2022 Candidate Profile: James 'Vell' Rives For Arlington School Board

ARLINGTON, VA — James "Vell" Rives, a member of the Arlington Public Schools’ School Health Advisory Board, is seeking election to the Arlington School Board in the Nov. 8 general election.

Rives, who has worked as a psychiatrist for 18 years, is running against Bethany Sutton for the school board seat. The candidates are seeking to fill the seat held by Barbara Kanninen, who currently serves as chair of the Arlington School Board but opted against running for a third four-year term on the board.

An Arlington resident since 1999, Rives and his wife Carmen have two children who attend Wakefield High School and Gunston Middle School and previously attended Abingdon, Claremont Immersion, and Hoffman-Boston Elementary Schools. Since 2016 he has served as an Arlington County Election officer but has recused himself from the position for this election cycle.

Rives served as co-chair of the Arlington Public Schools’ School Health Advisory Board from 2021 to 2022.

In-person early voting in Arlington County began Friday, Sept. 23 and will continue through Saturday, Nov. 5. Election Day voting will happen from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Patch asked the two candidates for Arlington School Board for their answers to the same questions. Here are the responses submitted by Rives:

Name

James "Vell" Rives

Campaign Website

rives4sb.com

Age (as of Election Day)

53

Family

I've lived in Arlington since 1999. My wife is Carmen Rives. We have two children who have attended Arlington Public Schools exclusively, now at Wakefield High School and Gunston Middle School.

Education

B.A. (Music) University of Alabama

M.D. University of Alabama School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL

Internship (Internal Medicine) Baptist Medical Centers, Birmingham, AL

Residency (Psychiatry) Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD

Occupation

Psychiatrist, 18 years of experience

Church choir director, 20 years of experience

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Member, APS School Health Advisory Board, 2019 to present; Co-Chair 2021-2022.

The single most pressing issue facing Arlington Public Schools is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Lost learning from the pandemic. I want every student to get the help they need to catch up - tutoring, academic coaching, transportation, and family support. I want to restore academic standards, including homework and performance-based grading. Retaining excellent classroom teachers will be a crucial part of that recovery as well.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidate seeking this post?

I am non-partisan, independent, and a physician and mental health professional. I believe the current School Board's priorities have taken APS off course in our effort to recover from the pandemic.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Keeping students and staff safe. I want to return School Resource Officers to the schools, being assigned where needed. I will prioritize keeping classrooms open for in-person instruction, safely, whatever it takes.

What are your views of the Youngkin administration's 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools?

I want every student to be welcomed and treated with respect and kindness. I also want every child to get the best professional care available when needed. I expect the courts will have to rule on whether some of the new model policies are consistent with Virginia anti-discrimination laws.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

20 years of directing adult and children's choirs and instrumentalists! It requires extensive planning, coordination, listening, teaching, communication, exhorting, and bringing together many individuals with different needs into a unified, effective performance.

Why should voters trust you?

Because I will speak the truth, even when it is unpopular.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

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