On Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, the brick auxiliary gym at Buchser Middle School was renamed in honor of Dean Giles, who is now 97 years old. BMS’s campus was the original site of Santa Clara High School, where Giles was a long-time teacher, coach and athletic director until his retirement in 1993. The gym’s new name is a dedication to Giles’ forty years at the school.

Giles made an impression on the lives of many students and athletes during his time at SCHS. Recently, 150 of them signed a petition to rename the gym after him. His daughter, Kathleen Giles Watson, explained his impact on the school.

“He made a big impression on a lot of students and athletes during a really wonderful time for the city and at the school,” Watson said. “Many of his students and players signed a petition and went to the school board to present this idea to the school board at a school board meeting back on May 23, 2024.”

Former SCHS student Jim Pruitt expressed how he and many others have returned to the school campus to dedicate the gym to Mr. Giles.

“Many of us went to Santa Clara High School when it was on this campus – now, Buchser Middle School. We all have deep feelings about coming back and dedicating this gym to Mr. Giles,” Pruitt said.

Watson hopes renaming the BMS gym will have an impact on current students and help them learn about her father and the values he brought to the community.

“He’s seen a lot of adversity in his life and has come through with resilience and just his sense of humor and progressive approach to teaching and coaching,” Watson said. “Hopefully, it will inspire them, that it doesn’t matter where you come from. If you have a dream and a passion, you can do great things.”

Giles strived to include Watson and other girls in sports. He allowed them to play full court with the boys in basketball and join the boy’s tennis team. Watson later went on to play varsity tennis at San Jose State University after graduating from SCHS.

“I was a student in the early ‘70s. Title IX had just passed. Coach Giles embraced this new era of opportunity,” Watson said. “I saw first-hand the lasting impact he had on his students, in small and big ways, from taking time to teach a freshman girl how to run the gym scoreboard and keep stats, to making a phone call to a college coach about one of his talented seniors.

Giles’s daughter was not the only person who shared her views on how she wanted students to see the new gym named after her father. Pruitt believes that current students can realize how important some teachers can be and how they are more than just strangers who make them work.

“I hope the students think about the importance of great teachers and coaches like Dean Giles,” Pruitt said.

Watson hopes many of the students will be able to learn from the honoring of her father – that it is more than just simply naming a gym after someone who used to be a teacher but a person who impacted the lives of students of that time.

“It may be the gym in his honor, but it’s not only about his legacy. It’s about celebrating the special place,” Watson said.