About Keane

I was raised on a homestead in remote Alaska, fifty miles north of the village of Eagle. With no roads, cars, telephones, or other people for dozens of miles, we lived a subsistence lifestyle dependent upon hunting, fishing, and trapping. In the summer, we used canoes and a riverboat; in the winter, we skied and mushed our sled dogs.

My parents were committed to bringing my two sisters and I a quality education. Through Alaska Gateway School District's correspondence program, and the help of superintendent and cub pilot Spike Jorgensen, we received books and curriculum and more.

I loved where I grew up, but was eager to explore the world. I was lucky to be accepted into UAF's Rural Alaska Honors Institute two years in a row, and received a part-time scholarship to UAF. With the help of other scholarships and grants, I spent four years at UAF, getting a degree in Political Science and a minor in Geology.

My wife Sarah and I met my second year of college. An Alaskan at heart but from rural Pennsylvania, Sarah and I had many mutual interests, not the least of which was sled dogs. I'm still impressed that Sarah accepted my idea of a first date: backpacking fifty miles through the bush north of the Yukon.

Sarah and I both were interested in education, and went to Minnesota State University, Mankato, for its experiential education program, by then having two kids, Amelia and Rosalie. The program, based around progressive educational ideas like project-based learning, outdoor education, and expeditionary learning, was wonderful. I decided that I wanted to teach, and we spent an amazing summer camped out in Juneau while I attended classes full-time for an MAT program. I was offered a job on Prince of Wales, and completed the rest of my MAT while teaching there.

Now, we live and work in Tok, Alaska. Amelia and Rosalie are seven and five years old.

I call myself an idealistic educator; I'm always thinking about how to do education right, not just okay. I am interested in learning all I can about educational systems so that we can improve our own.

When I'm not involved in education circles, I love to spend time outside - fishing, hunting, hiking, climbing, biking, mountaineering, and paddling. I enjoy playing music, traveling, writing (who thought?) and more. And of course, spending a lot of time with Sarah, the girls, and our two dogs.