When Joseph Thiriot taught English and drama at Las Vegas High School from 1940 to 1968, a student turning in an assignment late would have needed a very good excuse to avoid a failing grade.
Fortunately for the Clark County School District's facilities division, Thiriot was in a forgiving mood Wednesday at the annual "Celebration of Progress," where new schools for the 2005-06 academic year were unveiled.
The elementary school bearing Thiriot's name will open Sept. 19 -- three weeks after the rest of the district's campuses, including 10 other new schools.
"They had a good reason (for the late opening)," a smiling Thiriot, who turns 99 on Saturday, said. "I'd still give them an A."
The delayed opening marks the first time in at least a dozen years that a new district campus was not ready in time for the start of school. The reasons included weather-related delays and kinks that had to be ironed out of the design, said Paul Gerner, associate superintendent of facilities.
The school is the first of a new, two-story prototype developed for smaller urban sites.
"I am amazed that we have done as well as we have given how many schools we build," Gerner said. "I'll put us up against anybody else doing construction anywhere else in this country. It's the greatest track record in the world."
By the end of the district's current $3.5 billion, 10-year bond program in 2008, the district expects to have completed 100 new schools.
In addition to the new schools opening Aug. 29, the district has also finished work on seven new high school theaters. And Miley Achievement Center, a new campus serving students with severe emotional and behavioral issues, will open in December.
The district's School Names Committee collects suggestions from the community and forwards a list of finalists to the School Board for final approval. As per district regulations, elementary schools and middle schools are named after community leaders, pioneers and educators. High schools are named for geographic attributes of the campus rather than individuals.
An exception was made in 2001 for Liberty High School, after students petitioned the School Board to choose a name that memorialized the events of Sept. 11.
Television broadcasting pioneer and longtime civil rights advocate William H. "Bob" Bailey said he was thrilled to walk through his namesake middle school at 2500 N. Hollywood Blvd. and was looking forward to meeting the students.
"Not in my wildest imaginations did I ever think something like this could happen," Bailey said. "I've been at a loss for words."
As school namesakes and their families mingled with district staff, architects and builders at UNLV's Judy Bayley Theater, Thiriot was well aware of his status as the eldest of the honorees.
Thiriot, who has lived in his downtown Las Vegas home since 1942, said he used to "know everybody in town" and frequently ran into his former students. With Clark County's population approaching 1.7 million, it's become tougher to pick out the familiar faces, Thiriot said.
"It doesn't happen as much anymore," he said.
His son John, an accountant who accompanied his father to Wednesday's event, said it's not unusual for him to meet someone new and have them comment on his unusual last name.
"They'll say 'I had a teacher (named Thiriot), he's probably dead by now,' " John Thiriot said, laughing along with his father. "I tell them, 'I certainly hope not; at least he wasn't when I had lunch with him.' "
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