Former Marine hired to run Alta Vista classroom

After a gauntlet of interviews, former Marine and current Porterville Unified School District substitute teacher Arturo Franco is the newest Alta Vista Elementary School District teacher.

Franco will teach a combination second and third grade class at Alta Vista. He replaces former Alta Vista teacher and principal Ruthie Gale.

At a special board meeting Monday, scheduled specifically to present the candidate to the board, Franco’s hiring was unanimously approved.

We’ve been actively seeking a permanent replacement to fill the vacancy created by Ruthie Gale after she accepted employment elsewhere,” Superintendent Lora Haston said.

After a “rigerous process,” including a lesson demonstration, Franco was recommended as the top candidate by a staff interviewing committee out of approximately 70 candidates.

“I want to bring those kids to the next level ... and make them successful,” Franco said.

He said he enjoys teaching second and third graders because they are “still little kids, but they’re starting to be independent.”

He said his main goal is to ensure his students are prepared to enter subsequent grades.

“I don’t want them to feel like they’re lost in fourth grade,” he said.

Franco served in the U. S. Marine Corps from 1998 to 2001, attended Solano Community College and received his B.A. in Spanish from the University of California at San Diego.

He has a multiple subject teaching credential and has worked as a substitute teacher throughout PUSD for the past three years.

His wife is a fourth grade teacher at Santa Fe Elementary School.

While hiring recommendations are usually routinely approved, board member Ed Williams asked for a summary of information about the candidate before moving to the vote.

Haston gave a quick overview of Franco’s credentials.

“We had a very thorough application process,” Haston reassured Williams.

Board member Lupe Perez said she trusted the decision of the teachers who conducted candidate interviews to select Franco as a capable candidate.

Board member Lee Behrens concurred.

“If they feel confident that he is going to mesh well with them … I think we should probably take that for what it’s worth and trust their decision,” she said.

Franco was questioned by the board with regards to his motivation for teaching and experience.

He pointed to his uncle, who worked as a teacher and principal in the town in which he grew up in Mexico, as his role model.

“He was very strict, very tough ... but very loved by our community. Seeing that motivated me to become a teacher,” Franco said.

Williams asked Franco how his military training affected his teaching.

Franco said the discipline and preparedness instilled in him as a Marine were also a part of his teaching style.

Board member Hellena Miley Clerk asked Assistant Principal Cliff Cantrell if he thought Franco would be a “good fit” at Alta Vista.

Cantrell, one of two Alta Vista staff in attendance at the meeting, replied in the affirmative.

The board requested the superintendent provide background information for future hires at any subsequent meetings.

Alta Vista is also currently searching to fill an eighth grade teaching position.

-- Contact Sarah de Crescenzo at 784-5000, Ext. 1045, or sdecrescenzo@portervillerecorder.com.