Beatrice Ryan is not your average preschool teacher. Sure, she loves kids and enjoys helping them learn. But when you’ve been doing the same job—at the same school, no less—for 30-plus years, it’s hard to make any reasonable comparisons to others in that industry.
She is anything but typical, and her style has been her calling card from the first time she considered a career in early childhood education. Fast forward 30 years, Ryan is wrapping up her last few weeks as the pre-K teacher at Kids Tech, a high-quality childcare and preschool facility located on the campus of Pickens Technical College, before heading into retirement.
Ryan can thank her youngest daughter for the initial inspiration to give teaching a try.
“One day I went to her school just to help out,” she said. “I saw her in preschool just bossing kids around.” After giving her daughter’s school a helping hand for a while, she said, “I found out I was really good at it. And that’s how I got into it—from my youngest daughter cutting up in school.”
Right there, Ryan decided to further her education to become a preschool teacher. At the time, her husband was in the military and she worked for nearly 10 years in the preschool room at the now-defunct Lowry Air Force Base. Once they closed their doors, Ryan sought out her next landing spot and found the opportunity of a lifetime at Kids Tech.
What felt like a calling, Ryan dove headfirst into supporting students and families in Aurora. She said her time in the classroom has been satisfying in more ways than one.
“It’s never been a job for me—never been. If it was a job, I would’ve never lasted,” she said.
Not only has it not felt like a job to her, but Ryan’s work over these years has come full circle. Several of the students she taught have gone on to become teachers in Aurora and throughout the metro area. Even more, some of those former students have had children of their own and enrolled them in Kids Tech to ensure they receive the same Midas touch their moms and dads had many moons ago. Ryan sees that as one of the highlights that illuminate her rewarding career.
“When a [former] student brings their own child back to you, that’s a milestone,” she said.
Nicole Hendley and Nicole Bargoti, directors at Kids Tech, have witnessed the greatness in Ryan from day one. For them, her spirit and unwavering dedication to her craft are second to none.
“Every single morning—and we mean every morning—Mrs. Kay greets her classroom with a genuine smile and a heart full of joy,” Hendley and Bargoti said. “She has never called in sick, never shown up unprepared and never wavered in her belief that to fail to plan is to plan to fail. For her, every detail matters because every child matters.”
Ryan is humble about her legacy, and she wants her story to reflect the passion she’s carried all these years. It’s about the “why” more than anything else. She hopes teachers never lose the desire to learn with their students while simultaneously working on their craft.
“You’ve got to be prepared when you come to work,” Ryan said. “Have your lessons together and don’t come to work scrambling. Always pay attention to the children. When they get to school in the morning, make them feel like you want them there because you don't know how that child came to school that morning.”
Ryan knows retirement will take some getting used to, but she looks forward to staying active and volunteering at Kids Tech whenever she can. Additionally, she plans to pay her children and grandchildren a visit more often to their homes away from Colorado.
No more work involved, right?
“I know my kids will have me working harder than being at home, so I'm not going to stay with them that much,” she joked. “They're not even gonna pay me!”
The APS 2024-25 retirees represent more than 1,400 years of combined service to students—decades of classroom wisdom, leadership and unwavering dedication to ensuring every student shapes a successful future. We are proud to celebrate our retirees and we thank them for their service to our community.