Kalispell Middle School teacher wins History Teacher of the Year Award
Kalispell Middle School teacher Kris Schreiner demonstrates how to use a sluice to eighth-graders, from left, Shyann Richsel, Hallie Granley and Kaylee Whitten during a lesson on panning for gold, garnets and other minerals in his Montana History class on Tuesday, Jan. 16. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Eighth-grade teacher Kris Schreiner demonstrates removing membrane and fat from an elk hide as part of the tanning and curing process in his class at Kalispell Middle School on Nov. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Kalispell Middle School teacher Kris Schreiner helps Paulina Holland use a scribe to draw an area on a log where a saddle notch will be cut as Schreiner's eighth-grade history students construct a log cabin on Tuesday, May 9. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
All the work tanning hides, building log cabins, panning for gold and garnets, grinding wheat and churning butter has paid off for Kalispell Middle School teacher Kris Schreiner, whose immersive classroom activities have earned him the 2026 Centennial Bell Montana History Teacher of the Year Award.
Schreiner was unanimously selected by the Montana Historical Society awards committee, which praised the scope of his curriculum, the range of hands-on learning opportunities he provides, and his commitment to fostering “a lasting connection between his students and the place they call home,” according to the historical society.
Schreiner has taught Montana history at the middle school for 18 years
Kalispell Middle School eighth-grader Serena Carlson said the immersive hands-on activities in Schreiner’s classroom leave students excited to learn.
“I have seen students that I know particularly hate school come into his class with that special glimmer in their eye, ready to see what they will get to experience," Carlson said in a statement. “Those lessons stick with us instead of learning it, taking a test on it, and forgetting what we wrote down.”
Growing up on a farm near Laurel that his family homesteaded in the 1900s, learning and teaching about Montana’s history and heritage has been a mainstay for Schriener.
“Teaching Montana history is not simply a subject I cover — it is a lifelong passion rooted in both my professional career and my personal heritage,” Schreiner said. “My goal is to foster a lasting connection between my students and the history of the place they call home.”
As part of the award, Schreiner receives $4,250 to use for classroom materials, guest speakers, field trips and other items that enhance student learning.
The History Teacher of the Year Award is part of the 37th Montana Statehood Centennial Bell celebration. In November, Schreiner and his students will ring the Centennial Bell to commemorate Montana becoming the 41st state in 1889.
Eighth-grade teacher Kris Schreiner demonstrates removing membrane and fat from an elk hide as part of the tanning and curing process in his class at Kalispell Middle School on Nov. 20, 2019. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake file photo)
Kalispell Middle School teacher Kris Schreiner helps Paulina Holland use a scribe to draw an area on a log where a saddle notch will be cut as Schreiner's eighth-grade history students construct a log cabin on Tuesday, May 9, 2023. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake file photo)