Alaskan Teacher Who Died Had Been A Bread Loaf Student

17 Oct

Alaskan Teacher Who Died Had Been A Bread Loaf Student

Posted October 17, 2011 by Julia Carlisle in Vermont. 3 Comments

Woodstock Early Bird has just heard the news of the unexpected death of an English teacher from Juneau, Alaska who has a Vermont connection.

Ali McKenna was one of hundreds of teachers who got their M.A. in English from the Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College. Her husband, Tom McKenna, also a Bread Loaf School of English graduate and a teacher, still has connections to the Vermont-based program having been instrumental in setting up BREADNET an online communications vehicle for teachers.

We have several Bread Loaf School of English graduates here in Woodstock who may have spent time with Ali, including reporter and former WUHS teacher Audrey Richardson, who like Woodstock Early Bird herself, participated in their program when it was offered at the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau. WUHS English Teacher Martha Perkins is another graduate of the program. McKenna’s passing is sure to be felt by those who worked with her here in Vermont. She, a woman of boundless energy and dedication, embodied what teaching — and the Bread Loaf School of English — is all about.

Here is KTOO’s report from Rosemarie Alexander (www.ktoo.org):

A popular Juneau-Douglas High School teacher passed away unexpectedly over the weekend.

Forty-two year-old Alison McKenna was found dead in her home Saturday morning.

Juneau police responded to call from a family member at 10:43 a.m. Police say her death is NOT considered suspicious. The body has been sent to the state medical examiner’s office in Anchorage for an autopsy.

McKenna leaves behind two young children, a son, age 11 and a 9-year-old daughter.

She also touched the lives of hundreds of students over the years. McKenna taught World Literature and Creative Writing at JDHS as well as Writing for Publication. She was advisor to the student publication, The Ego.

In 2006, McKenna helped KTOO launch the high school broadcast journalism program, giving her students the opportunity to report stories for KTOO’s Morning Edition.

McKenna knew the importance of teaching students how to conduct interviews, work with adults, reach out to the community and meet deadlines. She said she wanted her students to be taken seriously and the program inspired them to do quality work.

As a long time educator, friend, teacher and colleague, her loss will be particularly hard on staff and students at both JDHS and Thunder Mountain High School. School district spokeswoman Kristin Bartlett says support is available for students and families at the high schools. While there is no school for students today and tomorrow (Monday and Tuesday), the high schools are open and counselors will be available to help students during this difficult time.

3 responses to this post.

Posted by Maria on October 18, 2011 at 00:40

Thanks for sharing part of Ali’s life and how much she has meant to us in the Bread Loaf community. I attended Bread Loaf with Ali; there are lots of holes left behind in her passing; much too soon and much too sudden.

LikeLike
- Posted by Julia Carlisle on October 19, 2011 at 10:16
  
  Thanks Maria…She was someone who kept up the Bread Loaf connections even after getting her degree. I first met her down by the Squire’s Rest at UAS when she was helping with the BL Alaska Program which sadly was discontinued.
  
  LikeLike
Posted by Tom McKenna on October 20, 2011 at 13:37

Wow. What a surprise. Thanks, Julia. Ali was one of the first two graduates of the Bread Loaf campus here in Juneau. For the record, Ali’s Alaska teaching began and ended in the Juneau School District. She did visit Unalaska / Dutch Harbor, though.

Her Bread Loaf years were very important to her, not just because she met the father of her beautiful children at Bread Loaf’s Oxford campus! We stayed together on the Vermont campus while our kids were very young. Her professors and friends there made a big and positive impact on her life.

It means a lot to all of us to have you remember her in VT.

Best,
Tom McKenna
Juneau, AK
mr.t.mck@gmail.com

(Thank you, Tom, for giving me an excuse to edit that rather tortured sentence and correct the error! Take care, WEB)

LikeLike