Noah William Moreland is a candidate for Virginia Beach School Board – District 7. His name will appear on the ballot on November 5, 2024.
Moreland is running against Matthew Warren Cummings for Virginia Beach School Board – District 7.
The first day of in-person early voting at your local registrar’s office for this election is Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. Click here to see who is on your ballot.
10 On Your Side reached out to all of the candidates running in this race, with a request for a bio and a list of questions to answer. If you do not see the candidate listed with a profile, we did not receive one.
Biography: Noah has lived in Virginia Beach all his life with ties going back all the way to his great-grandparents. Combined, his family has over 100 years of history in Virginia Beach. He attended VBCPS Kindergarten- twelfth grade and graduated in 2016 from the Legal Studies Academy at First Colonial High.
Noah is actively engaged within our community, serving as a youth leader in his church to current VBCPS students. He possesses a bachelor’s degree from Old Dominion University, but ultimately has a career as a blue-collar worker.
Why are you running for this office?
One word: investment. I’ve lived my entire life in this city and it’s given me a lot. My education, my home, the city has invested in me in a way few other residents of this city can also say. And now I want to return it in-kind. To help better and prepare our school system for a time where my future children will one day be enrolled. A city that invests in its children, is better prepared for the future.
What is the top challenge facing Virginia Beach City Public Schools, and how would you address it?
The top challenge we face as a school system is regaining the ground we lost due to the pandemic. VBCPS lost 10 years of upwards progress due to schools closing down, and it will taken even longer for the full extent of these downsides to become apparent. Younger children are having issues with vocabulary and speech skills. Older students are feeling trepidation and the thought of undergoing thousands of dollars of debt in higher education. Addressing this starts at the home, helping and encouraging parents to get re-involved in their child’s education. This means transparency and removing barriers for parents to access information regarding what their child is doing in school. Changing the culture of our administration to be welcoming of parents and willing to answer their questions. Re-focusing on rewarding academic excellence so students are motivated to excel and opening more avenues for students to pursue options other than higher education.
How do you feel about the politicization of public education?
I think politicization does not belong in the school system and it is a marker of the things we are doing wrong. The problems in our schools are very bi-partisan issues that many agree upon and it is often very specific issues that force this divide among voters. Education (and our youth for that matter) should never be used as a weapon to encourage politicization.
What is your view on banning certain books from school libraries?
Depends on what you mean. Generally what I have heard is a concern that there would be a banning of books that talk about the history of slavery in our country. Personally I would never seek to ban such content in school libraries as it is an integral part of our country that students should be encouraged to read about.
Within the last year, the Kempsville High School baseball team was forced to forfeit the season due to racism allegations. How would you ensure there is not a racist culture within schools?
Ensuring we keep a culture like that out of our schools starts with discipline those that perpetuate it, especially teachers. From what I heard of the incident the behavior from both students and their coach was unacceptable. To an extent even more so from their coach for allowing this behavior and encouraging it to happen. Teachers help set the atmosphere and culture and such behavior from a teacher cannot be allowed to continue. The school board made the right decision in removing him from his position. And it would be the correct action to take in any similar circumstance.
How will you still value constituents with whom you disagree with?
Respect. Treat them with the respect they are due as a potential parent of a children in the school system and a voting member of our community. There are several topics with which I welcome outside opinions and will take into consideration when it comes time to make decisions regardless of if we agree or not. My role as a school board member is to represent the interests of my district when it comes to these topics and that means keeping an open and transparent dialogue with everyone that lives in it.
