On Thursday, Aug. 25, at 6 p.m., Tunnell Elementary School will dedicate its library to former sixth-grade teacher Jim Galvez. A plaque in his name will be unveiled, and former students and colleagues of Galvez will speak.
Galvez taught at Tunnell School for his entire 32-year career. He primarily taught sixth grade, though there were a few years when he taught fifth- and sixth-grade combination classes. Galvez was well known for keeping in touch with his former students, especially as they graduated from high school and college. Many Santa Maria residents fondly remember having Galvez as their teacher or their child’s teacher.
Galvez was born and raised in Santa Maria. He attended Fairlawn School and El Camino Junior High, and graduated from Santa Maria High School in 1963. He was a Vietnam veteran and Cal Poly graduate.
He retired from the Santa Maria-Bonita School District in 2005. The influential educator passed away on April 14, 2016.
Nicole Wiseman, Santa Maria-Bonita School District coordinator of curriculum—who had Galvez as her sixth-grade teacher—said, “Mr. Galvez was a caring, compassionate teacher who believed in every child who came through his classroom.
“In his class, we were a family. He was our biggest supporter and challenged us to be the best person we could be,” Wiseman said in a statement. “As we grew and moved into our adult lives, he was always there to celebrate with us, to support us in times of need, and to continue to inspire us.”
The dedication ceremony will be held immediately prior to the school’s annual Back To School night. Speakers will include Wiseman and retired Santa Maria-Bonita School District Superintendent Phil Alvarado.
The Tunnell students in Shannon Machut’s third-grade class raised $620 to pay for the dedication plaque by selling snacks at school. Machut was a past student of Galvez and was also a recipient of the Garrett Galvez Memorial Scholarship when she attended Santa Maria High School. The scholarship was created by Jim Galvez and his family in honor of their son who passed away. Machut said that raising money for the plaque was her way to “pay it forward” after receiving the Galvez scholarship in high school.
This article appears in Aug 25 – Sep 1, 2016.
