An opinion piece entitled “It’s time to ditch Beach’s baffling election system“ by Roger Chelsey appeared in the The Virginian-Pilot on Tuesday, July 17, supporting a change to the way the City of Virginia Beach elects members to the City Council and School...
Senator Yvonne Miller passed away last week. She was the first African American woman to be elected to the Virginia General Assembly, and the longest serving woman in the Virginia Senate. She was also an educator, passionate about our public schools. I remember well a floor speech she gave against...
Susan Baker and Joel McDonald. Susan was the first African American cheerleader at Bayside High School in Virginia Beach, where she graduated in 1975. I had the amazing opportunity to join with 9,000 educators for the National Education Association Convention that was held in Washington D.C. from...
Joel McDonald being interviewed by WVEC Channel 13 about Virginia being granted a waiver from No Child Left Behind. On June 29, 2012, the U.S. Department of Education granted the Commonwealth of Virginia a waiver from the arbitrary and unrealistic requirements of No Child Left Behind. You can...
Joel McDonald The first question anyone should ask any candidate for elected office is simple. Why are you running? I’m running for Virginia Beach School Board because I know that I can be an effective advocate for public education in Virginia Beach. I believe in our schools, our teachers,...