Mr.Jones
Welcome to the Desert Hills web page! My name is Steve Jones and I'm the Principal of Desert
Hills Middle School. This is my 26th year at Desert Hills. During my first 18½ years, I taught just about every subject to all three grade levels! I have coached football, basketball, softball, and track. I have also supervised the school store and the yearbook staff. I served as a department head, team leader, and the Site Council Chairperson. I even ran an intramural program for a couple of years. I spent a year-and-a-half as an assistant principal here at Desert Hills before being named principal in 2001.
My father was a career Navy man, so I spent a good deal of my childhood traveling to places such as Guam, Hawaii, and Florida. Most of my childhood, however, was spent in Southern California. I graduated form Orange Glen High School in Escondido, California in 1971. I then enrolled at Brigham Young University where I majored in Elementary Education with a minor in Social Science. After graduation I landed a job in Kennewick at Westgate Elementary. I taught third and fourth grades at Westgate before transferring to Desert Hills. I received my Master's Degree from Eastern Washington University and completed the requirements for a principal's certificate at Washington State University.
My wife, Patty, and I met at BYU and have been married for 32 magnificent years! Patty is a
Team Read Coordinator at Hawthorne Elementary School and works part-time for American Greetings. Patty has lived in Kennewick practically all of her life. Her father, Dr. Raymond Kerr, was a prominent physician in Kennewick for many years. I have two daughters, Cherie and Laura, who attended Desert Hills and Kamiakin. They have both finished their degrees at Brigham Young University and are now living in the Washington, D.C. area. Cherie is working as an accountant and Laura is a homemaker and mother of my three beautiful granddaughters, Isabelle, Kate and Natalie. Her husband, Clark, is finishing his degree at Johns Hopkins University. My older son, Randy, has an AA degree from Columbia Basin College and is an outstanding artist. He will graduate from Western Washington University in June. He and his wife, Stephanie, plan to continue their educations at a graduate school where Randy plans to earn a Masters of Fine Arts Degree in Ceramics. My younger son, David, completed one year of college at BYU before going to Bulgaria for two years to serve a mission for our church. He is now back at BYU taking classes and working for the BYU Information Technology Department.
I love working at Desert Hills! The staff, parents, and kids are the best in the State; maybe even the Country! I hope I'm lucky enough to remain at Desert Hills for many years to come!