April 2026 Spotlight

This section of our newsletter allows us to recognize the amazing mathematics teams, educators, and leaders in our community. In this newsletter, we are spotlighting a fifth-grade team from Evans Elementary School in Colorado Springs, CO. 

Gracee Liggett and Shari Solem make up this dynamic team, who claim, “Individually, we are strong teachers. Together, we are a team that pushes one another to think deeper, teach better, and continually refine our craft. Our partnership has strengthened not only our students’ mathematical identities but the math culture at Evans Elementary as a whole. At the heart of our work is a simple belief - “Every student deserves to feel capable, confident, and courageous in mathematics.” 

On any given weekend, you might find Gracee and Shari sitting in a local coffee shop with manipulatives spread across the table—base-ten blocks next to lattes, fraction tiles tucked between notebooks, and task ideas sketched across napkins. What started as a casual collaboration quickly became the foundation of a dynamic math partnership.

In our classrooms, mistakes are not avoided; they are explored. Students regularly hear us say, “That’s interesting—tell me more!" We intentionally create space for productive struggle and mathematical discourse in our classrooms. Students talk to one another, defend their reasoning, revise their thinking, and learn to see errors as stepping stones instead of setbacks.

Rather than relying on traditional worksheets, we design rich tasks that require students to build, model, compare, and justify. Manipulatives are tools for thinking, not just engagement. Anchor charts are co-created. Questions are open-ended. Students learn that math is not about speed or getting the “right answer” first—it is about making sense.

The impact has been powerful. Students who once hesitated to share now confidently explain their strategies. Classrooms are filled with mathematical language and peer-to-peer conversation. Growth data reflects what we see daily - increased confidence paired with strong academic gains.

Beyond our own classrooms, we serve as math leaders within our building. We collaborate across grade levels, share task designs, model discourse routines, and support colleagues in moving from worksheet-driven instruction to student-centered problem solving.

 

CCTM Student Spotlight

This section of our newsletter allows us to recognize the amazing mathematics students from across Colorado.  In this newsletter, we are spotlighting Elise Donaldson, a seventh grader at Redlands Middle School in Grand Junction, CO.  She was nominated by Riana Bichler, a teacher at Grand River Virtual Academy in Grand Junction, CO.  Riana is a wonderful teacher, mentor, and coach for Elise and many other students in School District 51 and beyond.

Elise Donaldson, a seventh grader at Redlands Middle School taking concurrent math classes at Grand River Academy, has always had a fondness of numbers. Her love of math started early and was nurtured by the incredible support of the Wingate, Redlands, and Grand River Academy communities. In elementary school, Elise was introduced to Mrs. Riana Bichler, a Grand River Academy, High School math teacher, and Mr. Rick Schraeder, a retired Denver math teacher who somehow made even the most challenging concepts seem like fun puzzles rather than difficult assignments. Their help quickly led Elise to success in competitions such as Noetic and Mathleague.

In the 6th grade, Elise had the opportunity to be on the Redlands Mathcounts team. The Redlands team placed second in the Western Slope Chapter and qualified for the state competition, marking an exciting step forward in her math journey. This year, Elise returned to the state competition and earned a spot on the Colorado State team–an achievement she credits in large part to the encouragement and steady support of her teacher and Mathcounts coach, Mrs. Riana Bichler. She will be competing at the national competition in Orlando, Florida, this May. 

Outside of math, Elise enjoys fishing, hiking, reading, and playing the oboe. She’s also looking forward to going to Disney World after Mathcounts Nationals, where she will apply her problem-solving skills to optimizing wait times and ride orders!

 

Return to April 2026 CCTM Newsletter