Campaign News
Moon Wins Re-election
November 6th, 2007
On Tuesday, November 6, Fairfax County voters re-elected Ilryong Moon to a third term on the Fairfax County School Board.
Moon Receives Washington Post’s Endorsement
October 22nd, 2007
In an editorial published on October 22, 2007, Ilryong Moon received the endorsement of The Washington Post. The editorial reads:
“Mr. Moon has a record of solid achievement. He was instrumental in the expansion of foreign-language instruction, and his experience emigrating as a teenager from South Korea gives him insights into the needs of English-language learners.”
The Connection Endorses Moon
October 18th, 2007
Ilryong Moon recently received the endorsement of The Connection Newspapers in an editorial which reads:
“Moon, who arrived in this country from Korea as a teenager speaking little English, … brings an important perspective to the schools. Moon, who remembers the painful details of struggling to learn English and overcoming his embarrassment, is a Harvard-educated attorney. He correctly identifies growing segregation based on ethnic background, as visible in school cafeterias as in Fairfax neighborhoods, as a significant problem.”
Mondays for Moon Nights Continue
September 24th, 2007
On September 24, students from Woodson High School and Westfield High School visited our Anderson Road office. The student volunteers took a tour, stuffed county-wide candidate inserts into literature that will be dropped at homes by the state coordinated campaign, and then headed off to hand out Moon pencils at local back-to-school nights.
 |  |
To learn more about volunteering on the campaign, contact campaign manager Kimberli Costabile at manager@moon4schools.com or call our campaign office at 703-556-8989.
Ilryong Meets With Supervisors
September 24th, 2007
Ilryong met with members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Monday, September 24 to talk about various issues affecting the county. Click on any photo to see it larger.
 Sharon Bulova (Braddock), Gerry Connolly (Chairman), and Ilryong Moon |  Ilryong and Penny Gross (Mason) |
 With Linda Smyth (Providence) |  With Sharon Bulova (Braddock) |  With Cathy Hudgins (Hunter Mill) |  With Gerry Hyland (Mount Vernon) |
SLEEP Endorses Moon
September 19th, 2007
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA - Ilryong Moon, who is seeking re-election as an at-large (countywide) candidate for Fairfax County School Board, has just been endorsed by Phyllis Payne, MPH, and Sandy Evans, the organizers of SLEEP (Start Later for Excellence in Education).
In making endorsements in the School Board races, the SLEEP leadership team took into account candidates’ positions, statements and actions on the issue of later high school start times, for which the group has been advocating for nearly four years. SLEEP is completely nonpartisan, with its members and leaders representing a wide range of political beliefs but united on this issue.
SLEEP went through a thorough process of considering all 20 candidates who returned their questionnaire: a review of incumbents’ voting records, statements and actions during their current term; a review of candidates’ statements on their web sites and in campaign literature; and face-to-face followup interviews with 11 of the candidates. The SLEEP leadership team, consisting of 31 high school pyramid coordinators from all parts of Fairfax County, spent many hours giving careful consideration to each race and met twice before finalizing its decisions. SLEEP’s endorsement letter is reprinted below.
Moon’s numerous other endorsements can be seen on the endorsements section of Moon4Schools.com.
CONTACT:
Kimberli Costabile, Campaign Manager
Phone: 703-888-9352, e-mail: manager@moon4schools.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA - Ilryong Moon, who is seeking re-election as an at-large (countywide) candidate for Fairfax County School Board, has just been endorsed by Phyllis Payne, MPH, and Sandy Evans, the organizers of SLEEP (Start Later for Excellence in Education).
In making endorsements in the School Board races, the SLEEP leadership team took into account candidates’ positions, statements and actions on the issue of later high school start times, for which the group has been advocating for nearly four years. SLEEP is completely nonpartisan, with its members and leaders representing a wide range of political beliefs but united on this issue.
SLEEP went through a thorough process of considering all 20 candidates who returned their questionnaire: a review of incumbents’ voting records, statements and actions during their current term; a review of candidates’ statements on their web sites and in campaign literature; and face-to-face followup interviews with 11 of the candidates. The SLEEP leadership team, consisting of 31 high school pyramid coordinators from all parts of Fairfax County, spent many hours giving careful consideration to each race and met twice before finalizing its decisions. SLEEP’s endorsement letter is reprinted below.
Sept. 18, 2007
SLEEP Endorsement Statement on Ilryong Moon
SLEEP is happy to endorse for re-election at-large School Board member Ilryong Moon. He has demonstrated his support for healthy school start times over the course of his present term on the board, quietly but reliably. Ilryong Moon has consistently supported measures that have moved this issue forward, including the MPS transportation study and the current Transportation Task Force. His support of the task force is indicative of his belief in the importance of community input in arriving at a solution.
While permanent later start time solutions are being developed, he is in favor of temporary alternatives, such as online courses and an opt-out of first period for students. He believes that reasonable school start times would benefit our adolescents’ mental, emotional and physical health, as well as their academic achievement. SLEEP looks forward to his continued support and expanded leadership role making healthy school start times a reality for all of our students. SLEEP is pleased to endorse Ilryong Moon for at-large School Board member.
For more information, including candidate questionnaires, please visit SLEEP’s web site at www.sleepinfairfax.org.
SLEEP Endorsement Statement on Ilryong Moon
SLEEP is happy to endorse for re-election at-large School Board member Ilryong Moon. He has demonstrated his support for healthy school start times over the course of his present term on the board, quietly but reliably. Ilryong Moon has consistently supported measures that have moved this issue forward, including the MPS transportation study and the current Transportation Task Force. His support of the task force is indicative of his belief in the importance of community input in arriving at a solution.
While permanent later start time solutions are being developed, he is in favor of temporary alternatives, such as online courses and an opt-out of first period for students. He believes that reasonable school start times would benefit our adolescents’ mental, emotional and physical health, as well as their academic achievement. SLEEP looks forward to his continued support and expanded leadership role making healthy school start times a reality for all of our students. SLEEP is pleased to endorse Ilryong Moon for at-large School Board member.
For more information, including candidate questionnaires, please visit SLEEP’s web site at www.sleepinfairfax.org.
Moon’s numerous other endorsements can be seen on the endorsements section of Moon4Schools.com.
CONTACT:
Kimberli Costabile, Campaign Manager
Phone: 703-888-9352, e-mail: manager@moon4schools.com
Football Ad Highlights Moon’s Lasting Support for School Sports
August 30th, 2007
Fairfax County’s high school football season began last week and, with it, a buzz about a campaign advertisement featured in the football programs handed out at the games. The new campaign ad features a young Ilryong Moon, circa 1977, sitting on the bleachers as a student at T.C. Williams High School. This flashback image is contrasted with recent shots of Ilryong attending his son’s basketball game. The ad emphasizes Ilryong’s long and lasting support for school sports programs, from his days as a student, to today as a parent and School Board member.
Moon Speaks on Issues and Experience
August 29th, 2007
It has been an honor to serve the community as a school board representative for several years. It is something I do not take for granted, because to be successful in this, one must have the full participation and feedback of parents, whether it be in school site meetings, public hearings, small groups or the final feedback at the polls. I also get feedback at home, where my wife is a public school teacher and my sons have been FCPS students. When I’m sitting in the cheering section of my sons’ basketball or soccer games or at church, parents tend to talk to me too. Having been an ESL student myself who went on to law school, I know the challenges many of our students face and yet I believe in having high expectations for our students.
It is said that of all the at-large candidates, I have the most experience serving on the school board, first as an at-large school board member in 1995 then as the Braddock District representative to the school board (1996-1999) and returning in 2004 as at-large representative, serving as School Board Chairman in 2006 and Vice-Chairman in 2005. If re-elected, I intend to push for expanding full-day kindergarten programs throughout the county and fight to maintain programs that produce well-rounded, excellent students. I am a member of the Governor’s Urban Policy Task Force and a former member of the Virginia Advisory Committee of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission and the Fairfax County Planning Commission.
Our greatest challenge is to help all our students reach their full potential and be prepared for the global competition of the 21st century. High stakes testing under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) leads to looking at students as a part of a group rather than as individuals, yet we should not forget that each student is unique. Our teachers should be provided with increasingly better training and tools to help guide each student to set his or her own goals and achieve success.
I believe that it is teachers, and not gadgets, that teach. Therefore, we need to have the best teachers with very competitive salaries, benefits, support, and a teaching environment that attracts and retains excellent teachers. We need to increase teacher support if we are to continue expanding the full-day kindergarten program countywide and introduce foreign language to students at an early grade in elementary school.
I support the school board’s current efforts to study the later school day start time for middle and high schools if it can be done without unaffordable financial burdens on the school system. Evaluation of implementing a full school day on Mondays will have to be done in context of student achievement and teacher planning time as much as convenience to families. That will require a discussion among all parties involved, especially teachers and parents.
We need to involve parents more in our efforts to reduce the minority achievement gap. We also need to keep our schools safe and help our students avoid risky behaviors. I will work to bring reasonable improvements to NCLB in the areas where requirements are too rigid to be educationally beneficial to students. Your support November 6 is appreciated.
It is said that of all the at-large candidates, I have the most experience serving on the school board, first as an at-large school board member in 1995 then as the Braddock District representative to the school board (1996-1999) and returning in 2004 as at-large representative, serving as School Board Chairman in 2006 and Vice-Chairman in 2005. If re-elected, I intend to push for expanding full-day kindergarten programs throughout the county and fight to maintain programs that produce well-rounded, excellent students. I am a member of the Governor’s Urban Policy Task Force and a former member of the Virginia Advisory Committee of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission and the Fairfax County Planning Commission.
Our greatest challenge is to help all our students reach their full potential and be prepared for the global competition of the 21st century. High stakes testing under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) leads to looking at students as a part of a group rather than as individuals, yet we should not forget that each student is unique. Our teachers should be provided with increasingly better training and tools to help guide each student to set his or her own goals and achieve success.
I believe that it is teachers, and not gadgets, that teach. Therefore, we need to have the best teachers with very competitive salaries, benefits, support, and a teaching environment that attracts and retains excellent teachers. We need to increase teacher support if we are to continue expanding the full-day kindergarten program countywide and introduce foreign language to students at an early grade in elementary school.
I support the school board’s current efforts to study the later school day start time for middle and high schools if it can be done without unaffordable financial burdens on the school system. Evaluation of implementing a full school day on Mondays will have to be done in context of student achievement and teacher planning time as much as convenience to families. That will require a discussion among all parties involved, especially teachers and parents.
We need to involve parents more in our efforts to reduce the minority achievement gap. We also need to keep our schools safe and help our students avoid risky behaviors. I will work to bring reasonable improvements to NCLB in the areas where requirements are too rigid to be educationally beneficial to students. Your support November 6 is appreciated.
Sincerely,
Ilryong Moon
Moon Sings Anthem at Leadership Conference
August 1st, 2007
Ilryong sang the National Anthem at the FCPS Leadership Conference on August 1 at Hayfield Secondary School, accompanied by his wife Haewon on piano.
Gov. Kaine Visits Campaign Offices
July 28th, 2007
Governor Tim Kaine attended a rally for volunteers July 28 at the Fairfax County Democratic Committee’s coordinated campaign office in McLean. The rally drew a crowd of more than 400 party activists. Kaine reminded the crowd that outcomes of political races are often determined by the actions and strength of the volunteers. Ilryong Moon was among the candidates introduced to the crowd as someone whose leadership over the years has been an inspiring example to others. Moon has been a Fairfax County School Board Member for eight years.
