Patricia Cleary began her working life in banking, but after the birth of her children, it became clear she wasn’t invested.
She turned to education instead.
After 12 years with the Barberton City Schools, the superintendent will retire in August.
The 63-year-old West Akron native, who currently resides in Copley, graduated from Our Lady of the Elms and the University of Akron with a bachelor’s in English “because I love to read and write,” she said.
After her children were born and it was time to go back to work, “my heart wasn’t really in the banking business anymore,” Cleary said. “My husband was a teacher. I saw what he was doing and I said, ‘You know, I could teach English.’ ” She got her master’s in secondary education to teach grades 7-12.
Cleary started as an eighth-grade teacher in the Woodridge Local Schools, then switched to building administration. She moved to Barberton in 2005 as a curriculum specialist and later became director of curriculum.
The research she had to do for her national board certification sparked her interest in curriculum. She had to study the strategy for teaching skills and processes, especially in writing, “so it was fascinating,” she said.
In addition to her curriculum roles, she also has served as assistant superintendent, becoming superintendent in 2012.
“When the opening came for superintendent, the board said, ‘You know everything, why don’t you step in?’ ” she said. She was the interim for a while before deciding it was a good fit.
“I thought, ‘Maybe I can make an impact,’ ” she recalled. “I decided to take the job, and it’s been great. We have a great Board of Education that has been very supportive.”
Under Cleary’s tenure, the district has begun to implement Chromebooks in all of the schools. This is the second year they are in the high school, but the first year all students will be able to take them home each night and bring them back to use in class.
In the middle school, each class has a cart of 30, and the elementary schools will have a cart in each classroom next year.
The district also saw consolidation of buildings, going from eight to four, with a new high school, a new middle school and two new elementary schools.
“It’s been a little bit of a roller coaster, especially as a superintendent,” Cleary said. “It’s something I never really thought I would do. I love it here in Barberton, once I got here and got to know the community. There have been ups and downs with financing, levies, the whole building project.”
The community has been very welcoming, she said.
“If you say you need something, people will find a way to help you get it, as far as doing things for children,” she said. “Anyone who can, helps. It’s just been a great experience.”
Cleary, whose husband is retired, plans to do some traveling to see her out-of-town children. She is about to become a grandmother in June.
Joe Clark, superintendent of Nordonia Hills City School District, worked with Cleary when he was assistant superintendent in Barberton from 2005 to 2007.
“She is a fabulous lady and a fabulous school leader,” Clark said in an email. “She has an incredible depth of knowledge for curriculum and instruction, a passion for serving children and parents — especially those in most need — and she had a way of making all of the employees feel important regardless of their role.
“She is highly respected among her superintendent colleagues in the Akron area as someone who is insightful of necessary change and a supporter of public schools.”
Barberton Board of Education President Joe Stefan has worked with Cleary for nine years.
“Mrs. Cleary is wonderful to work with,” Stefan said. “She has the best interest of the community in mind — our kids, the staff, everybody. She is a bright shining light for Barberton City Schools.”
The school board will hire a firm to assist in gathering data from community to find out what types of candidates would best suit the district before recruiting candidates, Stefan said. Ideally, the board would like to have someone in place to be spend time with Cleary before she leaves.
“We’re going to definitely miss her,” Stefan said. “She’s left a big imprint on the community.”
Monica L. Thomas can be reached at 330-996-3827 or mthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @MLThomasABJ and https://www.facebook.com/MLThomasABJ.