Betty D. Covington represents the Potomac Magisterial District. She first served on the Prince William County School Board from 1996 to 1997. On January 1, 2012, she will begin her third consecutive four-year term on the School Board, having been elected in 2003, 2007, and 2011. This year Mrs. Covington is celebrating her 50th year with Prince William County Public Schools, where she has served in the role of a classroom teacher, assistant principal, principal, and School Board member.

Mrs. Covington retired from Kilby Elementary School in 1995 after 19 years as its principal. In 1997 she returned to the School Division as Principal of Dumfries Elementary School, where she remained until her second retirement in 2003.

From 1974-1976, Mrs. Covington served as principal of the Saunders Kindergarten Center, the first public kindergarten in Prince William County. Earlier, she spent three years as assistant principal of Dale City Elementary School, as it served as a pilot school for implementation of year-round school. She was a classroom teacher for 11 years, nine of which she spent at Dumfries Elementary School. Her three children are all graduates of Prince William County Public Schools.

Mrs. Covington has been a mentor and guide to many during her years in the School Division, including several who have gone on to become administrators in their own right. Diana Aikens, one of her protégés, was the 2005-06 Prince William County Principal of the Year, an award Mrs. Covington was nominated for in 1991. She was a nominee for The Washington Post Distinguished Educational Leadership Award and Prince William County Principal of the Year in 1991.

In 2003, Mrs. Covington received the Educator of the Year Award from the Boys and Girls Club. In the future, the award will be named and presented annually as the Betty Covington Educator of the Year Award. She received the Star Award for Endless Dedication to Youth from the Boys and Girls Club in 2001. Mrs. Covington has also been recognized by Reading is Fundamental and named the Distinguished Woman of the Year at various times by the Soroptimist Club, the Zontas Club, and the Commission for Women.

In 2009, Mrs. Covington received the Human Rights Award from the Prince William County Human Rights Commission. The Human Rights Commission award recognizes Mrs. Covington for her many contributions to the Town of Dumfries and her advocacy for the students of Prince William County. During her time as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal in Prince William County Public Schools, she focused her efforts on the needs of her students to ensure that they all achieved at a high level regardless of economic status or ethnicity. She has continued that focus as a member of the Prince William County School Board during her nine years representing the Dumfries community. In 2010, Mrs. Covington was elected and sworn in as a Member At-Large for the Board of Directors of the Virginia School Boards Association.

Mrs. Covington received her Bachelor of Science from East Carolina University and a Master of Arts from the University of Virginia.

Updated 12/27/11