OUR STAFF

Mrs. Sharon Clepper teaches our English as a Second Language classes to students in grades 7-12.  Her students are learning to speak, read, and write in English while they are taking other high school classes.  Her students come from many different countries including the Phillipines, Mexico, Russia, and Thailand.  She has taught for 20 years (17 of which have been in Ketchikan).  She has previously taught at White Cliff Elementary School and in Wisconsin.  She was born in Wisconsin.  She raised two sons, some goats, and a few chickens there before moving to Alaska in 1991.  One of her favorite pastimes is gardening.  Mrs. Clepper attended the University of Wisconsin and earned B.S. degrees in Elementary Education and Special Education.  She received her English as Second Language Certification from Seattle Pacific University in 1999 and has an ESL Endorsement from the State of Alaska Department of Education.

Originally from Maine, Liz Bower has lived in several states before moving to Alaska twenty-two years ago.  She studied French throughout her school years, and later graduated from Arizona State University, earning a Bachelors of Science Degree in Geography in 1981.  Liz's passion for travel and curiosity about international cultures lead to extensive backpacking trips in Peru, Bolivia, Columbia, Chile, Nepal, and Thailand, as well as traveling to Mexico and Costa Rica.  Liz worked a myriad of jobs before teaching.  She fought forest fires in Arizona for several years, then decided to cool off by moving to Alaska in 1984.  Here, she worked as a cook on tugboats, a fisheries technician for ADF&G, a deckhand on commercial and sport fishing boats, and a manager for a seafood store.  She returned to graduate school and earned her teaching credentials in elementary education in 1989.  She has taught in the KGBSD for the past 17 years, 13 of those years were teaching grades four, five, or six.  She recently earned a Certificate in Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language through Seattle University.  Liz has spent the last few years teaching ESL students in the elementary schools.

Ms. Karen Nelson works with students at Houghtaling Elementary School as an ESL paraprofessional.  She has been with KGBSD for over 6 years and enjoys helping children learn the English language.  Ms. Nelson has traveled throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and the Middle East.  Her love of languages has led to the study of German, Spanish, French, Norwegian, and Arabic.  Ms. Nelson earned her B.A. in Liberal Arts with a German major in 1995 and received her Certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language in 2005.

Mrs. Joyce Autrey tutors English as a Second Language students at Fawn Mountain Grade School and Schoenbar Middle School.  She has been a Ketchikan resident for 19 years.   Prior to working for this school district as a paraprofessional, she gave private music lessons for several years.  Mrs. Autrey has lived in Colorado, Mississippi, Arizona, and Sitka, Alaska.  Wherever she travels, languages and cultures fascinate her.  Her husband works for the U.S. Forest Service as the Tribal Relations Specialist, and they have two adult children.  Mrs. Autrey has worked with children from various cultures, backgrounds, and ages. Enjoyment from seeing children learn is one of the reasons she is in the education field.

Mr. Branden Hummel assists Mrs. Clepper in English as a Second Language classes as an ESL Paraprofessional.  Originally from Pennsylvania, he came to Alaska after living in Florida and Washington.  This will be his first year in education, as he previously worked in the fields of fisheries biology and aquaculture for several state Fish and Wildlife Departments, as well as non-profit companies here in Alaska.  He and his wife, Sarah, are new to Ketchikan as well, moving here in 2007 after living remote on the East side of Baranof Island for the last several years.  During any spare moments, he can usually be found outdoors, fishing, hunting, trapping, hiking, etc.  He is also currently working on continuing his education and becoming certified to teach in Alaska.