The grief of this set her on a path of establishing a series of lectures designed to raise the awareness of the plight of our classroom teachers as well as encouraging students to reach out to each other and include those who are perceived to be 'different'. The shock of this event caused her to collapse, be hospitalized and undergo open heart surgery to save her life. The tragic loss of both members of the faculty as well as children on December 14th, 2012 affected her life profoundly. She is also known as a champion of classroom teachers in our country, a cause sharpened by her association with Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Connecticut as a guest author and artist in residence. She is a member of the National First Amendment Rights Coalition and has fought tirelessly for this cause. She has been honored by heads of state both at the Kremlin and the White House. She has traveled extensively to Russia and has established an art camp in Losovough which thrives today. She has also established literary and art courses of study for young people both nationally and internationally. She has a distinguished record as an international advocate for the rights of children.

She is a guest lecturer in many universities and has been awarded numerous honorary degrees in Arts and Letters. She has studied in the U.S., England, France, Russia and Australia. Patricia has earned a Bachelors, Masters, and Ph.D. Patricia lives on her farm estate in Union City, Michigan. And a daughter, Traci who has made a career in the medical field and also lives in California. Patricia is the mother of two grown children Steven, a tenured professor at Dominican University in San Rafael, California. Both cultures valued and kept their history alive by storytelling. Her father's people were from The County of Limerick in Ireland. Her mother’s family were Jewish immigrants from Russia and The Ukraine. Patricia Polacco was born on July 11th, 1944 in Lansing, Michigan.

Dear mr falker patricia polacco