VILLAGE ACADEMY
"PLACING STUDENTS ON THE PATH TO SUCCESS"

Jennifer Keynan is a career changer who heeded the call to teach later in life, after a career in human resources in the Japan-related and nonprofit sectors. She was inspired to become a teacher after becoming a mother to two children herself and realizing that serving the community as an educator would be more meaningful and fulfilling than continuing to work in the corporate world. Ms. Keynan earned her bachelor's degree in Asian Studies/Japan from Colgate University, her first master's degree in Asian Studies from Cornell University, and a second master's degree in Adolescent English Education from SUNY-Empire State College. Ms. Keynan joined Village Academy Middle School in Far Rockaway, Queens, as a Humanities teacher in 2018. Before that, Ms. Keynan was a teacher of English Language Arts (ELA) for three years at HALB, an independent K-8 school in Nassau County, followed by one year as an ELA teacher at Pathways College Preparatory School, a 6-12 DOE school in St. Albans, Queens. She revels in setting high expectations for her students and supporting them in achieving their goals. In her downtime, Ms. Keynan enjoys participating in group fitness classes, discussing politics, reading historical fiction and memoirs, and watching movies with her family.