09-05-2025
Solon Springs math teacher finalist for national award
May 9—SOLON SPRINGS — As a middle school math teacher at Solon Springs, Kelsey Rider is constantly on the move.
On Monday, April 28, she walked students through mapping box and whisker plots and factoring numbers to make equivalent expressions. There were games, team exercises and a final challenge that had kids racing through the classroom.
Rider only sat still when a three-minute "Better You" video on kindness was played.
How do the daily videos factor into math class?
"Because math is important, but being a better person is more important," said sixth grader Autumn Moyer.
Otherwise, Rider moved from the whiteboard to desks, walking from student to student, connecting, coaching and encouraging. It's OK to make mistakes, she told them; that's how you learn.
"Thank you for paying attention to detail, mathematicians," she said as they listed the factors of a tricky problem. "That's important in math and in life."
Rider is one of three Wisconsin math teachers who are finalists for the highest honor the U.S. government can bestow in her field: the 2025 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
"This is a huge deal. This is like the cream of the crop for math teachers and science teachers," said Diamond Gulick, an education consultant for the Cooperative Educational Service Agency CESA 12, which provides shared services to 18 school districts in northern Wisconsin.
Gulick nominated Rider for the award after sitting in on one of her classes. Rider teaches math to sixth, seventh and eighth graders at Solon Springs School.
"It's just apparent how much she cares about each and every one of her students and how coachable she is and always wanting to better herself, like what new strategies she can learn and put into action in the classroom," Gulick said. "She's just an exemplary model of that caring, kind teacher that yet still maintains high expectations for all students by providing the right support for those kids to be successful in the class."
Solon Springs Superintendent Pete Hopke called Rider a stellar teacher.
"It's wonderful watching her provide her instruction and interact with kids," he said.
Students gave her a seal of approval.
"She's just amazing. She just makes everyone feel included," Autumn said.
"Yeah and she'll never let one of us fall behind, said fellow sixth grader Mila Breitzmann. "She'll make sure we're at the same level or ahead. She'll meet us where we're at."
Gulick noted that Rider calls her students "mathematicians."
"Those are the little things that led me to think, 'This girl has got what it takes,'" Gulick said. "And she's so humble, so kind, and she just has that reflective superpower."
Growing up in Barnum, Minnesota, Rider was inspired to teach by her middle school math teacher, Kristen Helland, and band teacher, Jeff Gilbertson.
"He made every student feel so seen," Rider, who played clarinet, said about Gilbertson. "He made you excited to be at school each day."
The "Better You" videos she plays are the same ones she watched in Helland's class as a student.
Rider earned an elementary education degree with a middle school math endorsement in 2019 and a master's degree in teaching and learning in 2022. She's been teaching for six years — three years as an elementary teacher in Finlayson, Minnesota, and three years teaching middle school math in Solon Springs.
Rider said she enjoys helping math students connect what they're learning with future concepts and master skills. But that's just part of the equation.
"I also like taking things to the next level and teaching them about, you know, what it means to have a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset, how to be a critical thinker, how to be a problem solver," she said. "I love teaching them how to overcome obstacles. I think there's so many things that working on mathematics teaches us."
Teaching all three grades allows her to keep track of each student's growth and meet them where they're at.
"A lot of kids say, 'I don't like math,' and then at the end of the year they say, 'Math is my favorite subject,' and I think it's because I try hard to build positive relationships with the students," Rider said. "I let them know that OK to make mistakes."
Her earning a finalist position for the national award has put a spotlight on the Solon Springs school, which has 313 students.
"Sometimes you lose sight of that with your small schools that you can just have wonderful, wonderful teachers there," Hopke said. "You know who your superstars are, but it doesn't necessarily garner the recognition that larger schools and the wonderful teachers in those larger schools get."
In addition to her knowledge of the concepts, fluid instruction and ability to engage students, Rider collaborates with fellow teachers and continues to learn.
"She honestly is just like a sponge," Gulick said, adding that she digs into new strategies to see how they can fit with her teaching philosophy.
Gulick has nominated teachers for the award before, but Rider is the first to complete the intensive application process, which includes a video of the teacher instructing students.
"If I win the national award or not, I learned so much about who I am as an educator through this process," Rider said of the intensive application.
As a math teacher in Kansas, Gulick was nominated for the award. Now, she seeks out exceptional teachers to honor. It's an opportunity to support the next generation of teachers, she said.
Being a finalist will offer Rider additional networking opportunities and the chance to help shape future generations of math teachers.
"There are a lot of the Wisconsin state finalists who serve on the board of the Wisconsin Math Council," Gulick said, a group that is instrumental in proposing policy and teacher goals for math teachers across the state.
One math and one science teacher from each state will receive the award, which will be presented in Washington, D.C. The winners were announced in January. Visit
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