The signature initiative of the Fairfield County School District Education Foundation is to build the first South Carolina residential community for educators in the town of Winnsboro. Fairfield County, South Carolina is a small rural school district, with approximately 2,500 students from an attendance area that encompasses over 686 square miles. There are five elementary schools, one middle school, one high school and one technology center in the district. Our school district has 350 certified staff, with 75% of them living outside of Fairfield County.

All 74 school districts in the state of South Carolina are concerned with recruiting and retaining excellent teachers every school year. This situation is even more of a challenge for the rural counties and districts.

Fairfield County would like our educators to shop and support our local businesses and engage in our community outside of the school day. The vision for our educators is to offer them a newly built housing complex that brings them closer to the communities and students they serve.

In Summer of 2025, the Fairfield County School District Education Foundation completed phase 1 of the residential community for teachers with the completion of 25 homes (3 bedrooms/ 2 baths). It is the first district in South Carolina to successfully address the teacher housing issue in a rural district that ultimately effects recruitment and retention success.