Miss Canfield is a young and attractive, no-nonsense schoolteacher who is leading a second grade class for the first time at Grant Avenue Grammar School when the show debuts in 1957.

In the premiere episode, Miss Canfield sends a note home with Beaver, who believes he is going to be expelled.

Beaver is relieved when he discovers that the note contains only a request to have him play Smokey Bear in a school pageant.

In another episode, Beaver develops a crush on Miss Canfield, and, at the urging of his classmates, puts a spring snake in her desk to prove he's not a teacher's pet.

In her last appearance, Miss Canfield discovers a dog hidden inside Beaver's jacket.