Assistant Professor of Education
Office Location
Center for Teaching and Learning
Biography
Paige Hairston has been teaching and supervising student teacher candidates in the Education Department since September, 2018. She is thrilled to be a fulltime faculty member at Warner Pacific University. She is passionate about helping and inspiring her students to be the best educators that they can be. Her teaching philosophy is teaching the whole child and being authentic in and out of the classroom. She firmly believes that you must teach with your heart and mind in unison in order to deliver fair and excellent teaching to students.
Paige has her Bachelors of Science in Arts’ and Letters and her Masters in Education (K-12 Curriculum and Instruction) MEd both from Portland State University. She participates in multiple professional development cohorts such as SEL(Social Emotional Learning) in teaching and Culturally Responsive Teaching. When Paige is not teaching or supervising student teacher candidates, you will find her going on outdoor runs with her ladies running group, golfing with her husband or her golf ladies league, practicing hot yoga or hot pilates, hiking, reading, or spending time with her family and husband. She also has a 7 year old black lab named Dougy who keeps her busy as well.
Education
Ph.D. in Educational Leadership at University of Oregon~ Projected Graduation June 2029.
M.A. in Education Curriculum and Instruction, MEd, Portland State University December 1995.
B.S. in Art’s & Letters, Bachelors of Science from Portland State University June 1993.
Areas of Teaching
Supervision of Student Teacher Candidates
ED-250-01: Introduction to Education
ED-334-01: The Teacher as Manager
ED-555A-O02: Urban Educ/Diverse Learner
ED-250A-OS3: Introduction to Education
ED-260-01: HumDev&LearningThry
ED-260-01: HumDev&LearningThry Impl P-12
ED-334-DS: The Teacher as Manager
ED-353A-T04: Cultural Diversity
ED-372-01: Literacy Methods in Classroom
ED-510A-O02: Teach-Diversity/Today’s Classroom
ED-515A-T21: Classroom Management
ED-551A-O02: Foundations of Education
ED-555A-O02: Urban Educ/Diverse Learner
ED-555A-T20: Urban Educ/Diverse Learner
ED-577A-O01: Educational Trends in MS & HS
CLS-110-01: Critical Thinking&StudySkills (Face-to-Face
CLS-111-01: Crit.Thinking:DesigningYrLife (Face-to-Face)
ED-661-01: Education Research
PSY-320-DS: Family Life Educ. Methodology
Areas of Expertise / Research Interests
I am interested and want to research about what is being done that is incomplete in culturally responsive teaching in K-12 schools and classrooms.
To me what is being done that is incomplete is the culturally responsive teaching that should be taking place in the classrooms and schools. I would say that some culturally responsive teaching is being attended to but there seems to be a lack of consistency in the classrooms and schools for that matter. For example, there may be a teacher in one class who has taken culturally responsive teacher training and is integrating that into their curriculum and lessons so much so that their students feel included, heard, and seen.
Teaching with a social, emotional, and cultural lens takes work on the facilitators part and personal growth for that matter…and they just need to care.
There is a problem of inconsistency amongst schools and classrooms with implementing culturally responsive teaching on a regular basis, below you will find that I go into a little more detail about this.
The problem is that there isn’t enough consistency amongst the schools and classrooms to implement culturally responsive teaching on a more regular basis. The need is to use a social, emotional, and cultural lens as educators in the classroom. In doing this practitioners can tap into the needs of their students and can teach the whole child. This is a natural progression…it’s just learning the skills to do this and receive proper culturally responsive teacher training. The goal here is to promote an equitable environment that benefits the student, teacher, and the classroom community as a whole. I can’t stress enough about being intentional with being culturally responsive in the classroom.
Below I address the relevant targeted group (students, teachers, parents, administrators, school boards, state departments, etc.) and how this change would benefit them.
The target group would be our urban schools and urban classrooms. What does an urban school look like? Who is an urban student? This is where the need for culturally responsive teaching is needed. Teaching with the intentional purpose to teach with a social, emotional, and cultural lens is crucial for the success of our students and the classroom community. When we are properly trained to be culturally responsive practitioners in the classroom we inherently promote a more equitable learning environment that benefits everyone.
The scholarly literature that supports my analysis:
As Markowitz & Bouffard (2020, p.5-6) stated, “We knew that we needed to intentionally put context (both the teacher and student) at the core of this work, and that we had to include specific examples of teacher practices that connect social and emotional learning with culturally responsive practices, not just put them next to each other.”
This quote says so much about culturally responsive teaching and being intentional about it. As humans, we learn from example and then we set the example of our learned behavior…but if we learn a new behavior…a new skill/s that help our students don’t we help ourselves as well? We are helping to create more equitable classrooms and the communities we serve.
Publications, Presentations, & Academic Accomplishments
I participated in the Faculty Lecture Series this year and talked about Urban Education in K-12 schools and what that looks like in the Urban schools, classrooms, and community. I have been actively helping to improve the curriculum for the education department class by class. I also participate in a cohort program called the “Center for Reaching & Teaching The Whole Child”, where I assist in planning the integration of (SEL) Social Emotional Learning into the curriculum for the education department. I also advise 3-5 students per semester for the Education department and am active in interviewing potential student teacher candidates for the Education department.
I will also be starting my Doctorate program for Educational Leadership at University of Oregon in July of 2026. I have been a Professor and Supervisor Mentor Teacher for Warner Pacific University since September 2018. If you were to ask me what I love most about Warner Pacific University, I would say my students. I take great pride in helping my students to be successful in and out of the classroom and I am honored to be able to help my students be the best that they can be.
Professional Affiliations
I am an active participant in a cohort for The Oregon Collaborative for SEL in Educator Preparation, or OCSEP, which strives to provide an opportunity for faculty to network about their efforts to model, embed and integrate social and emotional learning in their educator preparation programs.
The goal is to enhance teacher preparation programs by placing a strong emphasis on SEL as a fundamental element for prospective educators.
The VISION:
The vision is for Oregon teachers to enter today’s classrooms with the tools, knowledge, and mindset necessary to create an inclusive and equitable learning environment for all students that supports their holistic development. We believe that emphasizing the social, emotional, and cultural development of teachers entering the profession will contribute to establishing schools and classrooms where all children are able to grow, learn, and thrive.
I have also participated in The Center for Reaching & Teaching the Whole Child as part of a year long cohort member. CRTWC believes that educational change starts with educators. Our goals are to build educators’ capacity to provide a safe, brave and supportive learning environment; promote equity in teaching and learning; build resilience and sense of optimism; enable academic success; and inspire responsibility for the greater good.
CRTWC envisions a world in which educators are supported to continually develop their own social, emotional, and cultural competencies. Educators, in turn, consistently support the development of their students’ social, emotional, and cultural competencies so that children are resilient and able to reach their full potential.
We are a community of educators committed to teacher and student well-being. All of our actions, decisions, and goals are driven by the belief that every child deserves a quality education and, in order to achieve this, we must adopt a lens that integrates social, emotional and cultural teaching practices in all aspects of the curriculum and learning environment.
Boards and Committees I serve at Warner Pacific University:
Curriculum Committee
Faculty Professional Concerns Committee
Equity And Inclusion Council
-Paige Hairston, Faculty/Staff Cultural Affinity Group Representative
Community Engagement / Service
I am a longstanding member at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church and try to participate and volunteer at my church when I am able. My husband is also a long standing member as well.
I volunteer my time in improving our neighborhood by communicating with neighbors the importance of being safe and helping neighbors in their time of need. I volunteer at my local community Yoga studio in their community events and Northeast Portland Neighborhood events.
I also enjoy volunteering in events at Warner Pacific University.
Favorite quote
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou