Rudi Monson

Rudi holds a national board certification in adolescent and young adolescent mathematics, a distinction earned by a small percentage of educators in the United States. She completed her undergraduate studies prior to entering the classroom and later pursued advanced certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, reflecting her commitment to both subject mastery and pedagogical excellence.

During her decade in Chicago Public Schools, Rudi taught 7th and 8th grade math and quickly emerged as a leader within her school community. As lead math teacher, she collaborated with universities and cultural institutions across Chicago, bringing innovative practices back to her school. She designed and facilitated professional development workshops, led instructional coaching cycles, and mentored fellow teachers; work that deepened her expertise in curriculum design, assessment, and differentiated instruction.

After stepping away from the classroom to raise her three children, Rudi’s work in education evolved in new and meaningful ways. She became deeply engaged in homeschooling, exploring a wide spectrum of approaches including worldschooling, gameschooling, and experiential education. She founded The Phoenix Collective, a learning cooperative in Kansas that brought together homeschooling and virtual schooling families for shared academic and social experiences. There, she designed programming that blended academic learning with community-building—organizing field studies, guest speakers, cultural events, and leadership opportunities for both students and parents.

Rudi has also worked as an early childhood educator in a play- and arts-based kindergarten and served as teacher in residence at a historic one-room schoolhouse museum, where she developed interdisciplinary curriculum exploring the purpose and history of education. Today, she continues this work as a boatschooling educator, living and learning with her family along the Pacific coast of Mexico. Through this experience, she designs curriculum that is immersive, place-based, and globally oriented; helping students connect academic concepts to the world around them in meaningful and lasting ways.