Welcome! I’m Arika Dickens – or Ms. Arika, as the students know me.  The 2020-2021 school year marks my third as Sunset’s librarian.

My path to Sunset has been a journey:

- classroom teacher in LA & FL (grades 4 & 5)

- children's librarian in rural SC while earning a Masters in Library Science

- elementary librarian at Medina Elem in BSD for 13 years

- lower school librarian at ACS-H in London, England

It's no surprise that I love libraries and books, but I also love teaching children, modeling digital citizenship, and utilizing technology.  I am so lucky to share these joys with the students at Sunset.

As a librarian, I served on the 2021 Newbery Committee, which honoreed WHEN YOU TRAP A TIGER by Tae Keller with the 2021 Newbery Medal.  I'm also the founder of the OTTER Award, a Seesaw Ambassador, a Flipgrid Ambassador, and an Apple teacher.  I love attending and presenting at conferences – especially about teaching kindergarten library and incorporating tech into the library program.  

Outside of school, my most important titles are mom, wife, and reader: I have two children (grades 6 & 8) and a husband who works in tech. We love to travel (whenever we can again). 

Always your librarian,

Ms Arika