Gina Francis
Social Studies Team
Welcome Wildcats!
I am excited to start my 26th year of teaching! I am originally from the village of Brockport, New York; a small community on the Erie Canal in Western New York. I moved to Lakeland to attend Florida Southern and loved the city so much I never left. I graduated with a degree in Criminology and Sociology. My first career was with the Florida Department of Children and Families working with foster families. Once I decided that I wanted to become a teacher, I took the required classes at Florida Southern and earned my teaching certification.
My teaching career started in 1999 here at McKeel Academy working with exceptional students. I've also taught math at South McKeel and Tomlin Middle School, and was the testing coordinator and Civics teacher at Tomlin as well. When the opportunity to teach Civics at McKeel Academy was presented in 2021, I jumped at the chance to come home to McKeel.
My husband also teaches at McKeel. He has been teaching here since the school opened in 1995. I have three wonderful grown stepdaughters, a grand-dog and 3 grand-cats. When not at school, I enjoy traveling, games and puzzles like Sudoku and Wordle, and watching crime shows. I LOVE animals and would love to see pictures of any of your furbabies!
