Clintonville teacher goes to Washington
By Holly Neumann
Kevin Reese has received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
“I am glad to be recognized for not only my math, but also my other contributions to the district,” he said. “After all, we are educating the whole child.”
Reese is a 7-12 math teacher in the Clintonville School District.
He has also been involved in student council and other activities at school.
Reese, along with his wife Jennifer, daughters Elsie and Hattie and his in-laws, traveled to Washington, D.C. Oct. 15-17. for the ceremony.
“They made every winner of this award the biggest, proudest moment in their career,” he said. “We had dinner at the Kennedy Center, the awards ceremony was at the U.S. Department of Interior building, group picture with secretary of education and a tour of the White House.”
While there, he felt like an ambassador of education.
“It was powerful,” Reese said. “They wanted to know what I thought. I was representing Clintonville, my students, my community and Wisconsin. This is my chance to speak up.”
Reese received a certificate signed by President Donald Trump, an engraved glass frame and a $10,000 cash prize.
Drawn to math, teaching
“I have taught in Clintonville my whole career,” he said. “I did my student teaching with Lee Halverson, who gave me a good start.”
He explained why he decided to become a teacher.
“One of my teachers told my mom I should pursue a career in mathematics,” Reese said. “When I was a freshman, I wanted to be a lawyer or politician.”
He took two math classes his sophomore year.
“Twice a day, I had class with Don Hanson, who was amazing,” Reese said. “Then a girl in my class asked for help with her math homework. I had a crush on her, so I did. My friends made fun of me, my grades went down, her grades went up and then her mom told me to be a math teacher. I thought I guess I will. I guess I owe it all to Don Hanson and that girl.”
He cannot imagine not being with students, helping them reach their potential.
“I find it very fulfilling,” he said. “I enjoy building positive relationships with my kids. I hope that I am teaching them to be better people, better adults and better prepared for what they are going to do when they leave here.”
Nominated in 2017
Reese was nominated for the award by former Superintendent Tom O’Toole, and had known about the nomination since the first day of school in 2017.
“I knew I was a state finalist, but then I got an email stating that I had won,” he said.
Reese wanted to tell everyone, but could only tell immediate family as news of the winners had not yet been released.
“I wanted to scream,” he said. “I wanted to call my wife and my mom. But first, I ran upstairs to tell my principal Kelly Zeinert. All I could say is I won. I think she was far more excited than I was.”
“We are all very excited about Mr. Reese winning this award,” Zeinert said. “We are very proud of him and his accomplishments.”
Reese enjoys when his students throw curve balls at him and says teachers should be “prepared to go where the needs of the students are.”
He advises teachers to get away from the table of contents and learn to recognize when a lesson can and should be improved.
“Keep moving forward,” Reese said. “Make adjustments, be yourself and build relationships with the kids.”
He is humbled by the recognition.
“I feel that I am a hard-working farm boy with a work ethic that I carried with me from my youth,” he said. “I never felt that what I do is award worthy. But it has made me a better teacher. It gave me the encouragement and confidence to improve.”