Top Photo: Galloway monkeying around in Peru

Florence Galloway teaches third grade at Falcon Hill Elementary. She taught fifth grade last year and she previously worked at a preschool.

“I’ve always loved working with kids,” says Galloway, who is originally from Payson. Her family moved to Mesa when she was in high school. She attended Mountain View High School.

Galloway says her favorite subject when she was a student was math because “once you get it, you get it and it really sticks with you. It’s my favorite subject to teach now—when kids get it they get really excited about it.” Students especially enjoy practicing division with candy like mini M&Ms, says Galloway.

“I’m sure that’s fun for them,” she says, and adds that it’s also fun for her “when they finally get what you’ve been trying to teach them.”

Teddy nominated his teacher. He writes, “Ms. Galloway is great because she teaches us in fun ways. She always cares about what’s going on in our lives and she is very creative.”

Galloway likes to use games and songs in the classroom. “I sing and dance a lot,” she explains, and says that it is a way to gain students’ attention and also gives them cues to remember information. “Overall, I just try to keep them engaged as much as I can,” says Galloway.

Something her students might not know is that “I used to collect rocks as a kid,” says Galloway. These days, she enjoys hiking, reading and playing pickleball in a weekly league. She also enjoys travel and visited Peru, Ecuador and Costa Rica.

Galloway is getting married in March. Students were concerned, but she assured them that she is not leaving, she is just changing her name and that they needn’t fret about calling her the wrong name.

Galloway notes that funny things happen every day in class, and that is part of the job that she loves. “Kids are really hilarious,” she says.

They also can be really sweet (even without division candy!). After noticing some wobbly stools in class, student Teddy asked about bringing in tools to fix them, according to Galloway. And he brought in his own tools and he did fix them!

What is most important to Galloway is giving her students a confidence boost. Galloway wants students to know, “They can, if they try.”