Continuing our Faculty Spotlight series, we spoke with 3rd Grade Teacher Iris Lacson to learn a bit more about who she is and the impact she has at The Franciscan School.

Now in her 6th year at TFS, Mrs. Lacson started in 2020 during the first school year that TFS had in-person learning, whilst most schools were remote due to COVID. “Being at TFS was one of the biggest blessings of the pandemic for me,” shares Mrs. Lacson.

Before joining the teaching staff at TFS, Mrs. Lacson taught in public schools for more than 15 years. She came to North Carolina as an international teacher from the Philippines in 2006. After graduating from De La Salle University (a Catholic university) in the Philippines, she did a few years of teaching in Catholic schools there before coming to North Carolina.

A fun fact is that Mrs. Lacson attended a school in the Philippines named after St. Francis of Assisi from elementary through high school, so she says that working now at TFS feels like a homecoming of sorts. “I am truly grateful every day to be coming to campus,” she shares.

Every morning, Mrs. Lacson welcomes all her students, greeting each student by name, often with a hug, so the students feel seen and loved. “That is where relationship building starts, and I utilize that as the anchor to teaching concepts and/or behaviors throughout the day,” says Mrs. Lacson.

Still being in a self-contained classroom, Mrs. Lacson teaches every subject throughout the day–ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Religion. She works to ensure each lesson is thoughtfully designed to meet standards while still engaging and appropriate for eight- and nine-year-olds.

When Mrs. Lacson thinks about each child in her classroom and the impression she leaves on them, she feels a deep sense of responsibility to be the best version of herself and serve as a role model. She shares, “When I remind them every day that we show love and kindness in our words and actions to everybody every day, it is also a reminder for myself to make sure I do the same.”

Mrs. Lacson considers it incredibly meaningful and special to spend her days with the children, teaching and loving them, alongside wonderful colleagues and supportive families. The strength of the classroom, the grade-level team, and the whole school comes from the relationships that are built and nourished every day.

This is seen in the tender care she approaches her students. “I get to teach the students that I am entrusted with not just academics, but also about our faith. It’s amazing that I don't just get to teach minds but also, hopefully, teach to their hearts and spirits.” Mrs. Lacson loves that at TFS we focus on the whole person, and that the teachers are doing their best to send students out into the real world who are not just prepared to be smart but also to be truly good Christians—true people of God.

At the beginning of each school year, Mrs. Lacson tells the students that they are building a classroom family, and that this is how they treat and relate to each other, which helps them build close relationships. “It always makes me emotional at the end of each school year that they leave the class to go to the next grade, but I always remind them that even as they move on, they will always be a part of the 602 Family—always in my heart,” shares Mrs. Lacson.

We are grateful for the care and compassion of teachers like Mrs. Lacson.