Key Facts
Background
Carolyn Rye has a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from the College of William and Mary, and an MBA from Silberman College of Business, Fairleigh Dickinson University [1, 2, 4, 11].
Rye is a former Corporate Trainer and Group Insurance Management Consultant for Prudential Insurance, secondary school classroom Teacher, and intermittent Substitute Teacher for Virginia Beach City Public Schools [1, 2, 3, 4, 11].
Rye has been on the school board since 2015 and has served as school board Chair since 2020. Rye has served on the board’s Internal Audit Committee, as the Chair of the Policy Review Committee, and as liaison to the School Board Health Advisory Committee. She is also a member of the School Board Achievable Dream Academy Ad Hoc Committee [3, 4].
On the school board, Rye helped implement full-day kindergarten, establish Men’s and Women’s VHSL Lacrosse in all VBCPS high schools, improve employee compensation, develop new academic programs, establish an in-house Department of Legal Services, and design a School Board Self-Evaluation process. She also received Awards of Recognition and Excellence [3, 4].
Rye served on the PTA Boards of Lynnhaven Middle, Kingston Elementary, Kemps Landing Magnet, and Ocean Lakes High School, is a two-time PTA president, and was a member of the National PTA Certification of Excellence Assessment Team. Under Rye’s presidency, Ocean Lakes PTSA had the largest city increase in high school membership and earned the national PTA Certificate of Excellence honors. Rye is also a recipient of the PTA Distinguished Service Award [1, 4, 11].
Rye was formerly on the St. Nicholas Catholic Church Pastoral Council and William & Mary’s regional alumni chapter board. She is founder and inaugural president of William and Mary’s Northern New Jersey Alumni Chapter, and is an advisor to Kappa Kappa Gamma. Rye has done board service for the South Hampton Roads Alumni Chapter and established and chaired Hampton Schools Committees. She has lobbied Congress, participated in education and awareness, and done fund-raising for Fight Colorectal Cancer [1, 3, 4].
Key Issues
Teachers
Rye seeks to increase teacher retention through salary increases such as increases at incremental, five-year steps. Rye seeks to increase face-to-face employee input and communication [3, 4].
School Safety
Rye believes that the current safety plan in Virginia Beach City Public Schools is strong, and seeks to review and implement additional proposals to improve school safety [3].
Budget
Rye seeks to support student mental health. She supported budget allocations for additional high school counselor/mental health staff positions and supports the work of the Superintendent Mental Health Task Force [4, 13].
Rye seeks to close achievement gaps between student groups, particularly students with disabilities, and plans to provide funding for these initiatives. She seeks to increase professional development for special education teachers. Rye plans to allocate funds towards class size reduction [3, 4].
Miscellaneous
Rye supports continued funding for the replacement of worn/broken Smart Boards for ViewSonic interactive flat panels. She seeks to maintain state accreditation for all school test sites, and increase SAT/ACT scores, graduation rates, and AP/dual enrollment [3].
Rye aims to increase teachers’ roles in providing personalized education and increase adherence to the Individualized Education Program. Rye supports the Academic & Career Plan Process [3, 4].
Endorsements
No endorsements could be found.
Sources
1 Virginia Beach City Public Schools
2 Ballotpedia
3 WAVY – Candidate Profile
4 Carolyn Rye
5 WAVY – VB School Board Chair
6 Citizen Guide
7 Virginia Department of Elections
8 The Virginian Pilot
9 VPAP
10 Vote USA
11 Princess Anne Independent News
12 3 WTKR
13 Sun Devil Times