Melinda Rogers
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Melinda Rogers is a member of the Virginia Beach City Public Schools, representing District 5. She assumed office on January 1, 2025. Her current term ends on January 1, 2029.
Rogers ran for election to the Virginia Beach City Public Schools to represent District 5. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Rogers completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2024
See also: Virginia Beach City Public Schools, Virginia, elections (2024)
General election
General election for Virginia Beach City Public Schools, District 5
Melinda Rogers defeated Vincent Smith in the general election for Virginia Beach City Public Schools, District 5 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Melinda Rogers (Nonpartisan)  | 54.1 | 10,964 |
 | Vincent Smith (Nonpartisan) | 45.3 | 9,177 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5 | 111 | ||
| Total votes: 20,252 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Rogers in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Melinda Rogers completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Rogers' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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From an early age I realized I wanted to be an educator but, like many, my path forward was lined with obstacles and uncertainty. I instead worked my way through trade school and eventually into a successful career as a paralegal. Despite my years of success outside of education, my passion for teaching persisted. This led me to pursue a bachelor’s degree in early childhood and elementary education at a later stage in my life as a wife and parent to three young children.
With over a decade of experience in education, including five years with Virginia Beach City Public Schools, I’ve had the opportunity to demonstrate my commitment to diverse student populations, from gifted learners to those in special education and Title 1 classrooms. I am not a politician, rather a uniquely qualified and passionate advocate for my community. My focus is singular; ensuring that our public schools deliver a high-quality education to every student by concentrating on finding solutions to the real challenges our schools face.
- I commit to advocate for school policies that cater to the needs of every student in the district, ensuring equal access to the high-quality and free public education they rightfully deserve. Emphasizing a problem-solving approach, I aim to address current shortcomings so we can meet the specific needs of Virginia Beach students. By keeping the focus squarely on our community, we can ensure that the concerns of our students, staff, and families take precedence over outside influences.
- To guarantee the highest quality of education for our community’s students, emphasis in the school budget should be on staff retention and commitment to being a responsible steward of the funds entrusted to us by the community. Recognizing the nationwide staffing crisis in education, my goal is to motivate Virginia Beach City Public Schools employees to remain dedicated to our institution.
- In the 2024 – 2025 school year, the division has a budget of nearly $1.2 billion, yet we still face shortfalls within the classroom leaving teachers stretched to purchase critical supplies. Furthermore, we fail to provide sufficient resources and staffing for our student population and are facing increased class sizes and an inability to maintain our infrastructure. These circumstances are a result of fiscally irresponsible budgetary practices. When elected, I will critically review the budget and vote for budgetary priorities which reflect the core values of VBCPS, which begin with putting students first.
Education, healthcare, social policy (including child and family welfare), and fair housing to ensure our students have a safe home when not in the classroom.
The most important characteristic for an elected official is integrity. It is important to understand that your word is important and that you keep the promises you make.
Having recent experience in classrooms in Virginia Beach allows me to understand the perspectives of our front-line teachers and staff. Furthermore, my nearly ten-year experience as a paralegal gives me an intimate understanding of policy and law, making me uniquely qualified to serve on the school board.
Recently, the Virginia Beach School Board has been in a consistent state of turbulence, which leads to turbulence within our schools. My goal is to bring the board’s focus back to education, first and foremost, by enacting policies which best serve our teachers and students. When we see a steady increase in retention rates, it will be a clear sign that I’ve achieved my goal, as our staff feel more valued and committed to our schools.
When I was 7 years old, I vividly remember our teacher organizing a mock class vote for the 1980 US presidential election. She emphasized our civic responsibility and spent a portion of our class time in the days leading up to election day to remind us of how important our participation was.
Following the election, despite whether or not our chosen candidate won, our teacher reminded us that even if the person we voted for did not win, our voices still mattered. This foundational lesson had a substantial impact on my world view and led to a life-long interest in civics and a true appreciation for our right to vote.
Following the election, despite whether or not our chosen candidate won, our teacher reminded us that even if the person we voted for did not win, our voices still mattered. This foundational lesson had a substantial impact on my world view and led to a life-long interest in civics and a true appreciation for our right to vote.
I started working at 10 years old, babysitting children in the neighborhood who were not much younger than I. I babysat regularly through college. This experience taught me many valuable lessons about caring for and teaching children and cultivated my passion for education.
My favorite book series is The Lord of the Rings. When I was a child, I borrowed an anthology of the trilogy from the public library. Shortly thereafter I was injured, which led to me being bedridden for 3 weeks. Despite my inability to leave my bedroom, the series allowed me to escape my confinement and explore Middle Earth with all of the fantastical characters. Having literature to occupy my mind helped me to recover more quickly and fully. This is a clear example of the importance of having books accessible within our schools.
The primary role of a school board member is to represent all students, families, and staff in Virginia Beach by advocating for an educational vision which reflects the values of our community. This includes enacting reasonable and beneficial policies which provide the resources necessary to support high-quality education.
I will be representing all of the residents of district 5; however, as a school board member I will be making decisions in support of all students, families, faculty, and staff within the division.
It is my plan to transform how school board members communicate with their constituents. It would be immensely beneficial to provide stakeholders with the opportunity to weigh in on school board agenda items in advance of critical meetings. This should be done in a manner which allows board members to easily access these communications and either vote in alignment with the wishes of their constituency or explain why they couldn’t.
My intention is not to target specific organizations or stakeholders, but to ensure that all voices are heard and considered.
My intention is not to target specific organizations or stakeholders, but to ensure that all voices are heard and considered.
In my experience working as a CLASS observer, I understand that good teaching starts with building good relationships between teachers and students, students and their peers, and teachers with parents. Robust communication and building trust are key to these relationships.
The CLASS observation system can be implemented up to 12th grade, and I support exploring the use of this research-based tool across the division. The system incorporates quantitative evaluation by trained and certified observers which results in an overall rating for the classroom based upon the interactions observed.
The CLASS observation system can be implemented up to 12th grade, and I support exploring the use of this research-based tool across the division. The system incorporates quantitative evaluation by trained and certified observers which results in an overall rating for the classroom based upon the interactions observed.
I would like to provide greater accessibility across the division to hands-on vocational and technical career training at the division’s Advanced Technology and Technical & Career Education Centers. When elected, I also aim to expand gifted services such that all gifted students have access to the same, high-quality curriculum regardless of which school they attend.
Ensuring sufficient and appropriate school funding must be evaluated both from both a revenue and an expenditure perspective. First, when elected I will work closely with city council to ensure that revenues intended for school usage remain with the school. Sufficiently funding our schools provides wider economic benefits over the short and long-term.
Second, I will critically review the budget and vote for budgetary priorities which reflect the core values of VBCPS. This includes prioritizing expenditures which directly improve student outcomes, and reducing indirect, overhead expenditures.
Second, I will critically review the budget and vote for budgetary priorities which reflect the core values of VBCPS. This includes prioritizing expenditures which directly improve student outcomes, and reducing indirect, overhead expenditures.
I advocate for the recruitment of more trained professionals, with a focus on social workers and mental health counselors as the current ratio of these service providers to students is woefully inadequate. This investment ensures that staff and students have the necessary resources to proactively address the mental health needs of students, faculty, and staff, creating a safer and more conducive learning environment.
When elected, I will also take steps to cultivate an atmosphere where students, faculty, and staff are empowered to voice their concerns without fear of retaliation. This includes ensuring that there are appropriate proactive and reactive behavior management policies and procedures in place which are consistently adopted across the division.
When elected, I will also take steps to cultivate an atmosphere where students, faculty, and staff are empowered to voice their concerns without fear of retaliation. This includes ensuring that there are appropriate proactive and reactive behavior management policies and procedures in place which are consistently adopted across the division.
The Virginia Beach Educators Association, The Virginia Beach Democratic Committee, Moms Demand Action, FFRF Action Fund, and Vote Mama Pac
The ideal learning environment is one in which students have autonomy over their learning and are engaged with the content. This begins with building healthy relationships within the classroom, hands-on learning practices, and collaboration with colleagues and parents. Students should be fully supported with adequate resources and staff and should be enabled to work at their own pace with individualized content.
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.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Virginia Beach City Public Schools, District 5 |
Personal |
Footnotes
