In Aimee Olson’s math class, belonging comes first—and learning follows.
Before the first math problem is solved, before the lesson begins, Aimee Olson makes sure her students know they belong.
In her classroom at Pacific Middle School, Aimee Olson weaves in daily check-ins and small moments of connection to help every student feel welcome, valued, and safe.
Now in her third year of teaching, Aimee’s commitment to building trust and confidence has earned her the title of Highline’s Rookie Teacher of the Year.
One lesson last fall perfectly captured her approach. While teaching ratios and proportional relationships, Aimee instructed her students to create scale drawings—measuring her real-life dimensions and shrinking them down to paper size. Then came the fun part: designing Halloween costumes for their scaled-down teacher. Students came up with everything from Taylor Swift to a hot dog.
“They know I love Taylor [Swift] and Harry Styles,” she laughs. “Now I have 150 Halloween options, and they still bring it up.”
Beyond the laughs, Aimee draws on the Spanish she studied in high school and college to translate her lessons and support her students. She circles back to check for understanding—and invites her Spanish-speaking students to help and correct her along the way.
“They love helping me get it right. It makes it a shared [learning] experience,” says Aimee.
At the heart of everything Aimee does is a belief students learn best when they are known by name, strength and need. Whether it’s a quick hallway chat or a conversation about weekend plans, she connects with each student, every day—building a classroom where every learner belongs.