The moment you walk into Robert Hand's classroom at Mount Vernon High School, you know things are different.
Music plays in the background. Fluorescent lights are replaced by soft lamps. Curtains shade the windows. The place feels more like a dorm room than a classroom.
It feels like a place you want to be.
"It's really comfortable and safe," senior Alexis Garcia said. "If you're struggling and need someone to talk to you can go to Mr. Hand."
So many students resonate with that feeling, Hand was named 2019 Washington Teacher of the Year by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. He began teaching Family and Consumer Services at Mount Vernon High School in 2013.
Hand's classroom was thoughtfully crafted with one question in mind.
"I ask myself, everyday, would I want to be a student in my own classroom? That's what I strive for," Hand said.
He was nominated for the honor by a former student who praised Hand's willingness to go beyond academics and get involved in his students' lives.
"As a Latina student, I have no problem talking to or relating to him because he is an expert in relating to students of all backgrounds," she wrote in a letter to state education officials.
When he reads that letter, Hand is brought to tears.
"There's a lot of emotion that goes into this job," he said. "It's just nice to know the hard work you're putting in is making a difference."
Hand's greatest reward may be seeing students pursue careers in teaching -- especially male students of color like Chatham Rochelle.
"He makes sure you're not just a kid in the class," Rochelle said. "You're someone special and he acknowledges that."
"Every individual in that room, regardless of their background, the language they speak, their status in this country, or the color of their skin, every single kid deserves the same thing that every other kid in that room is getting," Hand said.
In Hand's nutrition class, he teaches how to nourish the student body as a whole by keeping things active and fun.
"He always makes the class enjoyable and understandable," junior Maryia Darnell said.
Hand makes it clear -- he does not teach school. He teaches people.
And while they will one day move on from his class, he believes they'll never really leave.
"Once you're in my class, you're always in my class."
