NEWS
Greg Greeley Announces Candidacy for Arlington School Board
January 3, 2014
Arlington, VA – Greg Greeley announced today his candidacy for the Arlington School Board. A 26-year resident of South Arlington with a child in Arlington’s public schools, he will seek the Democratic Party’s endorsement in a caucus to be held in May.
Greeley, 49, has served in numerous leadership roles in Arlington, including as chair of the Planning and Capacity Subcommittee of the Advisory Council on School Facilities and Capital Programs (FAC), FAC Ambassador to the Nottingham Elementary School community in the recent More Seats for More Students boundary process, and Treasurer of the Randolph Elementary School PTA. He is also a former president and board member of the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL) and serves as Vice-Chair of the Northern Virginia MIT Educational Council. He was a nominee to be a local Foster Parent of the Year in 2010.
“Our growing school system is at a critical juncture. We must respond wisely and proactively to that growth – and we must make meeting the needs of every Arlington student central in all our decision-making.” Greeley said. “Our School Board needs a leader with the community, professional, and schools experience to meet these challenges head-on. I am prepared to lead the important school and community dialogue that will shape Arlington schools’ growth and will ensure that our decisions are driven by what is best for students.” [...]
ARLnow
January 7, 2014
Greg Greeley is not your typical suburban School Board candidate. A single gay man, a father of two adopted boys, and an Air Force veteran, Greeley breaks the mold in more ways than one.
This might be big news elsewhere in the country. In Arlington, however, Greeley is just running to succeed another mold-breaker.
Greeley, a Douglas Park resident, filed to run to replace Sally Baird on the School Board earlier this month. If elected, Greeley would be Arlington’s first openly gay male School Board member, replacing Baird, Virginia’s first openly lesbian elected official. (Like Greeley, Baird also has two sons.)
Greeley has served as chair of the “Planning and Capacity Subcommittee of the Advisory Council on School Facilities and Capital Programs” and as treasurer of the Randolph Elementary School PTA, among other volunteer positions with school organizations.
The 49-year-old Democrat has already received endorsements from state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-30) and Del. Patrick Hope (D-47) and is prepping for a door-knocking campaign before the Democratic caucus in May. Greeley, a federal government contractor and project manager, is primarily focused on capacity and facility issues — building and renovating schools to keep up with Arlington’s burgeoning student population — since it’s where he thinks the School Board needs the most improvement [...]
"Greeley Would Be First Openly Gay Man on Arlington School Board"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2014
Press Contact: Jason Rylander 202-486-8650
Sally Baird Endorses Greg Greeley for Arlington School Board
Arlington, VA – Retiring School Board member Sally Baird officially endorsed Greg Greeley tonight to replace her on the Arlington School Board. Baird, a member of the Arlington School Board since 2007, introduced Greeley and announced her support at the Arlington County Democratic Committee’s February meeting.
“Greg offers a needed balance to the Arlington School Board,” said Baird. “He has the depth, temperament, and experience to be a key leader on the Board as it addresses our looming capacity crisis. And I know he values – in fact, he lives -- our community’s diversity. He will work to improve our school system for all of Arlington’s children.”
An Arlingtonian since 1987, Greeley, resides in the Douglas Park neighborhood of South Arlington near Columbia Pike. If elected, Greeley, like Baird now, would be the only School Board member with a child attending South Arlington schools.
Baird joins a growing list of elected officials and Arlington leaders who support Greg Greeley for School Board, including Commissioner of Revenue Ingrid Morroy, State Senator Adam Ebbin, and Delegate Patrick Hope [...]
SunGazette
Arlington School Board Contenders Critical of Superintendent’
Budget Proposal
SCOTT McCAFFREY, Staff Writer |
They won’t have a vote in the matter, but the three contenders for the Arlington County Democratic Committee’s School Board endorsement are unanimous in opposing a budget proposal to eliminate options for adult students to earn high school diplomas.
“We need to support our older students,” said Greg Greeley, who said school officials “should be bending over backward” to give those beyond high-school age the time and tools needed to earn their diplomas.
Greeley, Barbara Kanninen and Nancy Van Doren fielded questions at the March 4 meeting of Arlington Senior Democrats, held at Busboys and Poets.Superintendent Patrick Murphy has proposed eliminating a program that allows students age 22 and older – most of them immigrants – to continue receiving instruction as they work toward a diploma. If Murphy’s proposal wins School Board approval, students in the program would still have the chance to earn a General Education Development (GED) certificate through the school system’s adult-education program [...]
DCHS eNews
Young Man Celebrates His Adoption
After his mother left, Ismael dropped out of school and cared for the family's dairy cows. For four years, he tended his herd and helped other farmers, but he was increasingly bothered by gangs. Finally, he decided that the gangs and drug trafficking in his community were preventing him from becoming successful. He sold his cows for almost $4,000 and set off for the United States.
That journey was also perilous. Along the way he was kidnapped. His captors demanded money, but he had none left. He contacted an uncle in Virginia who paid the ransom and secured his release. Ismael settled first in Atlanta where he worked construction jobs and lived with various people. After several months, his uncle persuaded him to move to Virginia and return to school.
Coming from a community where the schoolhouse was four rooms for grades one through nine, Ismael was overwhelmed by the number of students at T.C. Williams High School and the wide variety of instruction, but he persevered. Then he faced another problem. His uncle was arrested and deported, leaving Ismael to live with the uncle's girlfriend. A situation he describes as not good.
When school personnel learned of his living situation, they contacted Child Protective Services and Ismael was put into foster care.
Going into foster care can be traumatic for a child. For Ismael, it turnedout to be a blessing. He was sent to the home of Greg Greeley, a Resource Parent for the Department of Community and Human Services, who was hoping to adopt an older boy who could be a big brother to Nikolay, his adopted son from Ukraine.
Although Greeley had told the foster care social workers that he was hoping to adopt an older child, he admits that he was not prepared to see a 17-year-old Ismael walking through his door on a Friday evening [...]
One of the guest speakers at last year's Adoption Day ceremony was a new adoptee. That's not unusual. Occasionally, adoptees share their stories. What was unusual is this adoptee, who was celebrating his own adoption that day, is 21 years- old.
Like many adoptees, Ismael experienced more in his early years than most people experience in a lifetime. Growing up in El Salvador, he had to overcome many hardships. When he was six years-old, his father left. Five years later, his mother, after having worked doubly hard to care for Ismael and his siblings, moved to the United States leaving her children behind.
Greeley Calls for Responsible Transportation Policies
For Immediate Release:
April 3, 2014
Contact: Jason Rylander, 202-486-8650
Greg Greeley, candidate for Arlington School Board, issued the following statement on the School Board's action tonight directing the Superintendent to consider changes to school transportation policies to allow potentially for increased bus service for students who may need it:
"The school system has a responsibility to help our children get to and from school safely. Tonight the School Board voted to direct the Superintendent to consider sensible changes to our transportation policies by July 1. I applaud this move. We need to provide parents and kids with safe, efficient, and convenient transportation choices. And we must ensure that APS communicates those options in a timely manner so parents can plan for the next school year.
Nineteen months ago, right before the start of a new school year, the Superintendent cut bus service to hundreds of families without adequate notice or consultation with the community. With reduced service, some kindergarten students would have to walk more than a mile to school before APS would provide bus service. Sixth graders would have to walk a mile and a half. That doesn't seem reasonable to me. It is past time to revisit this decision.
As a School Board member, I will make sure that our policies reflect our values. Busing is expensive, but we can afford to provide appropriate transportation options to children who need it. The safety of our students must always be our primary concern."
Washington Blade
'Gay man running for Arlington school board'
Gay former Air Force Capt. Greg Greeley is running for a seat on the Arlington County School Board that’s being vacated by retiring incumbent Sally Baird.
Baird, who has endorsed Greeley, became Virginia’s first out lesbian elected official when she first won election to the school board post in 2006.
Greeley is a single father of two adopted boys and has been active in school-related activities in Arlington for more than 10 years, according to his campaign website. Among other things, he has served as treasurer of the Randolph Elementary School PTA, served as vice chair for a Northern Virginia education advisory council and is a former president and board member of SMYAL.
Since being honorably discharged from the Air Force in 1991, Greeley has worked in senior management positions in the private sector in the areas of finance, healthcare, and information technologies, his website says. He currently works as a federal government contractor and project manager with a specialty in facilities management.
Greeley is competing with two other candidates – Barbara Kanninen and Nancy Van Doren – for the Arlington Democratic Committee’s endorsement for the school board seat. Endorsement caucuses in which registered Democrats can vote are scheduled for Thursday, May 15, from 7-9 p.m., at Drew Middle School; and Saturday, May 17, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Washington-Lee High School.
Under Virginia law, school board seats are nonpartisan positions, but the law allows political parties to endorse school board candidates. Greeley told the Blade that traditionally the Democratic candidates who don’t receive their party endorsement drop out of the race, even though they are not required to do so under the election law.-
Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund Endorses
Greg Greeley for Arlington County, Va. School Board
For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
WASHINGTON – The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, the nation’s largest resource for openly LGBT individuals in politics, endorsed Greg Greeley for the Arlington County, Va. School Board.
“As a dedicated parent and community leader, nobody is more invested in the future of Arlington County students than Greg Greeley,” said Chuck Wolfe, chief executive officer at the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund. “He truly understands the impact a quality public education can have on a child’s life.”
Greeley brings with him years of community engagement and activism. The son of two public school educators, Greeley is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. After a four-year tour of duty, being honorably discharged at the rank of Captain, he worked in a number of executive-level positions in the finance, healthcare and information technology sectors. He currently chairs the Planning and Capacity Subcommittee for the Advisory Council on School Facilities and Capital Programs. Additionally, he was the treasurer for the Randolph Elementary School Parent-Teacher Association and formerly the President of the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League. He has been nominated for the local Foster Parent of the Year award.The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund is the largest resource for LGBT individuals in politics. The organization works to elect LGBT leaders to public office for one simple reason. They change America’s politics. As leaders in government, they become the face and voice of a community. They challenge the lies of extremists and speak authentically about themselves, their families and their community. Since 1991, the Victory Fund has helped thousands of openly LGBT candidates win election to local, state and federal offices. This year alone the VictoryFund will endorse more than 200 out LGBT candidates for public office - the largest in the organization’s history.
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Greg Greeley Named 2014 Honored Citizen,
School Board Announces
April 22, 2014
From the Arlington Public Schools Press Release:
"Every year, students benefit from countless volunteer hours donated by Arlington parents and community members. To acknowledge the support that these volunteers provide to APS, the Arlington School Board will recognize 17 Honored Citizens at the Volunteer Appreciation Reception and Ceremony on Tue, April 29.
The reception begins at 7 p.m. and the recognition ceremony begins at 7:30 p.m.Honored Citizens are chosen for their involvement in a wide variety of school activities throughout the county and sustained commitment (five or more years) to the Arlington Public Schools."
View a full list of 2014 Honored Citizens on the APS website.
May 14, 2014
Greg Greeley Calls for Better Planning Process, Issues Statement on Capital Improvement Plan
The Arlington County Board has now acknowledged what we have long known: Arlington is running out of seats for our students, and new sites are needed for schools. Arlington has not sufficiently prepared for the capacity crisis we face in our schools. Now we are scrambling. In a system that spends over $19,000 per student, we have to do better.
I'm disappointed in the recent announcement from the County staff on potential school sites. Numerous South Arlington sites could be considered for ES #2. Yet only one option came forward. Community discussions should not be limited to a single choice that has been determined by the County. Our community needs the opportunity to consider all the possibilities.
As a school system, and as a community, we must ensure that our choices serve the long-term capacity needs of the entire school system and address most current areas of critical elementary crowding -- including that being experienced in our southern-most elementary schools such as Abingdon, Oakridge and Claremont. Limiting our consideration to a single site next to Jefferson Middle School moves us in the wrong direction.
I am also disappointed in how this year's CIP has unfolded. So many citizens put in so much time attending public meetings, yet the specific proposal by the Superintendent for middle school crowding only came out at the very last minute.
The recently unveiled plans for the Wilson site need time to receive full consideration by our community. Whatever facility is built at Wilson will serve the school system for generations to come; the decision about "who and what" could occupy that facility must be carefully considered. I strongly oppose making any final decision on the Wilson school proposal until our community knows more about the details of the APS staff proposal and has had the opportunity to fully review the broader options available for addressing our middle school crowding. Rushed decisions are never the best decisions.
As we move into the next two, four, and six years, additional sites must be considered. Shirlington, Woodmont, Edison and Aurora Highlands are all locations that can and should be considered as possible school sites. And we need—right now—to plan for needed renovations of some existing schools. While other costly county projects are debated, there are teachers who can’t get their classrooms below 82 degrees and too many classes forced to meet in trailers.
The current CIP proposal creates community division, pitting communities against each other, North versus South, and choice versus neighborhood. That is wrong. Our community is a small one. Our kids all go to school together, play on sports teams together, and form lifetime friendships with one another. We have a responsibility to ensure that the public processes to build their school facilities reflect the same spirit of collaboration, foresight, investment, and commitment that we expect them to gain and carry forward from their APS educations.
Our School Board needs new ideas. We need meaningful conversations about public lands and property acquisition, and we need it all out on the table. It’s time for a thorough and open conversation.
Campaign Updates