Columbia – Barbara B. Hairfield, an educator from Charleston, has been reappointed to serve on the Education Oversight Committee (EOC). Hairfield is the education representative designated by the President Pro Tempore of the South Carolina Senate, Senator John E. Courson.

Hairfield has served on the committee since August 2007 and has served as the EOC’s Vice Chair since August 2010. She is the Social Studies Curriculum Learning Specialist in the Charleston County School District. Hairfield also chairs the EOC’s Public Awareness Subcommittee that keeps the public apprised of South Carolina’s progress and challenges in public education and a Special Reading Subcommittee that is working with the legislature on improving the reading proficiency of South Carolina’s students.

Hairfield received her B.A. in English and History from Winthrop University and earned her Masters of Arts in Teaching Social Studies/History and a Masters Plus 30 in English from The Citadel. She holds National Board certification in Early Adolescent Social Studies/History and has spent the past twenty years teaching and working in Charleston County schools.

Prior to her current position, Hairfield worked with the S.C. Department of Education as a Teacher Specialist on-Site and for the Charleston County School District as a Teacher Specialist for Social Studies and English Language Arts at Morningside Middle School and as a member of the CCSD Teacher Coach cadre. During her career, Hairfield has been recognized as Teacher of the Year at Birney Middle School, Charleston County Teacher of the Year, and also as the South Carolina Social Studies Teacher of the Year. In 2012, she received the National Social Studies Supervisor Award from the National Council for the Social Studies. She was chosen this year to spend ten days in Turkey engaging in “discussions ranging from foreign policy to cultural differences and similarities, local politics, and the importance of building international relations.” The trip is sponsored by the SC Dialogue Foundation.

Hairfield is a member of the executive board for the South Carolina Council for the Social Studies and serves on the board of directors for the National Council for the Social Studies. She is a member of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Task Force on Teacher Recruitment and Retention. As part of her goal to improve instruction and learning in South Carolina schools, Hairfield works closely with higher education teacher preparation programs as an NCATE reviewer and also serves as a member of the Professional Education Board at The Citadel, as well as, serving on The Citadel’s Professional Development Board. The SC Bar Association’s Law Related Education Division appointed Ms. Hairfield as the Coordinator of the Center for Civic Education for the 6th Congressional District. Ms. Hairfield is active in numerous professional organizations, including being a member of Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society, the South Carolina Professors of Middle Level Education, the South Carolina Middle School Association, the South Carolina Geographic Alliance, and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. from the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee P.O. Box 11867, Room 227 Blatt Building Columbia, South Carolina, 29211 Contact: Dana Yow, (803) 734-6164

The SC Education Oversight Committee is an independent, non-partisan group made up of 18 educators, business persons, and elected leaders. Created in 1998, the committee is dedicated to reporting facts, measuring change, and promoting progress within South Carolina’s education system.