Dear Walnut High School Community,
Last night we received some very sad news. Our friend, colleague, and GLC, Ken McDill, passed away peacefully at home last night surrounded by his family. He provided our Walnut High students, staff, and community with 17 years of education-filled guidance, counseling, mentorship, fun, and laughter. Ken first arrived in the Walnut Valley Unified School District in 1995 helping start the Pathways Academy at Diamond Bar High School. In 2005, he came over to Walnut High School as a Grade Level Coordinator.
Mr. McDill was known for his passion for Mustang athletics, cheering loudly for our student-athletes and often to the point of being cautioned by the officials. He had a passion for the high school experience, mentoring freshman students as they adapted to high school life. Their four years with Mr. McDill culminated as he guided countless seniors into the most competitive colleges in the country. Ken was a bright light on our campus and impacted and inspired his students and colleagues every day.
We are in contact with Mr. McDill’s family and working on a plan to hold a service and celebrate his life for our community. We will share this information as soon as we have it.
Please know, Mr. McDill cared about his students more than we can express in this message. When he received his diagnosis he immediately began planning for the support and care of your student. True to form, Mr. McDill worked between his treatment appointments to ensure that all of our student's college applications were supported. He was not willing to let others write letters of recommendation for “his kids.” We previously sent a message to all seniors letting them know that all the steps required from your GLC related to college applications were complete. While many offered help, Mr. McDill wished to give this gift to his students.
To the Class of 2022: This is a sad day. I understand that this is difficult information to hear and we are here to completely support you if you need someone to talk to. Please know that one of our great fears as adults is that we will not be there for you to pick you up when you need support or to celebrate your successes with you. Mr. McDill truly wished only the best for you. Our entire front office is here to support, encourage, and cheer for you in his place. Grief is a personal experience. If you find that you are having difficulty processing our loss, please talk to someone. It is not something that we ever want you to go through alone. If you did not have a very close relationship with Mr. McDill and find that you do not experience strong feelings, that is ok as well. Each person on Mr. McDill’s caseload had an individual relationship with him and each will take this news in their own way. Should you need us, always know, our counselors and school psychologists are available and we also have the emotional support button on our website that you can fill out if needed so that we can reach out to you. The journey toward graduation is always one with many ups and downs. We meet the challenges together and in May, we will celebrate your accomplishments together as well. We at WHS are so proud of all of you.
Sincerely,
Dr. Ryan Maine
