I first met Dr. Sydnee Dickson in 2015, when I was in my second year of teaching. I was sitting anxiously in the office of Brad Smith, who was state superintendent of public instruction at the time. I was there with a small team of educators from turnaround schools — schools with end-of-year test scores among the lowest in the state — and Superintendent Smith needed his deputy superintendent to come answer a question about past efforts in Utah.
Syd, as Utah’s teachers affectionately call her, walked into the room and immediately shook hands with all of us. As we spoke, Syd listened intently to every story we told from our classrooms and, in return, she gifted us with treasures she’d found in the stories we’d shared.
She may have been wearing a pantsuit and working in a stuffy office at the State School Board, but we were clearly in the presence of a master teacher.
Syd must have noticed I was nervous because, on her way out the door, she quietly put a hand on my shoulder. When I looked up, Syd smiled and took an emphatically deep breath. I followed her lead, breathing deeply for the first time that day.
My first experience with Syd was special, but hardly unique. In the more than four decades she’s spent championing public education in Utah, she has shared quiet, transformative moments with countless students and educators throughout our state. I’ve had the privilege of watching Syd interact with everyone from student teachers to state leaders, and every time it’s the same: They speak, she listens, she shares and a light clicks on in their head or their heart.
Syd exemplifies the old saying from Kahlil Gibran: “Work is love made visible.” As a teacher, school counselor, administrator and, for the past nine years, our state superintendent, no one has worked harder or shown more love for Utah’s public schools and students than Syd.
I’ve also never known anyone more loved by their own employees. When she announced she would be stepping down as superintendent at the end of June, I believe a collective, “Noooooooooo!!” rang out from every State Office of Education employee and schoolteacher in Utah.
I just want to say thank you. Thank you for your unwavering dedication to Utah’s families and for giving our kids better opportunities to learn and grow. Thank you for championing every child, especially the ones who need it the most. Thank you for your visionary leadership and helping us navigate the worst of times with courage and compassion. Thank you for being a role model of resilience and an inspiration to every adult bighearted enough to step inside a classroom.
And thanks, Syd, for putting your hand on my shoulder all those years ago. Every time I extend the same grace to a nervous kid in class, I’ll always think of you.
(John Arthur) John Arthur is the 2021 Utah Teacher of the Year.
John Arthur is the 2021 Utah Teacher of the Year and National Teacher of the Year Finalist. He is a National Board Certified Teacher and co-director of the Utah Teacher Fellows.
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