Manassas, VA —Amy Keen, a Dual Language third-grade teacher at Haydon Elementary School, has been named the Manassas City Public School’s 2025- 2026 finalist for the Mary V. Bicouvaris Teacher of the Year Award.
The award, sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education, recognizes educators who inspire students of all backgrounds and abilities, earn the admiration of students, families, and colleagues, foster strong school communities, and demonstrate leadership and innovation inside and outside the classroom.
With 31 years of experience in elementary education, Keen has dedicated her career to ensuring every student receives high-quality, evidence-based instruction grounded in equity and excellence. A product of Manassas City Public Schools herself, Keen describes her selection as deeply meaningful. This recognition is more than a professional milestone, she explained —it is a full-circle moment decades in the making.
“Being named the division’s nominee for the Mary V. Bicouvaris Teacher of the Year Award is one of the greatest honors of my career,” Keen said. “It is meaningful not just because of the recognition itself, but because it reflects the encouragement and belief of the people around me—my students, my colleagues, and the community that has supported my journey from childhood to now.”
In 1979, Keen walked through the doors of Haydon Elementary as a second-grade student. Even then, she recalls, Haydon felt like “a welcoming, nurturing place,” and the teachers who guided her “made an impact that would stay with me for the rest of my life.”
School was not always easy. She struggled with reading and would not be diagnosed with an auditory processing disorder until high school. But what she remembers most is not the difficulty — it is the belief.
“I had teachers who believed in me long before I understood how to believe in myself,” Keen said. “Their patience and belief in me made all the difference.”
Now, more than 30 years into her career, Keen works to ensure every child feels the same unwavering support she once received.
“Teaching is not just my profession; it is my purpose,” Keen said. “I believe in every single student who walks into my classroom. I believe in their potential, their abilities, and their dreams—even on the days when they might not believe in themselves yet.”
Keen earned a Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Waynesburg College in Pennsylvania. Her career spans 31 years across multiple grade levels. She began teaching in Manassas City Public Schools at Jennie Dean Elementary, where she served students in first through third grade for more than a decade. She later continued her career in Fauquier County Public Schools, teaching kindergarten, second, and third grades before returning “home” to Manassas City.
“Dr. Zella Jones hired me for a first-grade position at Jennie Dean – and I ended up teaching in the very same classroom where I began my career,” Keen said.
After 8 years at Jennie Dean, she joined R.C. Haydon Elementary School, where she currently teaches Dual Language third grade and serves in instructional leadership roles, including mentoring new teachers and supporting professional learning.
Her nominators describe her as “an expert educator who elevates students of every background and ability,” noting that her 31 years of experience and deep knowledge of the Virginia Standards allow her to deliver rigorous, meaningful instruction to diverse learners, including multilingual students and those in Title I settings.
“Her impact is unmistakable in student outcomes,” nominators wrote. “Classroom data shows that Mrs. Keen’s students have achieved significantly higher scores and stronger average pass rates than her grade-level peers. These results reflect not only her mastery of content and pedagogy but also her unwavering belief that all students can excel when given expert instruction and a supportive environment.”
Under Keen’s leadership and implementation of high-quality instructional materials aligned to the Virginia Literacy Act, her classroom Reading SOL pass rate increased significantly in a single year.
Keen said the outcomes speak for themselves, and as engagement has risen, so have academic results. Through structured cooperative learning, project-based experiences, partnerships with families, and intentional relationship-building, Keen ensures engagement is constant and meaningful.
“Student engagement is not a strategy — it is part of who I am as a teacher,” she said.
Beyond academics, Keen is known for building strong connections between her classroom and the broader community. Through project-based learning, her students designed and built Little Libraries to increase book access in their neighborhood. She also spends part of her summers reading aloud to students at the Georgetown South Community Center to maintain literacy engagement and relationships beyond the school year.
“Mrs. Keen collaborates with colleagues, students, and families in ways that actively build a school culture grounded in respect, shared responsibility, and collective success,” her nominators shared. “Her classroom environment reflects her belief that every student deserves to feel seen, heard, and supported.”
Keen serves multiple leadership teams across the school and division, including the A Cycle That Works Guiding Coalition, the Haydon School-Wide Improvement Planning Committee, the Kagan Cooperative Learning Coaching Cohort, and the MCPS Instructional Facilitators team. She mentors new teachers and George Mason University practicum students, helping shape the next generation of educators.
“Her leadership, clarity, and collaborative approach help shape policies and practices that positively impact students and teachers across the division,” her nominators wrote. “She is a powerful and positive ambassador for her school and division.”
“Returning to Haydon has been deeply meaningful,” Keen said. “My journey in Manassas City has been filled with incredible people who have shaped me, supported me, and reminded me what education is truly about: connection, compassion, and believing in each child’s potential.”
For Manassas City Public Schools, Keen’s story is a powerful reminder of the lasting impact educators can have — and how the belief of a teacher can shape not only a student’s future, but generations to come.
As the division’s finalist, Keen now advances for consideration at the state level, representing Manassas City Public Schools among Virginia’s most accomplished educators.