Alpine School District

At the Alpine School District meeting on Tuesday night, the board took a vote to decide the name of the new elementary school in Eagle Mountain. Set to open this fall, children in the city will attend Desert Sky Elementary School.

The Board of Education voted unanimously to add Desert Sky Elementary School, home of the Explorers, to the district’s fastest growing area. The other names under final consideration were Desert Peak Elementary School, home of the Wildcats, and Juniper Hills Elementary School, home of the Owls.

“This to me was a perfect representation of Eagle Mountain, specifically with it’s Dark Sky ordinance and the partnership between the city, (Facebook) and UVU to build an observatory in Walden Park. So to me, you guys nailed it on this one,” board member Julie King said. “I just want to thank you and the committee for all the work that went into this. I know that naming schools is really hard and complicated, and trying to find the right dynamic that encompasses the school, the culture and the community that you want to create is huge.”

After the vote, King invited the school’s principal, Aaron Stevenson, to say a few words about the mascot that was paired with this particular name. 

“I think that the name Desert Sky really is a kind of homage to the great openness of Eagle Eagle Mountain and the Dark Skies initiative, but I think it also represents the adventuring spirit, the excitement and the curiosity in that community. As we worked together on the naming committee, what surfaced to the top was the idea of an explorer,” Stevenson said. “I think the Desert Sky Explorers will be a great initiative to stay curious, to stay adventurous, to continue learning and growing and appreciating the wilderness around us and the benefits that our community can provide us.”

Alpine School District

Stevenson, who previously worked as the principal of Pony Express Elementary School, began his position as Desert Sky Elementary School’s principal on March 1. He was also a leading member of the school’s 10-person naming committee, which included two other principals, a district administrator and several parents.

Students, parents and members of the community were able to have a say in the naming process through a survey, which resulted in 229 unique name suggestions. The naming committee narrowed it down to three names and accompanying mascots that were suggested to the board at the previous district meeting.March 30, 2023.