A Lifelong
Newport News Leader

As a lifelong native of Southeast Newport News, John R. Eley, III has witnessed first-hand the rapid growth of our city, as well as the strong spirit of our citizens. A graduate of Menchville High school in Newport News, John is a current member of the Newport News School Board, an active member of the community, a local business owner, and the Director of What's Next Foundation. What's Next is an initiative that connects residents with workforce training to advance Career readiness and employment opportunities. The program serves young people and adults of all ages. Meetings are held in the Southeast community to connect citizens with our community education providers, including Virginia Peninsula Community College and Hampton Roads Workforce Council.

As an advocate of career and technical and arts education programs, my passion for the education of others helped me to be elected to the Newport News School Board in May 2016. I am a positive influence in the lives of people in the southeast community and throughout the region. My interests in providing jobs, affordable housing, youth programming, economic development, and quality education will help to continue the growth and success of our City.

As an elected official, I have led the integration of Arts into the S.T.E.M curriculum across elementary, middle, and high school levels, producing a S.T.E.A.M focused educational program for the City of Newport News which pioneered the introduction of new courses including Music Production Engineering and Entrepreneurship into our schools. I passionately advocate for all employees of Newport News Public School System to continue to see consistent increase in annual salaries and wages to meet the needs of the rising cost of living as well as ensure that all high schools in Newport News meet or exceed the state accreditation standards for Virginia.

I have initiated Anti-Gang Violence programs throughout the city to make our communities safer through the iCount Program with focuses on mentorship, team building, youth development and career placement, and developed relationships with local small business which has allowed me to create strong partnerships in the school systems. These partnerships help bridge the gap between education and business. During my tenure on the school board, I was instrumental in implementing policies that directly increased our graduation rate to 98% and decreased our dropout rate to 2%.

During my spare time, I love to volunteer in the community as well as host toy drives during the holidays, feeding the community, stop the violence events, and bring arts and S.T.E.A.M. education to my community. I currently serve on Newport News City Council, Newport News Public Arts Foundation Board, HRCAP Board of Directors, Let Our Voices Empower Board, and Hampton University Repertory Theatre Advisory Council. As City Councilman to Newport News City Council, I plan to work with the citizens to make Newport News the best place to live, work and play.