BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) \u2014 One Bakersfield elementary school teacher is raking in some extra credit!<\/p>\n
Fletcher Elementary\u2019s April Raguindin is one of California\u2019s Teachers of the Year. She was chosen to represent our state for the National Teacher of the Year competition.<\/p>\n
Watch \u2018After Sunrise\u2019 on KGET+; Click to learn how to get KGET+ on your smart TV devices <\/a><\/p>\n Raguindin has been an educator for two decades, but her love for learning grew when the roles were reversed.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was younger, I went to a lot of different elementary schools, and school was really my safe place,\u201d said Raguindin. \u201cLike, that was where I felt like I belonged.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd so going to that many schools, I really understood what it meant to walk into a classroom and have needs that may not be seen, but then the teacher being able to be like, \u2018Oh, you need glasses,\u2019 or, \u2018Here\u2019s a warm space to be,\u2019 or, \u2018Yeah, you can hang out in the library and read all lunch hour because you don\u2019t have any friends.\u2019 You know what I mean? Like, it\u2019s people in the school system are so important.\u201d<\/p>\n Raguindin teaches first grade at Fletcher Elementary in east Bakersfield, a part of Bakersfield City School District.<\/p>\n Afterschool offers a popular program in the \u201cEdible Schoolyard,\u201d which teaches students how to garden and make their own balanced plate.<\/p>\n Hands-on learning is her hands-down favorite style.<\/p>\n \u201cLearning shouldn\u2019t be quiet. Learning is not a worksheet. Learning is not sitting quietly and listening to the teacher,\u201d said Raguindin.<\/p>\n \u201cLearning is collaborative. Learning is talking and doing and experimenting and finding what they love, because if they can find what they love and their passion. Then sooner or later, they\u2019re gonna that will be their career.\u201d<\/p>\n Super Bowl 60: Seahawks take second Super Bowl title, beating Patriots 29-13 <\/a><\/p>\n One year ago, Raguindin\u2019s name was thrown in the hat for the California\u2019s Teacher of the Year competition.<\/p>\n To no surprise to her nominators, she was selected as one of the five winners.<\/p>\n Out of the five recipients, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond selected Bakersfield\u2019s own to represent California in the national title competition, joining the national cohort of 2026 exceptional educators.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been able to go to the state level and really see kind of how legislation works, and the pathways that you know bills are taking in education to get where they\u2019re going,\u201d said Raguindin. \u201cI get to meet so many cool teachers, and I get to talk to them about their best practices, and I get to share about Fletcher\u2019s best practices. So it\u2019s really a fun community to be a part of.\u201d<\/p>\n Thurmond said the teachers of the year \u201crepresent the very best of our public schools.\u201d And if you don\u2019t believe him, take it from her students.<\/p>\n \u201cMy favorite thing about her is she\u2019s just so kind, and she\u2019s just the best teacher,\u201d said Audrina.<\/p>\n \u201cShe teaches us stuff and she makes things fun, even when they\u2019re not. Every time!\u201d Tony said.<\/p>\n \u201cI love my teacher so much. I wish I could live with her,\u201d said Emily.<\/p>\n