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Fairwood Music Teacher to Retire After 50 Years of Service
February 28, 2023 – Nestled on the second floor of Fairwood Elementary School, at the corner of Good Citizens Loop, you will find Mrs. Cynthia Dybik's music room.
Upon entering classroom 213, a friendly reminder is visible to its visitors.
"Everyone is Welcome Here."
"I want my students to know that my classroom is a safe space where they can be themselves," said Dybik.
After 50 years of dedicated service as a Columbus City Schools music teacher, beloved educator Cynthia Dybik is retiring from the District at the end of the 2022-2023 school year.
Students, colleagues, and the Fairwood Elementary community will miss Mrs. Dybik's positive influence on many lives, both in and out of the classroom.
"I have a love for the families who have shared their children with me throughout my career. I believe this love has kept me going each day," said Dybik.
Third-grade student Mi'Kaela Sunderland is sad to see Mrs. Dybik go.
"She's a nice teacher. It's going to be different without her next year," said Sunderland. "Mrs. Dybik does a lot of things with us and has taught me how to play music."
As Fairwood's music teacher, Mrs. Dybik has brought creativity, joy, and enthusiasm into the lives of her students.
Dybik began her career with Columbus City Schools (then Columbus Public Schools) in September 1972 as a student teacher at Dominion Junior High School during her last quarter at Otterbein University.
"I had no intention of being a teacher," said Cynthia Dybik. "I wanted to be a performer, but we did not have the income. The only way I could attend college was by qualifying for the National Defense Education Act, which gave me the grant to attend college if I agreed to teach for at least five years."
After receiving her Bachelor of Music Education from Otterbein University, Dybik began teaching at the former Crestview Junior High School.
"I received a call from a gentleman who knew a friend of mine who told him about me," recalls Dybik. "I was able to get an interview with the principal at Crestview."
Dybik, reminiscent of how well her interview had gone, knew she would still need CCS board approval to become a District music teacher. After completing an application, HR extended an invitation to interview.
"HR interviewed me over the phone, and I started CCS the following week," said Dybik.
After teaching at Crestview for the next ten years, Dybik moved on to teach music at the former North High School.
"Life was full of district and state contests,” said Dybik. “Our school would attend three or four concerts each year. The community was wonderful, and North had recently undergone renovation. I figured I was set for life at North."
After the closure of the former North High School, Dybik moved on to teach music at the former Eastmoor High School (now Eastmoor Academy). Within 18 months, Dybik became a mother of two children.
"Life became complicated, so I decided to take a leave of absence," said Dybik.
In the summer of 1993, Dybik reconnected with a few of her former CCS colleagues. After receiving a call from Al Berry, music supervisor, Dybik was ready to return to her passion for teaching music.
"Al Berry let me know that there was a morning teaching position available at Independence High School and a position available in the afternoon at Centennial High School," said Dybik.
After meeting with both selection committees, Dybik learned that Independence wanted to hire her while Centennial recruited another candidate.
Preparing to join the Independence staff, a disappointed Dybik learned she would not be teaching at Independence but at Centennial.
Dybik was told that Independence was seeking a man to fill the position.
"Surprisingly, two days later, I received a call from James Osborn, Principal of Independence. He told me that the selected candidate resigned after the first day. I was off and running, said Dybik.”
Dybik's first year back teaching was split between Independence and Centennial High Schools.
That summer, there were over 300 scheduled requests for vocal music at Independence. It was at this time Dybik was placed at Independence full-time.
"Principal James Osborne is probably the most influential person in my career," said Dybik. "His educational leadership led to innovative curriculum design, helping teachers to create an individualized instructional design which resulted in excellent classroom management."
With over 17 years of teaching music at Independence, during her tenure, the vocal program went from one choir to a freshman choir, concert choir, men's ensemble, chamber choir, and The Singing 76ers Show Choir.
One of Dybik's most memorable moments in her career was The Singing 76ers Show Choir performing at President Barrack Obama's Presidential Inauguration celebration in 2009.
"These ensembles performed regularly around Columbus," said Dybik. "We performed in Chicago, twice at Carnegie Hall in New York City, Disneyland, and Universal Studios. This was such a proud moment for Independence and us."
In 2010, Dybik realized that she needed to make a change.
With her parent's growing health issues, Dybik decided to step away as a performance educator and moved to the position of Linkage Coordinator at Mifflin High School.
After serving students for four years at Mifflin, her position was eliminated due to reorganization in the District. As a result, Dybik decided to return to the classroom.
"After leaving Mifflin, Fairwood Elementary School became my home," said Dybik. "In all of my career, I had never taught at the elementary level, nor had I ever taught instrumental music. It has been a wonderful learning experience for me and my students."
Fourth grader Cylie Jones feels the same way.
"I love Mrs. Dybik 1000 percent," said Jones. "She is such a great teacher. She teaches vocal lessons, and she teaches my class a lot of things we didn't know."
One thing Mrs. Dybik has taught Cylie this year is how to play the violin.
"Cylie has become a pretty good violin player," said Dybil admirably.
With a smile, Jones reaches out to Dybik for a hug.
Stacy McCarthy, Principal of Fairwood Elementary School, is equally sad to say goodbye to Dybik.
"I don't think I've seen a music teacher quite with the skillset that she has," said McCarthy. "I wish her well-deserved retirement. I know she will continue inspiring and uplifting others in whatever she chooses next."
What's next for Mrs. Dybik? Advocacy work.
"Retirement is not something which I look forward to; however, something inside me says it is time to shift," said Dybik.
As Cynthia Dybik prepares to retire, it is clear that her legacy will endure long after she leaves the classroom. Her passion for music and dedication to teaching will continue to inspire students for years to come.