Concord Teacher Gets Huge Surprise On ‘Ellen’

CONCORD, NC — A Concord elementary teacher who learned to speak English by watching ‘Ellen’ got a huge surprise when she appeared on the show Monday afternoon.

Emily Francis was 15-years-old when she was smuggled into the country from Guatemala. Now a permanent resident, she works as an ESL teacher at W.M. Irvin Elementary and says she still can’t believe she got to meet Ellen DeGeneres.

Francis says she learned English by watching The Ellen DeGeneres show and is now helping her students learn the language.

She and the faculty at her school started a program to give children in need backpacks filled with food for the weekend. After learning of Francis’s journey and the amazing work she is doing, Ellen reached out to help give her program a huge boost.

On the show, Ellen announced that Chobani would be donating $100,000 to help with Francis’s program.

You can watch ‘Ellen’ weekdays at 5pm on WCCB, Charlotte’s CW.