Within the very first minutes of class one November morning, while many students were putting away their backpacks or picking up a book, Cascadia Elementary teacher Ryan Sullivan was already giving a few of his kindergarteners a chance to help lead.

Sullivan asked three students to help him with attendance, and the trio gathered around him and his laptop on a rug. As Sullivan went through the class list, name by name, he asked the students if that kid was there. He even took this opportunity for a quick math lesson.

“So, we had four kids who were gone, but two of them just walked in. How many kids are gone now?” Sullivan asked.

“TWO!” the kindergartners replied.

Then, Sullivan turned off the lights in the classroom and the noisy room of kids went silent. The kindergarteners immediately placed their hands on their hands as their teacher invited them to the morning meeting.

Sullivan, who is in his second year at Cascadia and 15^th year working in education, led his students with a warm, encouraging demeanor. Throughout that morning, he doled out many compliments and created a fun, relaxed environment where students weren’t afraid to learn through mistakes.

“Something that we really emphasize is that everyone makes mistakes – it’s not about the mistake, but what we learn from it,” Sullivan said. “That allows students to feel more comfortable putting themselves out there, to be a peer role model for others, and to take risks.”

During the morning meeting, Sullivan picked a student to be the “Group Plan Leader,” who would decide which students got to answer questions, lead the line, etc. based on their good behavior.

“I think it’s more meaningful for students to highlight other students than for the teacher to do it,” Sullivan said. “I try to do plenty of that, but when it comes from a peer, it’s a really beautiful thing.”

His calm demeanor also applies to solving disputes amongst his kindergarteners. When two students both wanted to play with the dollhouse by themselves, Sullivan diffused the tension by setting a timer for five minutes and telling one of the students to check in with the other after the timer went off.

Later that morning, one student was upset at another student, so Sullivan set them aside and had the girl explain her concerns with her classmate.

“If I had just yelled, he would’ve shut down or flipped his lid,” Sullivan said afterwards. “It’s more impactful for the other student to say, ‘Hey, here’s how I felt.’ It gives them confidence and self-efficacy, and the other student benefits more from peer communication than just discipline from an adult."

Sullivan realized he loved working with young students when he volunteered at the Hands On Children’s Museum in Olympia at age 15. Since then, he’s worked as a camp counselor and coordinator for the YMCA, joined the Peace Corps’ education program, and worked as a paraeducator and kindergarten teacher.

“This age group is so fun and creative and curious,” Sullivan said about kindergarteners. “They’re so exceptionally open-minded and kind to each other that it’s good for the soul to be around them all the time.”

Sullivan frequently uses fun games to help the students with more difficult concepts. Because some of his kindergarteners were struggling with learning the “teen numbers,” his class played a dancing game similar to musical chairs. Sullivan wrote a series of numbers on the whiteboard (12, 14, 17, 19, etc.), and had a student play a Kidz Bop version of a Dua Lipa song. Everyone danced while the music played, and when the student stopped the music, Sullivan pointed to a number on the board and the students all said the number.

Helping students make these connections is one of Sullivan’s favorite parts of teaching kindergarten.

“I love any time of the day when something just clicks for a student, like when they’re reading their first words,” he said. “I love seeing moments of success.”

Stefanie Wilson-Attwaters, a Cascadia paraeducator, said Sullivan’s class is one of her favorites to work in. She said the teacher is able to keep things organized in his class while still really connecting with students.

“He’s helping the students learn by becoming leaders and solving problems by themselves,” Wilson-Attwaters said. He’s very good at it.”

Cascadia third grade teacher Joan McCarthy called Sullivan an amazing person and teacher.

“I think what makes Sullivan great is his flexibility, his connection with the kids, and his fun approach to learning,” she said. “They have tons of fun, they adore him, and he is really thoughtful and intention in his practices.”