Abrar Omeish

This page was current at the end of the official's last term in office covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Abrar Omeish

Prior offices

Fairfax County Public Schools, At-large

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Abrar Omeish was an at-large member of the Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia. She assumed office on December 12, 2019. She left office on December 31, 2023.

Omeish ran for re-election for an at-large seat of the Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia. She did not appear on the ballot for the general election on November 7, 2023.

Elections

2023

See also: Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia, elections (2023)

General election

General election for Fairfax County Public Schools, At-large (3 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Fairfax County Public Schools, At-large on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ryan McElveen (Nonpartisan)	19.9	169,203
✔		Ilryong Moon (Nonpartisan)	19.6	166,706
✔	Submit photo	Kyle McDaniel (Nonpartisan)	19.2	163,884
		Saundra Davis (Nonpartisan)	11.5	97,906
		Maureen Brody (Nonpartisan)	10.6	90,288
		Cassandra Aucoin (Nonpartisan)	10.4	88,478
		Linda Ann Pellegrino (Nonpartisan)	3.2	27,136
		Ahmed Hussein (Nonpartisan)	2.8	23,916
		Peter Gabor (Nonpartisan)	2.5	21,516
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	3,064

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 852,097
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Hamid Munir (Nonpartisan)
• Abrar Omeish (Nonpartisan)
• Lawrence Webb (Nonpartisan)
• Chris Lewis (Nonpartisan)

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Omeish in this election.

2019

See also: Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia, elections (2019)

General election

General election for Fairfax County Public Schools, At-large (3 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Fairfax County Public Schools, At-large on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Karen Keys-Gamarra (Nonpartisan)	22.2	179,258
✔		Abrar Omeish (Nonpartisan)	20.0	161,258
✔		Rachna Heizer (Nonpartisan)	19.4	156,397
		Cheryl Buford (Nonpartisan)	13.9	112,108
		Priscilla DeStefano (Nonpartisan)	13.5	108,708
		Vinson Palathingal (Nonpartisan)	10.8	86,751
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	2,457

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 806,937
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Ilryong Moon (Nonpartisan)

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Abrar Omeish did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

2019

Abrar Omeish completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Omeish's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

1. Excellence and opportunity for all children

2. Supports for holistic education (mental health, social and emotional growth; physical well-being, civic mindedness, etc.)

3. Fiscal responsibility, sustainability, and staff support

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about uncovering those areas in which we see severe disparities across groups. Health and education are two such areas. These are critical to improve because they affect our access to a meritocracy-- the very claim we make that an American Dream exist. I ask, for whom?

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to those who act with such sincerity and truth that they seek no credit or reward... those who are centered enough to always remember their purpose.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Read more about targeted universalism.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Accessibility, proactive engagement, humility, integrity, sincerity, honesty, compassion

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Deep compassion, intellectual sophistication, experience of marginalization and being left out, desire to connect with and better understand those who are different than me, curiosity, creativity, proactive attitude, multilingual

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to set a new standard for servant leadership-- one that is accessible, compassionate, and humble to empower all constituencies and engage all communities while being sophisticated and well-read on the best ways to innovate and advance our schools.

What happened on your most awkward date?

We spent it at a graveyard, reflecting on purpose and finality.

What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?

Being there for families.

Who are your constituents?

Everyone and anyone-- those who vote and those who do not, those whose voices are consequential and those whose are not... I am here to serve the community and I hope to not only welcome you to my office but to come to you where you are as well.

How will you build relationships with members of the broader community? Which groups, organizations, stakeholders will you specifically target?

I will proactively reach out to underprivileged and marginalized communities. I hope to instill a sense of entitlement in all families so that they are empowered to engage in the process and claim its officials as their own.

Importantly, I will also reach out across the aisle as soon as I can. I refuse to allow divisive politics to get in the way of meaningful community relationships and positive, impactful work that we can do together. A public servant is elected to serve everyone and I look forward to courageously challenging the political norm.

What will you do to build a better relationship with parents in the district? What plans do you have to be inclusive of parental involvement?

I am currently conducting a listening tour and hope to continue doing so. I also have office hours that I plan to continue. My campaign has recently launch "11/5: Issues LIVE!"-- a weekly livecast in which we break down major school issues in a digestible way and answer community questions. I hope to utilize social media to update families and to help them better understand the upcoming conversations and decisions that impact them.

I am also happy to give my contact information to all those whom I might be able to serve. Please be in touch! 703-587-7104

However, I recognize that the majority of our community is not at the table. I plan to meet families where they are at. I will continue reaching out to all the various community organizations and networks that I can find to develop relationships and make myself available to any and every family struggling. Along these lines, I plan to build a network of "community ears" in accordance with the Obama snowflake model who would serve as neighborhood reporting captains on my behalf. They would ensure the wellbeing of my constituents in their neighborhood is fulfilled and would report any concerns/needs to me.

What issues get in the way of quality education? How would you address these obstacles?

Hubris. I believe in the importance of regular and continuous spiritual purification, patience, humility, and leadership through love. Our own self can be the biggest obstacle towards meaningful and effective change.

How might you improve the value of a high school diploma? What should a 21st century diploma reflect?

Soft skills, emotional intelligence, languages, financial/economic/accounting skills, practical abilities and tools-- critical thinking, collaboration, open-mindedness, spiritual rootedness, etc.

In what areas would you like to expand curriculum? For example, do you see a need for advanced technical training or apprenticeships? What sort of innovative programming would you advance if given the opportunity?

Yes to both of those. I would also like to bring the subject areas to life-- for example, why teach civics through a textbook if experiential learning can be far more valuable and memorable?

What strategies or plans would you advance to ensure the schools are properly funded?

--Strengthening the relationship with the Board of Supervisors

--Developing an endowment-building small business loan program with the Board of Supervisors to generate revenue for the school system
--Public and private partnerships; expansion of our partnership funds

--Zero-based budgeting

How might you support the mental health needs of students/faculty/staff?

I have an entire platform on this! Mental health is one of my top priorities. There is a great need with few resources.

--Lower the student to counselor/psychologist/social worker ratio
--Promote peer training and support peer mediation/counseling groups
--Incentivize positivity/mental wellbeing campaigns in schools
--Develop public/private partnerships with accessible clinics and expand the service to potentially have an app available to students for counseling needs (these already exist)
--Provide a recovery/mindfulness/spiritual peace space in each school

--Among many other ideas I have talked about on my page!

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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