Rue Willis
Rue Willis ran for election for an at-large seat of the Chesapeake Public Schools in Virginia. Willis lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Willis completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Rue Willis was born in Norfolk, Virginia. Willis' career experience includes working as an educator.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Chesapeake Public Schools, Virginia, elections (2024)
General election
General election for Chesapeake Public Schools, At-large (4 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Chesapeake Public Schools, At-large on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Angie Swygert (Nonpartisan) | 13.6 | 52,965 | |
| ✔ | Norman Pool (Nonpartisan) | 12.1 | 47,024 | |
| ✔ | Malia Huddle (Nonpartisan)  | 12.0 | 46,661 | |
| ✔ | Elijah Colon (Nonpartisan) | 11.4 | 44,523 | |
| Daniel Stahler (Nonpartisan) | 10.8 | 42,001 | ||
 | L. Jameel Shaheer (Nonpartisan) | 9.8 | 38,036 | |
 | Rue Willis (Nonpartisan) | 9.4 | 36,751 | |
 | Gregory Dono (Nonpartisan) | 9.2 | 35,765 | |
 | Tom Mercer (Nonpartisan) | 6.5 | 25,501 | |
 | Samuel Boone (Nonpartisan) | 5.0 | 19,537 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 1,312 | ||
| Total votes: 390,076 | |||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Willis in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Rue Willis completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Willis' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Rue’s passion for teaching originates early on where they got to work with elementary school students for tutoring while still a student in high school. Through college, Rue served as a substitute teacher first starting at Newport News before transferring over to Chesapeake Public Schools. From there, their passion for teaching only bloomed as they continued to work with students helping them to succeed.
Now, as a graduate who experienced what it was like to learn in an online setting forced by the pandemic similar to those still current in Chesapeake Public Schools, Rue has decided to run for school board to support our students with their experience both as an educator and a student during the pandemic. With a supplemental background in finance from their time in college serving in financial roles in reporting and fundraising, Rue is committed to bringing in the resources needed to invest in an effective, robust support network that will allow every student to catch up and succeed in school.- Pandemic-Era Learning Loss
My number one priority is to combat the pandemic-era learning loss that has wreaked havoc on our current student retention rate due to the sudden transition of full-time online courses, with little to no preparation for different learning styles. This affected our youth, forcing a portion of our students to take remedial courses and affecting our students' learning capabilities to this day.
In order to combat this, I want to invest in in-person after school tutoring sessions and to be more diverse and understanding, online after school tutoring programs with an extended scope of hours to provide for students that have to take care of their families on all fronts. - The only way schools are able to function is through the sustainability of the staff, which can be effectively established by giving teachers the ability for collective bargaining, ensuring that students are able to receive the best care. To ensure our current staff stay employed with Chesapeake Public Schools, I will push for the minimum wage for teachers to be raised to $60,000, making pay competitive throughout the region, with opportunities for a raise, and seeking out grants to reimburse teachers for classroom supplies. Another way to recruit quality educators is by reaching out to individuals that are current teacher assistants and substitute teachers and assisting them through the process of gaining certifications.
- We are currently experiencing the largest mental health epidemic due to the pandemic-era lockdown, which is affecting students' abilities to succeed in school and life. To combat this, I plan to advocate that the current budget invest in additional guidance counselors, school psychologists, and social workers, as well as updating our current health curriculum to provide age appropriate education about mental health and wellness techniques. To combat the decline in our students' interpersonal communication skills, I will promote peer support groups for students to work with others their age to develop and share strategies to succeed in critical life skills. On top of this, I will work with already existing entities to create programs.
Karen Jenkins, State Senator L. Louise Lucas, State Delegate Cliff Hayes, Councilwoman Dr. Ella Ward
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 October 7, 2024
