Stephanie Patrick Alumni Profile

Diversity Alumni Award

Retired Principal, Canton City Schools

Stephanie Patrick, former principal of Allen Elementary and Hartford Junior High School, has earned “legendary status” in the Canton City Schools. A graduate of Canton City Schools, she graduated from Central State University and went on to teach in her hometown district at a time when people of color, and especially, women of color, were not plentiful in the district.

Her legacy is two-fold. First, she inspired and mentored scores of black and white educators, who have gone on to successful careers of their own in Canton and elsewhere, and she is the founder of the Leila Green Alliance of Black School Educators, whose mission is to assure black educators are working successfully in schools to inspire underserved populations. Secondly, she raised the bar for students who might otherwise be neglected or ignored. She demanded higher performance of students from whom others expected less, genuinely caring about them and encouraging them to succeed. Ms. Patrick understands better than most that when students are not educated equitably, none of us can live equally, and our communities suffer.

Ms. Patrick has been recognized for her leadership with the Martin Luther King Community Celebration for 46 years and for other community service. Her retirement notwithstanding, she continues to serve the Canton City School District as a substitute principal in elementary and middle school, and as a substitute teacher in middle school.