Who is Ms. Franco?

My name is Nora Franco and I am the daughter of Central American immigrants (my dad is from Guatemala and my mom is from El Salvador) who came to this country seeking the "American Dream". My parents made their dream come true through their hard work. I am grateful that I get to live out my dreams because of them.

I have been teaching at Sierra Vista High School for 14 years, and I love every minute of it! I was lucky enough to have been placed here for student teaching 15 years ago and got to work with Ms. Atchley (R.I.P.) who taught me what it means to be passionate and love my career. I love my students and am lucky I get to learn from them.

I attended Mt. SAC right after I graduated from Nogales High School (Go Nobles...lol!) and earned my Associates in Arts degree in Liberal Studies. I transferred to Cal Poly Pomona and earned my Bachelor of Arts degree in English. I finally attended University of Phoenix where I earned my teaching credential, a Master of Arts in Education degree in Secondary Teacher Education, and a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction.

I have been awarded Teacher of the Year (as voted by the freshmen class) three times: 2013-2014, 2014-2015, and 2015-2016. I was awarded Teacher of the Month by the LA Clippers organization (I'm a Lakers fan but still grateful for the award) on February of 2019. Also, I was awarded Teacher of the Year (as voted by my colleagues) for the 2020-2021 school year.

My favorite things to do outside of work are go to concerts (check out my ticket stub collection in my classroom) and sports events. I am a HUGE fan of the LA Galaxy, LA Dodgers, and LA Lakers. My students all claim that I am obsessed with The Rock and proof of that is when I got a shout out from the class valedictorian at graduation (he had me for English 9 Honors) and said to the crowd, "And lastly, I want to thank a teacher who probably loves The Rock more than her own students...Ms. Franco!" I realized at that point that it was obvious that I had an obsession. LOL!

I love my family, friends, and my 7 year old American Bulldog named Rufus - they make every day magical and beautiful. I am so thankful for them! Music is the soundtrack of life! I can't go a day without it!

My advice to my students is to never give up on yourself. Times may seem tough, but it is not going to be like that forever. Keep going, you got this!