Ryan McElveen Running For At-Large Seat On Fairfax County School Board

FAIRFAX COUNTY — Ryan McElveen, who served as an at-large member of the Fairfax County School Board from 2012 to 2019, is running again to serve on the school board.

Endorsed by the Fairfax County Democratic Committee, McElveen is running to fill one of the three at-large seats on the Fairfax County School Board.

Election Day is Nov. 7 in Fairfax County, where registered voters will be casting ballots for candidates running for open seats on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and School Board races. In Fairfax County, candidates are running to be chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, sheriff, commonwealth's attorney, and clerk of the court, as well directors for the Soil and Water Conversation District.

The first absentee ballots for the General Election will be mailed on Friday, Sept. 22, which is also when early voting begins. Early voting will continue through Nov. 4, which is three days before Election Day. More information about how to register to vote, vote early, request an absentee ballot and find your polling place in Fairfax County is available online.

Patch invited each of the candidates running for the three at-large seats on the Fairfax County School Board to complete a questionnaire about their campaigns. Patch does not edit the responses of candidates to its election questionnaire. The following are McElveen's responses.

Name

Ryan L. McElveen

Age (as of Election Day)

37

Family

Xuan Wang, spouse
Sierra McElveen, daughter
Isla McElveen, daughter

Education

• IB Diploma, George C. Marshall High School
• Bachelor’s in Anthropology and East Asian Studies, University of Virginia
• Master’s of International Affairs in human rights, Columbia University

Occupation

• Associate Director, John L. Thornton China Center
• Managing Director, Global Leaders of Fairfax County

Campaign Website

www.mcelveenforschoolboard.com

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office (if any)

Member at large, Fairfax County School Board, 2012-2019

The single most pressing issue facing Fairfax County Public Schools is mental health, and this
is what I intend to do about it.

The pandemic exacerbated mental health issues among our already-stressed student population, both locally and nationally. As a school board member, I helped FCPS take importance steps to improve mental health like implementing annual Mental Health and Wellness Conferences, school-based stress less weeks, a suicide phone and text line, and
hiring a significant number of new psychologists and social workers. However, school-based and teletherapy resources are only provided to students who request them. It is critical that we provide supportive environments in every school and ensure that every student is offered at least one annual mental health screening check and subsequent access to professional resources.

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

I have unique credibility and a strong record on issues like environmental sustainability, healthy food, gun violence prevention, curriculum internationalization and equity, and support for our students and teachers. I also bring eight years of prior School Board experience.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

As a School Board member, I will prioritize:

1. Competitively compensating and retaining high-quality educators who know our students by name and by need.
2. Building and maintaining educational environments and facilities that are safe, inclusive, healthy, sustainable, and inspire learning.
3. Offering 21st century curriculum, academies, and high-quality music, theater, arts, and world language programs in every school to prepare students to thrive in the workforce of the future.
4. Implementing universal high-quality pre-K programs that prepare students to enter kindergarten ready to learn.
5. Pushing back on attacks on public education and teachers by state and national politicians by supporting the teaching of an inclusive and fact-based curriculum, preventing the banning of books, and upholding the rights of transgender students.

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

During my eight years on the school board, I worked with parents, students, and educators
to keep the school system the best in the nation by:

• improving student mental health programs
• creating fresher, healthier school food
• expanding LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections – the first such protections in the state of Virginia
• reforming student discipline policies
• pushing for improved curriculum internationalization and world language education
• implementing later high school start times and full-day Mondays
• pioneering sustainability initiatives like solar on the schools and reducing plastic waste
• enhancing college and career access
• championing gun violence prevention – authoring a resolution adopted by boards around the nation
• prioritizing human trafficking prevention
• improving school safety and security
• increasing access to free menstrual products – a program that later was adopted as state law
• reforming the dress code
• increasing community accountability and transparency by hiring a system ombudsman and an auditor general
• supporting name changes for schools named after confederate figures
• allowing excused absences for students participating in civic engagement activities – the first effort of its kind in the nation.

Why should voters trust you?

I have faithfully worked on the behalf of our community as a school board member for eight years. Voters know where I stand on the issues, and they should know that I have their backs. I am a lifelong supporter of public education, raised by a father who was a longtime public school teacher, married to a wife who is a Chinese teacher, and father to two daughters, the eldest of whom is a first-grader at Churchill Road ES. Just like our community members, I’m invested in the long-term success of the school system.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is courage to continue that counts. - Winston Churchill

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