Waiting is part of the naming game

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Thursday, Sept. 14, 2006 | 7:23 a.m.

They brought photographs of their loved ones, multipage resumes and glowing letters of recommendations from community leaders. Tears fell as two young cystic fibrosis patients spoke of the doctor who saved their lives, and laughter remembering a principal's crazy quest to build a rain forest in the desert.

So goes the inscrutable and often fickle process for choosing school namesakes.

In the end, after reviewing more than 200 applications and hearing nearly two hours of testimony trumpeting 20 individuals, the committee in charge of recommending names for Clark County School District campuses faced the unenviable task of narrowing the field to just four.

The committee's choices brought a decadelong wait for the Rev. Jesse Scott to an end.

It's been that long since Scott recalls someone first suggesting he deserved a school named after him. And on Monday night, the district's School Names Committee agreed. When Scott's name was announced, cheers rang out.

Scott, who watched the three-hour meeting from a front-row seat, appeared quietly satisfied.

"I teach patience," said Scott, a longtime community advocate and local leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "That's my job, my profession."

Veteran school administrator Carolyn Reedom's wait was significantly shorter, but her fans were no less vocal. She was also chosen by the committee Monday, six months after her nomination was submitted and just a year after she retired as an assistant region superintendent.

Elementary and middle school campuses are named after community leaders, educators and pioneers. High schools are named after geographic features, with some exceptions, such as Liberty High School, which commemorates the events of 9/11.

Scott is a familiar face to students, particularly at Kermit E. Booker Elementary School, where he serves as a mentor and regularly drops by to help with the school's reading program. Peggy Maize Johnson, executive director of Citizen Alert, told the committee Scott's work on behalf of students stretches back nearly 40 years.

"He was a successful advocate, challenging the (school) district to do what was supposed to be done, like to allow young black women to be cheerleaders at Clark High School," Johnson said. "Haven't we come a long way."

The naming committee - three School Board members, one parent, one district employee and one community representative - must weigh the individual's contributions to the community and the cause of education.

"I never expected to get chosen this fast, I'm overwhelmed," said a visibly elated Reedom after the committee's vote.

The committee will submit four names to the Clark County School Board for approval this fall: Scott, Reedom, Dr. Ruben Diaz and Thomas O'Roarke . All are expected to be honored with elementary campuses.

"If you don't get a school this time, don't give up," said Clark County School Board member Shirley Barber, who heads the committee. "It may not happen for a couple of years. I know that sounds like a long time from now, but it goes by fast."

As a Clark County principal for 25 years, Reedom established a marine lab at Estes McDoniel Elementary School and a 3,200-square-foot rain forest biosphere at Vanderburg Elementary School. Both schools were top achievers under her leadership.

Diaz, who died in 2004 after a brief illness, was a much-admired pediatrician who specialized in pulmonary disorders. He helped school nurses better understand respiratory problems plaguing children, especially the cystic fibrosis patients he treated.

O'Roarke, who died in 2003, was a retired elementary school principal, as well as a past bishop and stake president for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When his name was announced as the fourth individual recommended to be a school namesake, his widow, Shirley, hugged a friend and cried. "He would be so pleased," she said.