Kyle Spaltholz
Position: Sixth Grade ELA Teacher
School: Portsmouth Middle School
School District: Portsmouth School District
City, State: Portsmouth, RI
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Music that Describes Kyle
Kyle Spaltholz was nominated by an anonymous colleague.
Mr. Spaltholz goes above and beyond in his ELA classroom to foster student engagement, community, and a love of learning. He uses Gamification, where each student gets to create their own character, participate in learning battles, and earn rewards for "leveling up" through grade 6. The purpose is to get students excited about learning and create a classroom culture that relates to their love of gaming.
Mr. Spaltholz sets up his classroom in teams so that students can learn collaboratively and use each other for support during the learning process. Students love him! When eighth graders were reflecting on their middle school experience the week before Mr. Spaltholz' nomination, many of them mentioned the lasting impact he had on their education and their lives as a whole.
Mr. Spaltholz not only makes students want to come to class, read, and work together, but he also makes students want to spend more time learning in afterschool programs. He runs a Creative Writing Club that allows students to create Dungeons and Dragons characters and write fantasy storylines. This club is only offered to two grade levels, and over 30 students are involved.
He is also a co-director of the Glee Club. This is an afterschool program which draws over 120 students to sign up yearly! The school has never had such a large afterschool program. As a co-director, he takes the students to perform at Faneuil Hall, local elementary schools, and conferences in the Northeast.
Mr. Spaltholz is also on the school leadership and MTSS leadership teams. He has run professional development workshops at the district level and at conferences in the Northeast, including Rhode Island's Blended Learning Conference. He is also going to be pursuing his Master's degree in 2020 so that he can continue to be an educational leader.
"Kyle dedicates countless hours to making school a place where students want to be," said his nominator. "He motivates students to come to school, to learn, and to partake in community activities. His classroom is not only a safe place, but a playground for imagination, creativity, and teamwork."
Mr. Spaltholz is an amazing teacher! Every time I walk into his classroom the furniture is strategically moved to create an inviting learning environment which is student centered and comfortable. He continuously creates lessons which build in reward systems so that students feel success and can take pride in their accomplishments. He has a passion for teaching English and communicates high expectations for learning and participation.
Mr. Spaltholz, I will miss you when I move, you deserve lifechanger of the year. although some people say they don't like you (they are crazy!) you are the best ELA and writing teacher ever. I will truly miss you when I move to virginia.
mr spaltholz i think you are a nice teacher and i am go to miss you went i go to the 7th grade
hi miss spaltholz you were a great teather and it was fun having writing and ela and great job and i hope to see you next year and you live your dreams and do what you want you get 1 life love as a friend kayden see you next year
I enjoy both of Mr. Spaltholz classes very much (ELA and writing). He is kind, smart, and very helpful. I enjoy Classcraft very much and all of the inside jokes my class has such as gourmet water. Also when we were reading Hatchet and all of the little stories, we had lots of good laughs about certain points. All though we like to joke around, he does make sure that work gets done. If you don't understand something, he will take the time to make sure you understand the topic. I am very happy that Mr. Spaltholz is nominated. I think he should win. ??
mr spaltholz is very nice and funny i love him
mr spalthoz you are a nice teacher
Mr.Spaltholz is an amazing teacher, not only is he good at his job but he is a really good friend. if your feeling really good about something, he is supportive. if you are sad about something, he will make you feel better. he also does a lot of after school activities and is really fun. I think Mr.Spalholz 100% deserves this. Mr. Spaltholz is very good at what he does, when it comes to having a connection to his students and making sure everyone is keeping up with their classwork! in the end he is an amazing teacher and deserves this very much.
Mr. Spaltholz my 2018-19 ELA teacher, is a fantabulous teacher. He teaches his students about poetry, grammar, etc. He gets 6th graders ready for 7th grade, and even uses educational apps, like Classcraft. He awards students on their accomplishments, with points on classcraft, and mints, or free time. He also uses involves his students in games and activities, for say ELA 3s gourmet water.Mr. Spaltholz is moving from 6th grade education, to teaching 7th grade and I really hope I get him again.
Mr. Spaltholz deserves to win because he is an amazing teacher. He helps his students by telling us stories so that he can relate to us and teach us effectivly. :)
mr spaltholz you are a nice tecater and i am giong to miss you when i go to 7th graed
I want you to have a great teaching career and keep kids smiling. Also thank you for being so caring for the students and our education. Vote Mr.Spaltholz for life changer of the year.
Mr. Spaltholz is the greatest ELA teacher ever! I used to be bummed when I went into ELA class, my grades weren't the best in that subject, except he made my grades in ELA become way better! He uses fun ways to get people to pay attention in class and to participate, he is really good at helping people with things that they don't understand. (Gourmet water)
you are the best teacher because you use a game to our benefit us and I think it is a better way to express our selves.
Mr.Spaltholz has a positive attitude and he came up with so much ideas to keep the class engaged
mr spaltholz you are the nice teacher and i am going to miss you went i go to 7th grade
Mr. Spaltholz is one of the best teachers I've ever had for ELA. He is nice and kind and whenever I needed help he was there to help me. I loved when we got to play Classcraft and the boss battles we did in class. One random event was to stand for the entire class, and he gave me a strategy to motivate me to stand. I also always like how in writing he's always telling us to stand up for what we believe in!
I like how Mr. Spaltholz allows us to do Classcraft and let us have powers where we can do fun things if we coose to.
he is a great teacher, he encouraged me to read and pay attention. He encouraged me to get a better score on my star assessment, He is my favorite teacher and has encouraged many kids to try there best and do the best that they can. (gourmet water)
He is a very good teacher, he made learning fun and helped us understand the lessons when we were stuck. He is a great teacher.
good job Mr.spalthloz you really deserved this nomination and I couldn't think of anyone else who deserves this except for you!
you are a nice teacher and wold
greatest ela teacher who has the best attitude
Mr. Spaltholz is, simply put, awe-inspiring. He creates an atmosphere of respect for and with his students, tolerating no negativism among them. He focuses on the positive, allowing for a student to alter their mindset after a self-deprecating comment. He lifts those around him up, just by being the genuine man of integrity that he is. He encourages his students to improve their work and keep a "work in progress" so that they can continue to improve as they learn new strategies. With his Classcraft game, he motivates the students to do their best; many of them are inspired to do better every time. Kyle sense of humor allows for mistakes in his class, where the gaffs can be corrected without embarrassment. He is also comfortable enough with who he is to allow the students to see that he's not perfect, just doing his best, which is what he expects of them. I thoroughly agree with this nomination and back it wholeheartedly!!
Dear Mr Spaltholz, you are a great teacher and I really hope you do get nominated. Me and my friends really enjoy using Classcraft and to do it next year as a 7th grade teacher as of what we heard. 6th grade with you during 2018-2019 is getting to be so fantastic. I know you really enjoy working here at the Portsmouth Middle School of Rhode Island. Me and some of my friends went to your creative writing club. I also enjoy doing glee club. You spark the ideas to all of us including me and my best friend, Aaron. Keep those ideas sparking for any newcomers to your classes each year. It feels like I just met you, but really, it was a year together and maybe another one once I bump up to 7th grade next year. If you are not my ELA teacher next year, I will remember all the fun times we had together. Thanks again and definitely shine bright. Your friend (as a student), Myra DeLanoy, 6th grade, Age 12, School: PMS of Rhode Island.
Mr spaltholz is a kind helpful teacher who uses games to teach us in the funnest way possibly, he is a good teacher and deserves this award very much.
Mr.Spaltholz deserves this because he is a really amazing teacher. He helps you learn new things in class everyday. He makes every kid happy because of everything he teaches in class in the form of a game that is called "Classcraft". He always helps you if you don't understand something. Good Luck to Mr.Spaltholz!!!!
Mr.spaltholz is a great teacher he takes time to teach you a topic one on one.He is funny kind and nice and his attitude shows in class everyone around him feels positive.I think that Mr.spaltholz really cares about his job and his students and puts effort into every lesson he teaches.
Mr. Spaltholz is really nice and I enjoy the "Gamification" setting he used to make his class a fun one and something to look forward to. He also gives off a lot of motivational vibes that help with my self-esteem.
Mr.Spaltholz is an amazing teacher. He makes amazing jokes and knows how to make it fun. He makes sure everyone understands and helps the people that don't. He even makes a class a game to get people's attention. He is funny, nice and overall a great teacher.
Good luck Class craft has made the class better and it is better than my class last year
This ELA class this year was definitely different than the other ELA classes I have had in previous year. Classcraft is awesome and motivated me to do well in class! Notice how I used the right grammar and said "do well" instead of "do good"! ;) good luck!
Thanks for being a great teacher. I am excited to possibly be in your class next year. :) You are very motivational and help me when I need it THANK YOU!!:)??????
You are an amazing teacher and, I love that you do classcraft, I love that everyone is active in it and how it can do with the class work.
I have heard of him and he is one of the most fun class and amazing teaching skills
you are the best teacher I have ever had thank you for teaching me
Mr. Spaltholz is an amazing teacher! I am one of his many students and I know that he loves adding fun and different ways to engage us into a new topic. He always makes up funny jokes or talks about his adorable pugs and it's really nice to know a little about his personal life as a student. You got this Mr. Spaltholz!
Mr. Spaltholz has helped me so much with new things. He has taught me how to be a better person along with new ELA skills. He also has a good sense of humor.
GO MR SPALTHOLZ!! Good job getting nominated! Kingsley, lily and luna are cheering for you!
My teacher Mr. Spaltholz is a big life changer twords me and all my other fellow students. Mr. Spaltholz has changed my life by
teaching me things that I would had never learned before, He makes learning fun and educatinal at the same time so it will really stick into our head so we can remember it.
Mr. Spaltholz does this thing called ClassCraft where it helps students learn and stop them from getting in trouble, If you mess around you may lose hit points and if you lose all you have a little punishmint to do like clean all the desks, ect.
That is why Mr. Spaltholz is a life changer.
Mr. Spaltholz is a very nice person. I like when he likes my art and he is very smart. Mr.Spaltholz is also a very awsome teacher. He is fun and one of my faovrite teachers in my six grade classes. Mr. Spaltholz should be the life changer of the year. It'll make him very happy!
you are my life changer you have earned this . you help me read write be normal. you made 6 grade so great hope I see you in seventh
he has helped me through ELA and when I took the star test I exceed 200 more points than what I did last 6 months,I owe all that to Mr.spaltholz.I couldn't do what i did without him.
Mr.Spaltholz you are the best teacher.I love classcraft and how much you help me in class. Also you are really a great teacher and your personality is great. Another thing is that I love seeing you around town and you keep on staying funny and nice outside of school so I hope I have you again next year. You got this get this award.
Mr. Spaltholz is one of the best ELA teachers I've ever had. He is so supportive of his students and you can tell he cares. He makes class fun with all of the activities he gives us. Being more ahead in class has always given me struggles with actually learning things in class and being interested, and he most definitely has made this year more enjoyable for me. He makes sure the class is always included in decisions and I honestly can't think of any better teacher to be a nominee.
Thank you for having a good sense of humor towards everyone, and listening to us when we have a question.
Mr. Spaltholz is an amazing teacher. He encourages me to learn, and he teaches me in a fun enthusiastic way. I learned so much in ELA from him.
I think your a very fun and motivational teacher and i hope to have you next year.
Mr. Spaltholz has awesome teacher. My favorite thing about his class is he lets us work in partners and I love how he does fun assignments. We even play this fun game class called classcraft. Classcraft is a game were if we behave good we get experience points. But if we forget our homework or something else we lose hp. With class craft we can move around the game and do fun things in the classroom.
Mr. Spaltholz is an amazing teacher! He always makes the classes fun by using this game called classcraft. No other teachers use this, which makes it unique. He has a very positive and bubbly personality and he is very kind and funny. He takes time out of classes to let us go to the library and do work. He is a very fun teacher and I always look forward to coming to his classes.
Mr. Spaltholz is a great teacher. He uses things like classcraft and has a sense of humor to make class more interesting.
He is never in a bad mood and he has a way to make learning really fun
I think Mr. Spaltholz is an amazing teacher and I think that class craft is an amazing feature to a classroom. Mr. Spaltholz makes class so fun because of his sense of humor, he cares about his students, and because he shares personal experiences with his classes.
Thank you Mr. Spaltholz for such a great year.
i like classcraft and the way you make the work because it is funner.
Mr.Spaltholz is a great teacher. Mr.Spaltholz helps all the students and he always supports them and he is a funny teacher and great at teaching lessons. He also uses classcraft to help us learn and give us fun ways to learn.
i like classcraft and the way you make the work because it is funner.
He is never in a bad mood and he has a way to make learning really fun
He is such a nice teacher! He helps us with anything we need and he makes us feel like we are all equally smart! He uses fun websites and makes us feel special!
You are very helpful in class thank you
he helps me with my work and if im not sure about something I run it by him and he helps me getting in a good grade.
Mr. Spaltholz is amazing. His does a wonderful job creating an environment that feels safe and inviting and encourages students to learn. He sparks so much creativity and desire for knowledge in his classes that his students walk away with much more than they realize. He's creating life-long learners and explorers, which is infinitely valuable. I can't think of a better nominee for this honor!