Growing up in Morrison, Sydney Slifka didn’t always know that she wanted to be a teacher. It wasn’t until she took an “Intro to Teaching” class in college that she knew where she wanted to go with her professional life.
“I knew that I wanted a career that was different every day and involved working with people,” said Slifka. “While figuring out my options, I took that class, which landed me in a first grade classroom and I fell in love with the students. Since then, I’ve found my calling to working with students in highly impacted urban schools.”
Sydney’s favorite part about her job is building a community within my classroom. She relishes in seeing kids’ smiling facing come in the door each day, excited to learn, and creating a safe space for them to be who they are. For Sydney, each and every day is a new adventure, and she’s always looking for ways to spark the excitement/desire for learning within each of her students.
Sydney joined the union to be able to have a voice for herself and her colleagues. Sydney believes the union brings strength in numbers and allows us to better advocate for our rights as educators and fight for the schools that our students deserve.
When she’s not being a superhero to her students and an inspiration to her union colleagues, Sydney loves to travel. She’s been to over 20 countries, usually on solo trips, hostel style. She loves to learn about new cultures, see history and art, and to meet people along the way. She’s also into all of the Colorado things: skiing, snowboarding, hiking, kayaking, in addition to making jewelry and cooking.
Sydney, a product of the Jefferson County Public Schools system herself, is a graduate of the University of Colorado at Denver and earned a Masters in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in Curriculum & Instruction with an emphasis in Gifted Education from the University of Denver.
Sydney Slifka is an elementary school teacher and high school volleyball coach in Jefferson County and a proud member of the Jefferson County Education Association.