Shalin Spani Klein ’11 is back home in Manhattan wearing many hats
By Tim Schrag '12
There are no typical days for Shalin Spani Klein ’11. But since returning to Manhattan with her family, she’s finding a rhythm.
“There's something special about when home calls, right?” she said.
She’s busy being a mother to Beric, Rhett, Trek and Briar, all under the age of 7 ½. She’s also the founder and CEO of RISE Academy, a Christian school which integrates the benefits of classroom learning while still allowing families and students the independence of homeschooling.
She’s also stepping into her role as the first lady of K-State football as her husband, Collin Klein ’11, ’19, navigates his first year as head coach of the Wildcats.
“I'm living my best life right now,” Klein said. “When you start to look at like what is a typical day, it is so varied, which makes it so exciting.”
The Kleins have settled back into their farm north of Manhattan. They never sold it when they left for Texas. Nevertheless, they’re still unpacking.
She’s also adding more purple back into her wardrobe, now with some SEC-inspired flair.
“I've always enjoyed expressing myself through fashion in different pieces and parts,” she said. “Being an athlete, you're kind of in sweats, sweats and more sweats. And so, the small windows I get to dress up or I get to go to this event, obviously being a collegiate athlete, were always few and far between, and so I’ve always loved doing that. Then as I've migrated probably the last decade, it's always been fun to do it together with the other coaches wives. You start to kind of create that village behind you.”
A typical day for her might include a trip to the Vanier Family Football Complex to prepare for an event for coaches’ wives, perhaps a few hours devoted to administrative work for RISE Academy and don’t forget making sure lunch gets on the table for her children.
The idea for RISE Academy came from her passion for children to be able to thrive in their educational environment.
“We are instilling a positive, safe, uplifting environment for our students and our families, and then ultimately shining the light and love of Jesus through Christian education in the vehicle of an alternative kind of hybrid school space,” she said. “It absolutely pulled from like multiple veins of my background. Right now I'm in a sweet spot as the CEO of this nonprofit. I'm able to run the business side, run the brand side, do a lot of that kind of like marketing using my journalism degree.”
Both Shalin and Collin were homeschooled; as they began to plan for their children’s education, they wanted an option that could blend the benefits of both homeschooling and more traditional education. Something that wasn’t present in Manhattan at that time.
“I'm a huge advocate for creatively thinking about how to blend qualified licensed teachers with quality education, with the flexibility of the family and piecemealing it,” she said. “Every family has different needs.”
Since opening in 2023, the school has seen a nearly 70% growth in enrollment starting with 28 to now more than 115 students in pre-K through sixth grade.
“Rise Academy really met that need in Manhattan,” she said.
The school has partnered with New Hope Church who recently purchased the former AIB International campus near Kansas State University. Both will have space on the campus.
“We have about 23 on staff, with 150 years of teaching experience and two directors that run our elementary school program and an incredible administrative team that truly cares,” she said. “I think it fills such an incredible whole picture to what education in that alternative space should look like.”