San Angelo's San Jacinto Elementary Alumni Celebrate 50+ Years of Memories

Paula Elliott attended San Jacinto from 1953 to 1959, minus the time her mother moved the family and she had to attend Austin Elementary for a brief time. For a girl who didn’t come from money and had no television, San Jacinto provided her and her classmates a place not only where they could learn, but also a place where they could play, develop strong relationships that have lasted more than 50 years, and where teachers taught them they could be anything they set their minds to despite their lack of resources.

"We were thinking we were poor, but we didn’t have to stay poor,” Elliott recalled. “All my life, I thought I can become somebody because these teachers from first through sixth grade made me believe I was somebody."

Elliott did become somebody, as did her classmates.

“We became teachers, bankers, accountants, and people who went into the military,” she said. “We had people who were Civil Service, the Military of course, and county service. We had a county clerk, and there’s just so much more.”

Because of this positive experience, Elliott and 15 of her old classmates, all alumni of San Jacinto who came to San Angelo to enjoy their 50^th Class Reunion at Central High School this upcoming weekend, decided to give back to the teachers who shaped their lives, and to honor the teachers who continue to influence the students at their favorite elementary school.

On Friday afternoon at 1:30 p.m., that decision came to fruition, and the alumni provided snacks for teachers; dedicated a marble bench with the words, “San Jacinto Warriors: San Jacinto Alumni 1953 – 1959; Our teachers inspired our future;” and presented current teachers with gift cards from The Teacher Supply Store along with a box full of Scholastic books for their students during the Bench Dedication Ceremony.

They also reminisced about their good old days.

“I think it’s wonderful,” said Robbie Faught. “I’m so proud of whoever thought it up. It was a great idea. We’ve seen people we haven’t seen in ages, and we have bonds that we have had for 50 some odd years—close to 60 years in fact.”

Faught and her old-time friend Nancy Young, who have stayed in touch all these years and attend the same church, helped to pitch in their contributions for the dedication. In fact, all of the 15 alumni did so, which Kimberly Bowie, principal of San Jacinto appreciated.

“They donated every penny for this purpose to Jan Jacinto,” she said.

Bowie said when the group contacted her last spring to let her know what they wanted to do, she couldn’t say no.

“They have incredible memories of teachers here who impacted them, and so they contacted me and said we want to do a dedication,” Bowie explained. “We want to honor our teachers that we had, and current teachers—just about every teacher who has ever taught at San Jacinto and has made an impact on students, and then it just kind of grew from there."

During the ceremony, students and their teachers sat in the paseo, or center of the school, where the bench proudly sat underneath the shade of a large tree where the kids could see and enjoy it. Although the heat had the kids perspiring, they all sat and stood patiently to listen as Elliott explained the importance of the bench and the school they all love.

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She told the kids, “When we came here to San Jacinto, it was a pleasure to be here because it was always clean, always wonderful. We all had the same opportunities to become somebody because our teachers showed us we could become somebody. We had just wonderful teachers, and I’m going to tell you about them.”

The kids looked on with smiles as Elliott talked about her favorite teachers: Ms. Glass, Ms. Bozarth, Ms. Doyle, and Ms. Palmer.

“My very first teacher was Ms. Glass, and that was our first grade classroom. Mrs. Glass had an abundance of patience. I know you all love to have a teacher with an abundance of patience,” she told the kids. “Also, she was very kind and very forgiving, and she was very dedicated; and one thing I remember most about her is she looked exactly like Mrs. Santa clause.”

“She did?" the kids asked.

With that interest, Elliott continued on and told the kids about field trips, and all the things they did on rainy days, and most importantly, how the teachers inspired learning.

“Today, if you learn something in school, I want you to find a teacher, and I want you to thank that teacher,” Elliott told the kids after she shared her story. Many of the kids did so, and the teachers had smiles on their faces.

After her chat with the children, current San Jacinto teachers were called up to where the group of Alumni stood and received their gift certificates and boxes of books. As she made her way back from getting her gifts, Makayla Guevara, who teaches the second grade and has been with the elementary school for three years, showed her students the books inside the box. 

“It’s really exciting, Guevara said about the Dedication Ceremony and the message the Alumni had for the kids. “It’s great for the students to meet people who have gone here in the past, and to know that they can go somewhere. They can be someone.”

For Guevara, as an educator, inspiring her students is important and rewarding; she finds every day special (even though teaching can be hard work) because making that connection with a student is something the student will carry with them into the future.

“San Jacinto will always hold a special place in their heart wherever they go; however old they get, it’s special. We love them, and we want great things for them," the teacher said.

Analara Brown, who also teaches second grade, echoed Guevara’s statements and said she liked having the Alumni visit and share what they did with the students so they could see what they can achieve later on in life, and that they’re welcome to come back to the school once they’ve left.

“I just want my kids to know that I love them, and there’s more to life than just school; they’re important and they can achieve anything they want to” Brown said.

Overall, Bowie said she couldn’t have asked for a better message.

She said, “I feel like it gives [students] an understanding that they’re here at San Jacinto for a limited time, and they can really take time to invest in themselves as learners and just to listen to their teachers, and know that their teachers love them; and the teachers are going to do anything and everything to see them succeed, and that is really the history of San Jacinto."