WESTCHASE — Francesa Doran is a big fan of bring-your-child-to-work days.
She participated in plenty of them.
As a child in New Jersey, her father, a former assistant superintendent, would bring Doran and her sister to visit the schools he oversaw.
Those experiences led both sisters to become teachers and might be one reason Doran is among five nominees for Hillsborough County Teacher of the Year.
“I was drawn to teaching as a kid, largely because of my father’s work as an assistant superintendent,” Doran told the Tampa Beacon. “Those experiences stayed with me. I loved seeing the camaraderie among the teachers, the energy in the classrooms and even the fun of their theme days. I could easily picture myself in that environment, and over time it became clear that education was exactly where I wanted to be.
“I come from a proud family of educators (and) I’m happiest and most at home with my third-grade team.”
Doran joins fellow nominees Melissa DeGusipe, a math teacher at Davidsen Middle; Tracy Moore, a math teacher at Ben Hill Middle; Christi Atkinson, a marine science teacher at Wharton High; and Rochelle Phillips, a kindergarten teacher at Kenly Elementary. The Teacher of the Year winner will be announced Jan. 22 at the Excellence in Education Awards at the Straz Center, presented by the Hillsborough Education Foundation.
Leto High history teacher Henry Bryson won the award in 2025.
Doran graduated from the University of Tampa with a teaching degree and from the University of South Florida with a communication sciences and disorders degree. She has spent 15 years teaching in Hillsborough County at public, Title I and achievement schools. For the past five years, she has taught third grade at Westchase Elementary, where she serves as third-grade lead teacher after brief stints in second and fourth grades. She also sits on the leadership committee, chairs the Sunshine Committee, completed the Master Trainer course to train at the district level and serves as a cooperating teacher for a Level 3 intern.
Like her fellow nominees, she was shocked to learn she was a finalist.
“(I was in) pure disbelief — I was speechless, incredibly honored and genuinely proud of how far I’ve come in my career,” she said. “There are so many deserving teachers not only at my school, but across the entire county, and I never imagined I would stand out enough to be considered.
“Being nominated felt both humbling and gratifying.”
Doran says she loves getting to be “fully myself in the classroom,” using her outgoing personality to bring “themes, fun, and unforgettable memories that help balance the hard work my students do each day.”
“My favorite thing about being a third-grade teacher is watching students make the leap from learning the basics to truly becoming independent thinkers,” she said. “Third grade is such a transformative — and rigorous — year, and I love being part of those ‘a-ha’ moments when something finally clicks and they realize, ‘I can do this.’”
Coming from a family of teachers, Doran knows what winning the award would mean.
“Winning Hillsborough County Teacher of the Year would be an incredible honor and personal milestone,” she said. “It would represent the hard work, dedication and heart I pour into my classroom every single day — for my students, for my team, and for my own two boys who inspire me to lead by example. It would mean being recognized among so many remarkable educators in our county and would reaffirm why I chose this profession in the first place: to connect with students, help them grow and create a classroom where they feel supported.”