Page 42 - From the Outhouse 4 -21

F R O M T H E O U T H O U S E T O T H E L I T T L E R E D S C H O O L H O U S E : | 42

PRESENTING
PATRICIA RAE MERRITT-WHATLEY

Educator | Entrepreneur | Director | Vocalist | Actress
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Education

• Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education – Talladega College – Talladega, Alabama
• Exceptional Education Certification – University of Miami – Miami, Florida

• Master of Arts Degree in Supervision and Administration – Nova University – Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Accomplishments

• “Teacher of the Year at Rosenwald Exceptional Student Center,” 1987

• Founder – Tajiri School of Performing Arts and Academics – Sanford, Florida
• “Seminole County District Teacher of the Year,” 1992; first black female to be honored in ceremonial fashion for the

distinction as recorded in Memories of Seminole County Families 1850-1945, published by the Seminole County Historical
Society

• Educator – Thirty Years of Professional Experience in Public Schools

• PBS Special – Florida Crossroads: “The Florida Heritage Trail, Part 2” – Sanford, Florida
• Co-Author – Handbook for Profoundly Mentally Handicapped-Challenged Students in Seminole County

th
• Author – A Guided Field Study for 4 Graders and Beyond: Sanford Out of the Dust: Ancestorial Path to Dignity Tour with
an Editorial by Kamili Tajiri Hitchmon (with Re-enactors that included a Two/Three-Hour Tour of a Native American

Mound (near Midway/Canaan City) and The Black Heritage Trail (in Georgetown) – Sanford, Florida

• Charter Member – Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, Sanford Alumnae Charter
• Member – St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church – Sanford, Florida