- Katherine Koonce was one of six who died in Monday’s mass shooting at Nashville’s Covenant School.
- Anna Caudill, Koonce’s friend of 23 years, spoke to Insider about the headmaster’s legacy.
- Koonce was a “mighty oak of a woman,” Caudill told Insider.
Loading Something is loading.
Thanks for registering!
Access your favorite topics on the go in a personalized feed. Download the app
Katherine Koonce spent so much time caring about her students’ lives — while also raising two children of her own — that her 23-year-old friend Anna Caudill said she doesn’t know when she’s asleep.
“She was amazing, but she also challenged me to run as hard as I could, to stretch, and to keep learning and growing, not for anyone but me,” Caudill told Insider of her friend.
Koonce, 60, was one of six who died Monday after the mass shooting at Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. The other victims were Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all aged 9, Cynthia Peak, 61, and Mike Hill, 61.
Koonce, who was the principal of Covenant School, is survived by her two children and her husband.
Caudill, 50, met Koonce when both were hired at Christ Presbyterian Academy near Covenant School in August 2000. For 16 years, the two worked together – Caudill as an art teacher and Koonce as director of learning services and later as academic dean – and became friends. Koonce left in 2016 to become the principal at Covenant School.
Because Koonce worked in private schools that don’t receive federal funding for disabled students and aren’t bound by the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Caudill said she pushed to create a space where students “thrive and get to know themselves better.” can.
“She did something I had never seen before, which was to be completely open and honest with students and educate them about their learning disabilities or their unique learning needs. And then giving them a voice and choice to understand themselves and be able to stand up for themselves so they can meet their own needs in the classroom,” Caudill said.
Caudill said learning from Koonce was a “profound” experience that eventually led her down the disability advocacy path. She founded a nonprofit post-adoption learning service in 2016 that serves adopted children with disabilities and other needs. Caudill said Koonce was the first person to donate to it.
Koonce’s influence has not gone unnoticed by the students she championed, Caudill said. She gave the example of a student who is now an adult and posted a photo of Koonce with her child. This student named her child Katherine, after Koonce.
“It’s such a powerful testament to a truly mighty oak tree of a woman that reaches deep into the ground and thrives and whose branches have provided for a generation of people,” Caudill said.
Caudill now says she wishes her friend’s sacrifices for her students before and during the devastating Covenant School shooting would result in policy changes, such as limitations on assault weapons.
Caudill referenced Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who tweeted his prayers after the shooting, and GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who did the same.
Lee and Tennessee legislatures worked to lower the minimum age for carrying a gun from 21 to 18. This includes AR-15. The gunman who killed people at Covenant School used an assault rifle, according to police.
“I think of Bill Lee having the courage to issue executive orders when he was concerned that library books in schools are risky, or when he was concerned that the books in the teacher’s classroom are risky, or when he was concerned anybody was doing about the impact of mask mandates,” Caudill said. we lost Katherine.'”
“Because AR-15 is kinda holier.”
www.insider.com
https://www.insider.com/nashville-shooting-victim-katherine-koonce-mighty-oak-tree-of-woman-2023-3
