One of the contenders in the up coming FCPS school board election can trace his political roots straight to Marshall: Ryan McElveen was Marshall’s class of 2004’s senior president.
The 25 year-old McElveen, the GCM alumnus whose father teaches at Kilmer Middle School, is looking to replicate the Marshall experience throughout Fairfax County and to give a voice to student concerns.
“I’ve been a student advocate and we really need that perspective on the school board,” he said. “My goal is to… give students more of a voice.”
Citing experiences with the IB program and at Marshall, McElveen said that the school’s small environment that gives varied opportunities to students is one that all of the county’s students should experience.
McElveen said that he would work to ensure that students graduated with the language competency and other abilities to be “equal citizens” in the world.
His global focus for students also can be seen for his promotion of a more internationalized curriculum.
If elected, McElveen said one of his goals would be to see that students had the ability “to become engaged citizens, to become global citizens.”
In high school, McElveen was vice president for the class of 2004. During his time on student government, he advocated for the installation of doors on the men’s bathrooms.
McElveen is running for one of three at-large school board positions, meaning that he would be representing the entire county as opposed to just one district.
“It’s important to have people that represent that wide of a constituency,” he said.
According to McElveen, his recent time in the school system will make him more accessible to students.
“It’s easier to talk to someone who’s been in the system in the last decade,” he said.
2011-10-19