About Derek
My name is Derek Rountree and I am running for Montgomery County School Board District E. As a product of public schools, I appreciate the broad education and relationships the public school system provided me, and I am excited about the opportunity to give back to the community through service to the Montgomery County Public School System as a school board member.
I came to Montgomery County 20 years ago to attend Virginia Tech. While attending VT, I met my wife, graduated and got married. Truly loving this area of Appalachia, my wife and I decided to stay here in Montgomery County where we are now raising our two daughters who both attend Montgomery County public schools.
As a parent of children in the MCPS system, I am vested in the success of MCPS. As a school board member for Montgomery County Schools, I will strive to advocate for all students and parents.
I look forward to updating you as my campaign progresses.
Who am I?
A Hokie – I graduated from Virginia Tech in 2010, where I continued working until 2016 when I moved to a local technology company in the Blacksburg Industrial Park;
A lifelong teacher – I have a true passion for education, from Boy Scouts as a youth to tutoring in college, teaching laboratories and recitations at Virginia Tech, and educating young engineers and scientists in my current day-to-day work;
A religious education teacher – My family and I are active members of our local church. I teach religious education classes to our congregation’s youth as well as serving on several committees;
A senior project manager – I work at a local technology company with seven years of experience managing projects with budgets in excess of one million dollars;
A mine safety instructor – I am a certified Mine Safety and Health Administration Safety Trainer since 2014;
An Eagle Scout – I was active in scouting for many years and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in 1993;
A Girl Scout volunteer – My wife and I are active in our daughter's Girl Scout Troop, where we strive to build girls of courage, confidence, and character;
A father – My wife and I are raising two wonderful girls who attend MCPS;
A husband – I’ve been married for 12 years to my amazing wife, Brandie, a preschool teacher and art instructor;
A passionate advocate for all students, parents, teachers, and staff in our public school system.
Lifelong Teacher
I would like to thank all the teachers in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) for their service to our students! You are a wonderful group of educators!
I have a true passion for education and greatly appreciate the education professionals that have taken up the cause to educate the leaders of tomorrow.
As a Boy Scout I served as patrol leader, Asst. Sr. Patrol Leader, and Senior Patrol Leader. During these positions, I taught new scouts the Boy Scout oath, law, motto, and slogan, and skills such as knot tying, fire building, safe handling of wood cutting tools, and first aid to name a few.
During my time as an undergraduate student at Louisiana State University (LSU), I tutored students one-on-one in subjects of algebra, calculus, chemistry, computer science, and physics. Additionally I was employed by the LSU College of Science to tutor students in introduction to physics courses in an open office setting where there were typically six to thirty students in the tutoring room. I found this experience extremely rewarding, getting to meet students from across the universities programs, from biology and engineering to physics and chemistry and honing my physics and math skills as I taught others.
When I arrived at Virginia Tech in 2003 for graduate school, I had my first introduction to formal instruction as a teacher for physics laboratories. This provided valuable experience on preparing lesson plans and executing instruction to class sizes of twenty-five to fifty students.
As a Research Scientist at Virginia Tech and in my current day-to-day work, I aid in the training of young engineers and scientists. This includes training of interns and new graduates. Seeing these young engineers and scientists grow into professionals is among the most rewarding aspects of my job.
In addition to my passion for education, my wife, Brandie, is a preschool teacher. She teaches four year olds at a local Blacksburg preschool and finds great satisfaction in helping them develop a love of learning at an early age. She is also a Girl Scout Leader for our daughters’ troop and plans badge work for girls in grades K– 5.
We are a family of educators!
Girl Scout Volunteer
Both my wife and I are active in our daughters’ Girl Scout Troop, where we strive to build girls of courage, confidence, and character! My involvement includes teaching badge work for robotics to Juniors, helping with art for Brownies, and providing general support to the troop leaders.
I am a strong advocate for gender equality and protecting women’s rights for our generation, our daughter’s generation, and generations to come!
The education of our students does not stop at the door of the school, it continues at home, in scouting organizations, with the United Way, YMCA clubs, sports clubs, and in so many other aspects of life. I am so proud and humbled by the work my wife, sister, and mother have put into the Girl Scout organization, and I aim to help them and the broader Girl Scout community succeed into the 21st century!
