Jessica Toombs

Personal Information

Jessica Toombs grew up on a small family farm in northwest Missouri, raising hogs and later longhorn cattle. She majored in agricultural education at University of Missouri then taught high school agriculture in Sikeston, Missouri for seven years, transforming a program that was on the edge of shutting down into a vibrant and active FFA program where students excelled in the classroom, Career Development Events, and Supervised Agricultural Experience activities. After earning her master’s degree in agricultural education online from Oklahoma State University while still teaching, she was offered a paid graduate teaching associate position at Oklahoma State and made the difficult decision to leave her teaching position and move to Stillwater, Oklahoma, to earn her PhD.

Toombs joined the College of Agriculture in 2021 as a professor of agricultural science and education.  

“I’m a teacher at heart and always will be, and I really wanted a program at a university that was very student focused. That’s what I found at Chico State,” she said.

Toombs is excited to dig into life at the University. She plans to help advise the Collegiate FFA, assist with the Chico State/Butte College FFA Field Day, and work with teachers in the California Agricultural Teacher’s Association. She also wants to continue work she began at Oklahoma State to develop mentoring programs for new student teachers.

“We have a great mentoring program here in California, which I really want to support by helping those new ag teachers as they begin to form their teacher identity and hopefully become effective teachers who are going to stay in the classroom for a long time,” Toombs said.

Outside of her professional work, Toombs is getting to know Chico and the surrounding area. She enjoys hiking, biking, and exploring various parks and recreational opportunities that Northern California has to offer.

Courses

• AGED 201: Introduction to Agricultural Education
• AGED 210: Directed Field Experience in Agricultural Education
• AGRI 181: FFA Field Day Coordination