A well-known Roanoke children’s book author and writing teacher has been honored for her work in education.
Nancy Ruth Patterson, author of five children’s novels and a retired Roanoke City teacher and administrator, received the Helen C. Hanes Friend of Education Award during a luncheon that marked the conclusion of the annual Margaret Sue Copenhaver Institute for Teaching and Learning at Roanoke College.
This three-day training program for teachers and administrators is named for Copenhaver, a retired teacher from Richmond who demonstrated a passion for teaching. The Institute, which opened in 2000, is funded by an endowed gift from Copenhaver’s sister, Helen Hanes. Administrators of the Institute select a recipient for the Helen C. Hanes Award bi-annually. It is awarded to a person who models the ideals of Marion College, Hanes’ alma mater.
Patterson worked for Roanoke City Schools for 33 years. While there, she founded Roanoke’s CITY School, a program for highly-motivated high school seniors.
Alongside teaching, Patterson has written five novels for children, including The Christmas Cup, The Winners’ Walk and A Simple Gift. Her novels have been added to master reading lists in 10 states and three have been adapted and performed for the stage.
Patterson has received numerous awards for teaching and writing. In 2002, she was the first Roanoke City Schools teacher to be inducted into the Virginia High School Hall of Fame. In 2006, she was named Roanoke’s Citizen of the Year, and she received the Perry F. Kendig Arts and Culture Award in 2015.
While speaking to a room full of educators recently, Patterson explained her strategy for encouraging students in her classes.
“I had to empty the hearts of doubt before I could fill them with hope,” she said, adding that she believes that every person has had a teacher who has led them to “reach for the stars.”
Patterson, who earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is now a visiting associate professor of English in Hollins University’s graduate program in children’s literature.
“She’s made a difference in the lives of her students for decades,” said Dr. Leslie Murrill, co-director of the Institute and professor of Education at Roanoke.
Approximately 180 educators attended this year’s Institute, which offered workshops and keynote speakers on the theme, Developing Lifelong Readers and Learners.
