Chanda Jefferson brings a passionate approach to teaching life sciences … and life
Posted on: June 6, 2019; Updated: June 6, 2019
By Kathryn McPhail, [email protected], 803-777-8841
As a child, Chanda Jefferson fondly remembers staying after school to help her older sister, who was an assistant kindergarten teacher, in her classroom at Jefferson Elementary in rural Beech Island, South Carolina. At a school named after her great-grandfather, she spent hours talking to teachers about math, science and her favorite books.
“Teaching is in my DNA,” says Jefferson. “My mom emphasized the importance of education, and I developed a love for school and learning – especially science.”
During high school, Jefferson also realized that he loved being a mentor to young people. She drove the church van, picking up students from her community to take them to the choir rehearsal and the Bible study.
“I knew then that I wanted to choose a career that would allow me to serve and help people,” says Jefferson. “That’s when I decided to become a doctor and specialize in biology at USC”.
While studying biology and chemistry at the University of South Carolina, a professor asked if she wanted to tutor children through a program called Mad Science of Columbia.
“I found that I loved making kids excited about science, sharing my passion with them,” says Jefferson. “I realized that my real vocation was to be a teacher. Teaching would allow me to help create opportunities for many children ”.
I teach life sciences, but I also teach real life.
Chanda Jefferson, SC teacher of the year and student
Jefferson graduated in biological sciences in 2009 from the College of Arts and Sciences and earned a master’s degree in teaching from the College of Education in 2011. That fall, she began her first year as a teacher at CA Johnson High School in Columbia. When she arrived, only 13% of students were passing biology.
“I was passionate about teaching underprivileged students,” says Jefferson. “I used the research-based teaching strategies I learned from my professors at USC. I believed it could have a big impact on these students if I could encourage them to explore, question and get involved, instead of just teaching them.
And its impact was clear. When she left school four years later, the biology pass rate for all students had increased to more than 50%, and her students boasted a pass rate of almost 75%. For the first time in 20 years, a student at the school passed the Advanced Placement Biology exam. In 2014, she was also named Professor of Exceptional Biology in South Carolina by the National Association of Biology Teachers.
“There are no disposable children in South Carolina. Our job as educators is to take care of them, regardless of the students’ backgrounds, and to find a way to help them succeed,” says Jefferson.
After a one-year layover at Airport High School in West Columbia, Jefferson received an offer as chairman of the science and contact department STEM at Fairfield Central High School in Winnsboro, South Carolina. At Fairfield Central, she found herself, one more time. time, teaching underprivileged students.
“Many of our students are facing difficulties – poverty, food insecurity, family issues,” says Jefferson. “I teach life sciences, but I also teach real life.”
Jefferson says she serves the “whole” child, not just academics.
“I tell you that I also come from humble backgrounds, like many of them. But education and knowledge are the keys that can create access to doors of opportunity. ”
Her passion and ability to help students find and use her “keys to success” led a classmate to nominate Jefferson as Professor Fairfield Central of the Year, which she won in 2018. In May, she was also named Professor in South Carolina in 2020 Year before a multitude of educators, legislators and supporters of public education. In addition to the title, she received $ 25,000 and the keys to a state BMW to drive for a year. Now, she will start touring the state, talking to teachers and students, helping to improve the educational system and meeting the needs of education professionals.
“This is a great year for education in South Carolina, with great efforts to defend teachers to improve the conditions of the profession and of our students and schools,” says Jefferson. “My goal for the year is to equip teachers with the tools they need to positively defend the profession”.
Jefferson also plans to focus his efforts on helping to recruit and retain teachers to combat the growing teacher shortages in the state.
“I think that more students would consider teaching if the profession was highlighted and celebrated more. Teachers need to feel supported, receive positive affirmations and be reminded that few professions are as impactful as education ”, says Jefferson. “Teachers can change the world, one student at a time. And believe me, my life has changed because of my students too. ”
Her life will continue to change this year as she moves away from the classroom to serve as a year-long residency at the Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement Center. She will also represent South Carolina in the National Teacher of the Year contest.
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Topics: Students, Alumni, Academics, Graduate Admissions, Graduate Studies, Diversity, Service, Careers, Student Voices, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Faculty of Education, Graduate School