Swaggy teacher Cattrice Toles inspires students to dream big

Known as “The Swaggy Teacher,” Cattrice Toles is known not only for her sense of style but also her unique way of educating students at Rafer Johnson Community School.

“I always find a way to connect with the students, right? To actually get engaged and get buy-in from them,” Toles said.

Born and raised in Bakersfield, the middle school teacher said she has been teaching at Rafer Johnson for six years. However, Toles said she did not always know she wanted to be a teacher.

“When I was younger, I was like ‘I want to be a music artist or an actress’ but I would always play ‘school’ with my friends and my cousins. We always played ‘school’ and I had to be the teacher,” Toles said.

The Ridgeview High alum went on to earn a psychology degree at Bakersfield College, thinking that she would become a school counselor. Toles then began substitute teaching and ended up working with children for over 10 years.

Whether she was coaching a sports team or assisting with programs, Toles said she was inspired to work with youth because of youth.

While she was substitute teaching, Toles said she remembered a principal who approached her and encouraged her to consider teaching because she was doing so well with the students. Toles went on to get her credentials from National University and began teaching at Emerson Middle School and Curran Middle School.

Edward Gonzalez met Toles when they taught together at Emerson and Curran, and the two have been friends for nine years. Gonzalez described Toles’ personality as “magnetic” because the students gravitate towards her.

Gonzalez said he remembers being impressed by the assemblies that students put on with Toles’ help on a shoestring budget. He said Toles always finds a way to amplify her students’ voices.

“Typically in schools, you’ll hear things like ‘Oh, when you turn 18, when you grow up, you can do this’ or ‘When you grow up, you can do that’ but Cattrice kind of sees that in kids when they’re young,” Gonzalez said. “They’re not waiting to grow up to be who they are.”

Toles said regardless of how long her students are with her during their transitions into traditional schools, her students build a community. She starts off all of her classes with a “family meeting” as an opportunity for her students to tell her what’s on their minds.

“You build a rapport by making connections. Those connections are built by, you know, seeing what their interests are and hearing them out. Give them a voice,” Toles said. “I give my students an active voice. We’re all discussing and we’re engaging and we’re just kind of connecting with one another.”

Gonzalez said Toles treats people with genuine respect, especially her students.

“She treats her kids (with) proper respect that they deserve and sees good things in them,” Gonzalez said.

Toles said seeing her students grow motivates her to continue teaching. From projects like building a zen garden or participating in yoga reading, Toles said her students get to exercise their textbook knowledge in situations that also help foster their social emotional growth and apply problem-solving skills.

When her students complete projects and learn from Toles, it embodies her classroom motto: "No excuses, just solutions."

Gonzalez said Toles has the magic touch when it comes to teaching. He said although she makes projects and teaching look effortless, he knows she has a really strong work ethic.

“I think it’s inspiring for other educators to see and for community members to see, like, there’s good people making good things happen,” Gonzalez said.

When Toles found out she was one of the Kern County Education Champions Teachers of the Year, she said she cried tears of joy. Gonzalez said he believes the award was long overdue.

“I knew it was coming at some point. She’s always doing ‘Teacher of the Year’-type things as long as I’ve known her. It’s long overdue and I was just excited for her,” Gonzalez said.

Toles said her accomplishment was a testament to everyone who believed in her and because someone saw something special in her.

“I remember when I was just subbing and my students would be like ‘You should be Teacher of the Year. You’re pretty good at this,’” Toles said. “What didn’t cross my mind is I’m just being me.”