Desert Skies Middle School has been an icon of the Sun Valley community since being completed in 2019. It is located at 7550 Donatello Drive in Sun Valley, Nevada, and is the Home of the Scorpions!
Principal Teresa Quintana wants everyone to know that the Desert Skies Middle School staff and administration strive to have academics and behavior under control. Their main goal is to keep kids safe, and she also takes the kids’ success very personally.
Ms. Quintana stated, “Their success is my success.” She also mentioned that “I know what these families are going through.” Just because she is a principal doesn’t mean that she has always had everything easy, and she can relate to a lot of the people in the valley. For example, she herself has experienced difficult times, including dealing with food insecurity.
She strives for her staff to contribute to Desert Skies Middle School having a good reputation all over the valley. She doesn’t just want a good reputation for Desert Skies, but also for Sun Valley in general. She stated that she wanted to retire from Desert Skies and that though it’s a very hard job, at the end of the day, it’s a very rewarding one too. She loves being able to see all the progress students have made throughout the years. She explained, “If our kids are good, then that will spill over into the valley.”
Her Monday-Friday routine is getting to school at 5:00 a.m. to open the building and walking all around campus to make sure it is ready for the kids. She also checks all the tardies from the day before and calls the parents or guardians of said children to make sure that they’re aware. Students start every day with morning announcements and the Pledge of Allegiance, and afterwards, she observes the teachers and talks to kids on campus, as well as parents. Finally, she makes sure everyone is feeling comfortable and where they need to be to be successful for the day. Ms. Quintana stated, “It’s a busy day, and I generally don’t go home until after four o’clock.”
At the end of her very stressful days, she decompresses by going home to her dogs and zoning out. Thank you, Ms. Quintana, for everything you do for Desert Skies and for the Sun Valley community!
