Samuel Yan
Samuel Yan ran for election to the Loudoun County Public Schools to represent Broad Run District in Virginia. He lost in the general election on November 4, 2025.
Yan completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Samuel Yan earned a bachelor's degree from Jilin University in 1983 and earned a Ph.D. from Kansas State University in 1995. His career experience includes working as an IT professional, professor, researcher, and semiconductor industry worker. He has been affiliated with the Asian American Coalition for Education.[1]
Elections
2025
See also: Loudoun County Public Schools, Virginia, elections (2025)
General election
General election for Loudoun County Public Schools, Broad Run District
Ross Svenson defeated Samuel Yan in the general election for Loudoun County Public Schools, Broad Run District on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Ross Svenson (Nonpartisan) | 54.1 | 11,276 | |
Samuel Yan (Nonpartisan)  | 45.2 | 9,421 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.7 | 145 | ||
| Total votes: 20,842 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Yan in this election.
Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Samuel Yan completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Yan's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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In my youth, I experienced ten-year Cultural Revolution in China, and I am a survivor of the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.
I have three children who graduated from LCPS. One of them serves in the military as a cadet at a military academy. I am a strong believer in merit-based education and believe every student is intelligent in his or her own way—rich or poor. Young minds are thirsty for knowledge and are ready to be trained and inspired to learn.
Having lived in Loudoun for the past twenty-five years and raised three children, I have spent as many as thirty years in schools—either as a student or as a teacher—both in the United States and abroad. I have closely observed and studied American education in comparison to systems overseas. I am deeply concerned about the persistent achievement gap in both K–12 and higher education. Despite the nation’s abundant resources, I believe the potential for excellence is squandered, generation after generation, due to a lack of political will and commitment from leaders across the spectrum.- Educational excellence – education outcomes must be measured against historical data and international standards. Grade inflation and test retakes have become a normal part of the curriculum, weakening students’ performance, lowering academic standards, and leaving students ill-prepared for life. We need to go back to education basics and use common sense. Relieve teachers’ regulatory and paperwork burdens, reduce class sizes, give teachers more freedom in instruction, and smartly compensate them for performance and extra work.
- Build LCPS into a national STEM powerhouse — double the number of STEM graduates as soon as possible. Fully utilize the Academies of Loudoun to ensure it graduates more STEM-focused, ready-to-be-trained future engineers and technicians, year over year. Enhance and expand tech education and other experiential/hands-on programs into trade-school pathways, preparing students for careers and personal interest development upon graduation.
- Student Mental Health – begin preventive measures starting in elementary school. Ensure every student is involved in group or team activities such as STEM clubs, marching band, sports, JROTC, arts, theater, and music to broaden their interests, nurture their minds, and form bonds among them. Ban electronic devices (no cellphones in schools) to reduce students’ exposure to social media. Special education and students in need – Loudoun is one of the richest counties in the country. The school budget should allocate more resources toward special education, including teacher training, recruitment, and strict adherence to guidelines. School hours should be extended for students who need extra help, particularly those attending Title I schools.
Student safety - Assign armed police officers—to each elementary school.
Policy regarding school facility usage for county-wide residents should be revised. Let members of Loudoun County be active in the school setting. Reduce barriers instead of maintaining artificial borders, and lower usage fees.
I also like Dr. Ben Carson’s book Gifted Hands, which shows that no matter how difficult one’s youth may be, a strict, loving, and responsible parent can help their children succeed—kids, read, read, and read!
I also remember Civil right movement in US 1960's and assassination of Robert Kennedy even though I was very young - I think it's the first historical event that happened in my lifetime that I remember
I worked very diligently for two weeks, alongside professors and the best high school teachers in town. I was twenty-one and earned about $100 in today’s money. That was a lot to me. It was my first paid job.
Education, education, and education.
Student safety - Assign armed police officers—to each elementary school.
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
2025 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 2, 2025
