Doris French was educator who gave students food, clothing

Her reputation for assisting students of the Clark County School District inside and outside the classroom for nearly 50 years is what continues her legacy.

Named for Doris French, the elementary school at 3235 E. Hacienda Ave., recognizes its namesake for her leadership in providing students with educational tools needed to succeed.

French spent 46 years as an educator and devoted herself to the well being of her students, said Donna Andress, long-time Las Vegas resident and historian. Andress, who met French through her mother, who was also a teacher, recalled French as a “gentle and lovely tiny lady.”

“She not only taught her kids, but she taught each kid that she cared about them personally,” Andress said. “Those kids never forgot. They had someone who had faith in them. She made them feel like they could (accomplish) anything.”

French attended Nebraska State Teachers College, the University of Colorado Boulder, the National College of Education in Evanston, Ill., and the Eastern Washington College of Education in Cheney, Wash., where she received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in elementary administration.

After teaching at schools in Nebraska and Oregon, French worked at Wells Grammar School in Nevada as a kindergarten and music teacher for the newly added kindergarten program in September 1928.

A year later, French moved to Ely and organized the first kindergarten in the Ely City School District while serving part-time as a librarian.

Andress said that during the 1930s, Hoover Dam was being built, which lured families to Nevada to seek work.

“Families would move in hoping to find work but there weren’t enough jobs,” Andress said. “Men would wait for workers to get sick or die or quit. Many families lived under cardboard boxes or Mesquite trees.”

Due to the poor living conditions of many children, French began noticing that her students were arriving to school without breakfast or a lunch box. As a result, French began bringing a supply of peanut butter sandwiches, according to Andress.

In 1937, French ventured to Las Vegas to work as a kindergarten teacher at the Westside Grammar School. Two years later, French taught a half-day kindergarten at Fifth Street Grammar School, and in 1941, she led a half-day session in North Las Vegas.

Five years later, increased enrollment at Westside Grammar School required two kindergarten classes, and French chose to return at the school full time.

“She had a very good reputation, and people admired her,” Andress said. “She had a firm hand, as teachers did in those days. She had discipline, and her students respected her.”

Andress added that she started the first breakfast program, and when the PTA started organizing the first hot lunches for Las Vegas schools, French began gathering unused food from the central kitchen for children she knew needed it the most.

“Whatever her kids lacked, Doris French tried to provide, personally driving them to doctor appointments and pressing other teachers’ cars into service when her own was full,” Andress said.

French also began distributing warm clothes to her students during the winter months, assisted students’ families with income tax difficulties and tutored handicapped children.

French was appointed principal at Westside Grammar School in January 1943. During her 20-plus years as principal, the school expanded to accommodate eight grades.

“She cared about her students, as many teachers did in those days,” Andress said. “Teachers didn’t get paid for working extra hard, they just did it on their own. They wanted their students to be successful.”

On March 29, 1978, speaker and educator Harvey Dondero dedicated an elementary school as French Elementary School.

In his dedication address, Dondero summed up French in one word: humanitarian.

“Doris was a principal at the Westside School, which served the poorest and most underprivileged section of Las Vegas,” Dondero wrote. “Doris’ life was dedicated to a better education for the children and better living conditions for all. She truly is a humanitarian.”

At 94, French died in Yakima, Wash., in 1997.

Contact Sunrise/Whitney View reporter Sandy Lopez at slopez@viewnews.com or 702-383-4686.