State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman announced tonight that the 2020 South Carolina Teacher of the Year is Chanda Jefferson, a Biology teacher at Fairfield Central High School in the Fairfield County School District.
 
“Chanda is an exceptional educator who has been committed to increasing the rigor in both her classroom and classrooms across South Carolina. She is so deserving of this tremendous honor and I know she will do a fantastic job advocating and representing our over 50,000 teachers this next year,” said State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman. 

Chanda has worked on both the local and state levels to increase student performance and rigor of the South Carolina Biology I End-of-Course exam. In 2014, Chanda received the Outstanding Biology Teacher for South Carolina Award presented by the National Association of Biology Teachers. She was one of twenty teachers to receive the Princeton University Fellowship for Teachers and one of three teachers to receive the Amazon Educator Academy Scholarship. Harvard University invited Chanda to be a guest speaker for the 74th Annual Society of Development Biology Conference. 

Outside of the classroom, Chanda has served as an Education Network Partner for the National Human Genome Research Institute, helping to plan a National DNA Day Celebration in South Carolina. Chanda grew up in a single parent home and originally wanted to study pre-medicine so that she could become a doctor and take care of her family. Her plans changed during her third year of college when she took an after school part-time job as an elementary “Mad Science” teacher. This experience coupled with the positive impact her own teachers made on her life inspired her to listen to her call to teach. She believes that “all students can learn science,” and for students to learn, she must exhibit that science is part of their everyday life experience. She caters to each student’s individual learning style and uses hands on activities; incorporating social media, scientific modeling, inquiry, and STEM techniques in her lessons. 
 
As part of the state Teacher of the Year awards program, Chanda will receive $25,000 and a brand new BMW for one year.
 
Considered one of the country's strongest, the South Carolina Teacher of the Year program celebrates excellence and strengthens the teaching force by honoring and recognizing exceptional teachers on a district, state, and national level. These awards not only assist in retention efforts but serve as a powerful recruitment tool.
 
The South Carolina Teacher of the Year serves for one school year as a roving ambassador providing mentoring, attending speaking engagements, working with teacher cadets and teaching fellows, leading the State Teacher Forum, and serving as the state spokesperson for over 50,000 educators.