Vegas elementary’s namesake known as school district ‘troubleshooter’

Jack Dailey came to Las Vegas to help the city and its children deal with the growth of the formerly quiet little town. It's appropriate that the elementary school that bears his name at 2001 E. Reno Ave. now has a garden growing food.

Dailey graduated from college in 1948, married Sidney Ann Dailey, moved to Las vegas and got a job teaching at the newly opened Rancho High School. The young couple started a family, and Dailey began his pattern of going to new and problem schools to get things running smoothly.

"My father was a coach and teacher; my mother was an English teacher," said his daughter, Julie Dailey Neil. "Pretty quickly, my dad went into administration. He and my mother were chosen to open Valley High School. My dad was an assistant principal; my mom was the head of the English department. They used my dad as a troubleshooter in the school district."

Jack Dailey Elementary School is a Title 1 at-risk school. Like her father, Neil wants the school to run as best as it can and give the children a chance at a better life.

"It has no PTA," Neil said. "I like to do whatever I can to help it."

Recently, whatever included helping to turn a 90-foot-long and 40-foot-wide piece of the school grounds into a working garden. Part of the construction involved building a fence around the garden to protect it from incoming balls from the nearby ballfield. She contacted an old friend, real estate executive Kevin Buckley, who in turn contacted Jelindo Tiberti of Red Star Fence Co.

"I asked him what it would cost, and it ended up being about $4,800," Buckley said. "When Jelindo realized what it was for, Red Star donated $800 towards the fence."

The donation got the ball rolling. School teachers and others involved with Dailey Elementary sought and received a grant from the Rotary Club of Las Vegas West. The school was awarded the $10,000 grant over several other competing schools. Although Buckley claims not to recall if he contributed money toward the fence, Neil confirms that he did and that his modesty is typical of him.

"When I was a kid, I thought food came from the grocery store," Buckley said. "This garden is going to be great for the kids. Just imagine planting and watching food come out of the ground in the spring. If I'd seen that when I was a kid, it would have been life-changing."

Mike Desario, the Dailey Elementary student success mentor, said the gardening program has been met with open arms and big enthusiasm. Students can't wait to get back in the garden, and they have discovered firsthand about the benefits of the garden. It has included eggplant, turnips, carrots, green beans and other crops that change through the seasons and was recently expanded from two beds to four.

"It's a big deal because it gives the students a chance for some hands-on science activities," Desario said. "When the kids are outside, they're very excited to work in the garden. We're also using the money that has been received to add benches so that the students can enjoy the environment for their writing."

Jack Dailey never got to see the school or the garden, as he died in a flash flood in the resort community of Nelson's Landing in 1974.

"Three canyons empty into that area," Neil said. "There used to be little bungalows there. We had a trailer there. The flood killed nine people, and we lost the trailer, the car, the boat and most importantly, my father."

Early next year, the library at the school is set to be named for Sidney Dailey, who was heavily involved in the school until she died in 1998. Neil plans to be on hand for the event and any others she can be at her father's namesake school.

"I think my father would love that the library will be named for her," Neil said. "And I know she loved that the school is named for him."

— To reach East Valley View reporter F. Andrew Taylor email ataylor@viewnews.com or call 702-380-4532.