Kristen Valenti

Upper School math teacher

Southern Connecticut State University, B.A.

Mount Holyoke College, M.Ed.

In Upper School math teacher Kristen Valenti’s classroom, logic and creativity readily coexist, producing an environment for students to thrive. She firmly believes that everyone can be a math student, even if her students may initially doubt their abilities. 

“After my class, I want the students to walk away confidently in their abilities and the knowledge that math can be fun. They should know they can ‘do’ math and that they can find a way to solve a problem. It takes creativity to solve math problems.” 

As an avid hiker who surmounts the trickiest terrain with individuals of various skill levels, Valenti knows the different trails to climb to reach the summit, depending on their ability. Likewise, she meets students where they are to solve math problems in class. Rather than confining students to only one way to arrive at an answer, she opens various mathematical pathways, individualizing her teaching approach.

Valenti uses any tool necessary to reach each student, no matter their learning style and teaches the lesson in multiple ways to ensure that each student comprehends the material. She’ll research and build activities that will facilitate their learning and encourage her students to represent a problem, whether through a graph or pictures, to play to their strengths. 

“If the students want to draw the problem, I’ll let them,” she said. “We have many students who are artists, so if they want to represent the problem in that way, especially in geometry, I let them. This way, it’s more hands-on, and the material resonates with the students more.”

In some cases, she employs inquiry-based tasks, where the students learn the lesson rather than her telling them, ‘This is how you do it.’ By learning about the process independently, she empowers her students and builds their confidence.

She favors building critical and problem-solving skills rather than rote memorization of formulas, challenging students to think outside the box to find new solutions. Over time, the students may forget a formula, but they will always remember how they problem-solved and applied the knowledge they had to arrive at the answer. “There are many ways to make sense of math and math problems that you can tie back to the foundations learned in elementary school,” she said.

Valenti strives to make her class as much about math as it is about taking risks and developing grit. “Solving a math problem is a lesson in persevering and not being afraid to try new ways out. If they get the right answer, great. If they don’t,  it’s still a worthwhile exercise in problem-solving.”

Favorite hobbies: hiking with dogs, photography

Favorite food: pasta

Favorite music: The Beatles

Favorite show: The Bachelor