Administrative Degree from the American College of Education in June 2022.
“I never envisioned myself as a principal during my career,” Berry said. “It wasn’t until I stepped away from coaching and began working as an Athletic Director that I realized the impact possible at the administrative level.”
Berry began his tenure at the North Greene School District at the middle school where he began teaching junior high English and Language Arts right out of college. He stayed in this position for 19 years, from 1997 until 2016, when he became the In-School Suspension Coordinator, a position he held for four years, from 2017-2020.
From 2020-2022, his title was the Dean of Students for both the High School and Junior High, until Wednesday night, when he was appointed as the new superintendent.
During his 25 years with the district, he has been very involved with the extra-curricular activities in the district, specifically the sporting activities.
He was the junior high boys’ basketball head coach for nine years, coached the junior high boys track team for 15 years, was the high school boys head basketball coach for 13 years, was the supervising coach for the North Greene Special Olympics Unified Basketball for six years and served as North Greene Athletic Director for the past seven years.
Outside of the district, he even found time to coach the Illinois College Women’s Soccer team for seven years.
Berry and his wife, Tammy, have three children: Bailey, who graduated last year and just started college; Brody, a sophomore and Boen, an 8th grader.
With both sons very active in sports, even though his title might have changed, Berry won’t be far away from the students he loves.
“I look forward to continuing to work with the students, staff and community members of North Greene,” he said. “I will assist Mrs. Jones (new Athletic Director) with athletic events and will never be too far away from the action.”
As for his family, Berry said they are 100 percent behind his decision to enter the world of administration.
“Tammy and the kids are excited for me to make the move to principal,” he said. “They have been a tremendous source of encouragement, support and inspiration over the last few years.”