Rose Dwyer
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Rose Dwyer is a member of the Virginia Beach City Public Schools, representing District 1. Dwyer assumed office on January 1, 2025. Dwyer's current term ends on January 1, 2029.
Dwyer ran for election to the Virginia Beach City Public Schools to represent District 1. Dwyer won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Dwyer completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Rose Dwyer's career experience includes working in sales.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Virginia Beach City Public Schools, Virginia, elections (2024)
General election
General election for Virginia Beach City Public Schools, District 1
Rose Dwyer defeated incumbent Jennifer Franklin in the general election for Virginia Beach City Public Schools, District 1 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Rose Dwyer (Nonpartisan)  | 51.7 | 11,394 |
| Jennifer Franklin (Nonpartisan) | 47.6 | 10,479 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.7 | 158 | ||
| Total votes: 22,031 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Kelly Convirs-Fowler (Nonpartisan)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Dwyer in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Rose Dwyer completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Dwyer's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I am a mother of 5 and now also a grandmother. I previously served as an appointed school board member in another district, and will bring that experience to the Virginia Beach School Board. I also spent many years as a PTA President and volunteer so I have a first hand understanding of the needs of both teachers and parents. I have served in youth ministry and also prison ministry and have a passion for helping others through servant leadership.
- Focus on Reading Achievement: a large percentage of students are not reading on grade level. Teaching this fundamental skill should be top priority. When a student can't read, they can't learn other subjects either. This can lead to frustration and also discipline problems.
- Workforce Development: not every student is equipped for college and we must focus on career and technical education.
- Raise the bar: students will rise to meet the challenges placed before them. Other nations such as China and Russia are outpacing the United States in Math and other content areas. We must stay competitive as a nation. There are so many amazingly talented young people in our city and we need to encourage every child to achieve to their highest ability.
Career and Workforce Development--Trades
Infrastructure: this isn't a topic often discussed but with aging buildings, a long term, achievable plan must be put in place.
Infrastructure: this isn't a topic often discussed but with aging buildings, a long term, achievable plan must be put in place.
Representation of constituents and transparency. An elected official should always remember they report to the people who put them in the position. As an elected school board member, I serve and report to the people of Virginia Beach. It is also important to weigh all sides of an issue an receive input from the public prior to making a decision.
I like to serve others.
Making sure the mission of public schools is put first: ACADEMICS! There are too many tasks being placed on teachers that do not focus on academics. We must be sure that every decision we make is for the betterment of academic achievement and not a political agenda. It is also imperative that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and that proper oversight of that spending is given.
To provide accountability and oversight through policy.
In a district system, my constituents are the members of District 1. However, I believe I serve all of the citizens of Virginia Beach.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It is imperative that we treat one another with dignity and respect. There is too much divisiveness in the world today. We must come together in a unifying way and do what is best for every student.
It is imperative that we include organizations such as the faith community in areas that are beyond the scope of academics. Mental health issues have been a concern especially after the terrible decision to shut down schools. However, teachers and school staff do not have the expertise to solve these complex problems. The community at large must step in and help. Virginia Beach Schools has a great relationship with CHKD to help with these mental health issues and I support efforts such as this.
The best teacher is one who can keep their students engaged. When a student is engaged, they will learn! While it is imperative that achievement is measured, it must be done in a way that can't be manipulated. A focus in Virginia Beach for many years has been on graduation rates but those number can easily be manipulated. I've heard that it is nearly impossible to fail a class or a grade. Students must be held accountable and must not be promoted if they are not academically prepared for the next level.
Virginia Beach has a great Career and Technical Education school but it is only a half day program. I want to turn that into a full-day program and expand the number of students who can attend.
Virginia Beach Public Schools has a budget of $1.1 Billion! Per pupil spending has risen to $17,600 per student when it was just $13,000 in 2020. Student enrollment numbers continue to decline but spending continues to increase. Spending must be curtailed to prioritize academic needs of students. Every single program and project should be evaluated for effectiveness in every school.
Safety must be a top priority and rules must be enforced. Funding for School Resource Officers (SROs) must be given top priority.
I support the current partnership that VBCPS has with CHKD that provides priority access to students in need.
I would like to change the current policies on how grades are given. Currently, there are "site-based" grading practices. One middle school in Va Beach may have a grading scale in which students are given a zero for work not done, another middle school may have a minimum grade of a 50. So, if a students does NO work---they still get a 50. This is unfair and does not provide accountability especially since these students may also be competing for the same high school academy programs. The unfair grading practices lead to inequality among schools.
Current School Board members Victoria Manning, Carolyn Weems, David Culpepper, and Kathleen Brown all support my campaign.
A safe environment where students respect one another and staff. Constant interruptions due to discipline problems have been a big problem. Discipline problems must be reigned in so that all students can learn and feel safe.
Decisions to keep school closed were harmful to students and the impacts of those bad decisions will be felt for many years to come. The state has provided funding for additional reading tutors in schools and I want to be sure that money is being properly used.
As a former PTA President, I know the importance of parental involvement in schools. I want to be sure that parents feel welcome in their children's schools. I also want parents to feel comfortable reaching out to me if they have a concern or idea.
The best strategy for recruitment is to retain the great staff already employed. We must also create a working environment where everyone feels equipped to make VA Beach Schools the best in the nation. When talking with teachers, the top concern they have is not salary but their working conditions. Teachers and staff must feel safe in their job. The new Superintendent is doing a good job in starting to address some of these problems but the School Board needs to support and oversee these efforts.
I would favor an online "checkbook" that would display all expenditures made by the school division. It is imperative that taxpayers know where their money is spent .
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
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on August 11, 2024
