Bird is among dozens of employees in Canyons School District who’ve announced their retirement this year. Following a two-year, pandemic-related hiatus, Canyons is proud to resume the annual tradition of hosting a by-invitation-only Retirees Banquet. This year’s event will be held Thursday, May 12, 6 p.m. at The Gathering Place at Gardner Village, 1100 W. 7800 South.

Schools and departments also are scheduling Open House events to further honor their colleagues (see schedule below).

In preparation for the banquet, the crew at Connect Canyons have been interviewing CSD’s retirees and inviting them to reflect on their careers.

Asked what motivated him to become an educator, Bird says the seeds for him were planted many years ago. Bird was a talented wrestler in high school but figured his shot at being a collegiate athlete was shot because of low grades.

For five years after graduation, he worked as a welder until the plant closed and he lost his job. A friend then asked a life-changing question: “Why didn’t you ever go wrestle in college?” Though scholarships weren’t available, Bird’s buddy let him know there was a different path available. He could still walk on and pay his own tuition.

“I didn’t really know that,” Bird recalls. “So I did it.”

Bird seized that opportunity. He embraced education. He eventually earned scholarships, blossomed into an NCAA Academic All-American wrestler, helped Idaho State win a conference championship, and then qualified for the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials finals. Considering where he started and what he’d been told, Bird considers that comeback story to be the biggest accomplishment of his life.

Bird, who went on to earn a master’s degree in counseling, spent the ensuing 35 years paying it forward to students in Idaho and Utah. He naturally gravitated toward working with at-risk students, which made him a great fit for being an administrator at the prison, including the past eight years as South Park’s principal and a previous stint as a vice principal.

“There are a lot of students that will succeed without your help, but I’ve always gravitated to those programs and schools and … the students who, without your intervention or support, may not make it,” he says. “It almost goes full circle back to when I didn’t get the right help when I was young.”

It warms Bird’s heart thinking about a hard-working, end-of-the-bench football player named Reggie, who made a key tackle during a championship game in a rare playing opportunity. The moment meant the world to Reggie, Coach Bird, and inspired onlookers.

He’ll never forget a card he received at graduation from parents of a student he’d worked closely with for years. The card included a message of gratitude: “Thank you for all you’ve done to help Matt. … Always remember, when you take a child by the hand, you take a parent by the heart.”

He’s also touched by the memory of a dad in prison who spoke at South Park’s graduation ceremony after working to become an honor graduate. During his speech, the adult student, who thought he was unable to be a good dad or role model from prison, looked at his smiling 13-year-old daughter in the crowd and said, “You’ve always been there for me. I’m getting my diploma today because maybe I can show you that education is important no matter where you’re at and to be an example to you today.”

Bird has been on all sides of taking a child (or adult) by the hand and taking loved ones by the heart.

“I could even say in adult education that you could switch that up,” Bird says. “You take an adult student by the hand, figuratively, and you help them and you guide them through their education or you help them in life and the people who love them, love you.”

As he leaves his unexpected career in education behind, Bird is grateful to have helped make a difference.

“In 35 years, hopefully I’ve impacted a ton of people positively,” he says. “I tried to always be positive and help people every way I could. But I’m pretty sure I don’t realize the impact I’ve had on others over the years. I don’t know if that’s anything you can really measure, but it’s something we do in education.”

Below is a list of these events to bid bon voyage to CSD’s departing teachers, administrators and Education Support Professionals. To be added to the list below, email the name of the retiree and the date, time and place of the Open House to communications@canyonsdistrict.org