KINGSTON, R.I. – Dec. 17, 2025 – Bristol resident Kyle Spaltholz ’11 might have one of the best commutes in the state. He regularly catches the sunrise each morning as he crosses the bridge over Mount Hope Bay on his way to work at Portsmouth Middle School.

Little did he know one day this fall he would receive a prestigious Milken Educator Award, recognizing his solution-oriented, student-first approach and enthusiasm for student, family, school and district-wide engagement. The national award also netted Spaltholz a $25,000 cash prize.

A seventh and eighth grade school counselor, Spaltholz was surprised this fall when Milken Educator Awards’ Jane Foley and Rhode Island Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green presented him with the award at an assembly before cheering students, appreciative colleagues, dignitaries and media.

His recognition was part of a Milken Educator Awards tour honoring 30 recipients nationwide with the prize. Award recipients become part of the national Milken Educator Network, a growing group of more than 3,000 pioneering professionals across diverse roles and disciplines working to shape the future of education.

Milken educators have been frequent seminar guest speakers in URI’s Feinstein College of Education and served as keynote speakers at the college’s most-recent Medallion Ceremonies. The college is also collaborating with the Milken Educator Network to offer a Mid-semester Residency Professional Conference at URI in March 2026.

The Milken Awards represent the nation’s preeminent teacher recognition program, often hailed as the “Oscars of Teaching.” The prize empowers recipients to broaden their impact and encourage capable young people to consider careers in education.

Spaltholz never needed much prompting to think about education as a career; he was an education major from the get-go at URI.

His enthusiasm for school life shows today in the range of activities and initiatives that are part of his work in Portsmouth, where he champions student involvement on all fronts.

 In receiving his award, Spaltholz joins another URI alumnus who also is a Milken honoree. Emily Rendine, a third grade teacher in East Providence, and a graduate of URI’s dyslexia certificate program, won the award in 2022.

Spaltholz recalls the day he was “basically ambushed” with his award. He said the school was called together for an assembly, but then announced that a lucky teacher was going to be recognized that day. He had no idea that it was him.

“It was a little overwhelming,” he says. “They actually staged a fake celebration for us and then it became a real celebration. I’ve worked there so long, it was really a wonderful surprise and exciting to get that recognition. I feel like the award is also about the work we’re doing as a school and district to do what’s best for the kids.”

Path to teaching

Spaltholz cites URI’s Diane Kern as an important influence in his time at the University. “She was my advisor and is just amazing,” he says.

While he enjoyed URI’s education program, Spaltholz’s time at the University was challenging in other ways. He faced a new set of challenges when his father died unexpectedly, being a full-time student and student teaching while grieving and dealing with loss.

Spaltholz says that URI faculty supported him along the way. “Diane was a big help,” he says. “I remember sitting in the dining hall late in the evening with her to try to figure a way to get through everything. That is my biggest memory of my URI experience, dealing with grief but also the support I had there.”

After URI, Spaltholz taught at a charter school in Providence before joining Portsmouth Middle School to teach sixth and seventh grade English, and then was promoted to instruction systems coach. As an instructional teaching leader, Spaltholz worked across subjects in curriculum development and enjoyed working with all of the school’s teachers.

He returned to school to get his master’s in school counseling at Providence College. Now Spaltholz is in his first year in the school counselor role at Portsmouth Middle School.

“I realized I missed the kids,” Spaltholz says. “In this post-COVID world, there’s a recognition of the importance of social-emotional learning and the challenges kids face across the country. I love being a school counselor, getting the chance to work with kids at a whole different level, getting students involved in thinking about their future.”

Spaltholz says he’s looking forward to using this opportunity to put a spotlight on helping students.

“There are always challenges in any field,” he remarks, “but as long as we remember that the kids are the reason we’re doing it, those challenges can be met. Students may not necessarily remember the process of a poem or your lessons on punctuation—but they’ll remember how you made them feel and the environment you helped create at school for them.”

Visit the Milken Foundation site to see videos of Spaltholz’s surprise award presentation.