For seven teachers, the 2025–2026 school year will be their last at Skyline. While all report that they will miss the school and their students, the educators are excited for their next steps.
Donald Dalton teaches Earth Science, Astronomy, and Geology. This year, he’s retiring. “It’s not that I don’t like teaching. It’s just that I’m getting old,” said Dalton. “Physically, I just don’t have as much energy and time to do everything I would like to do the right way, and I would rather be a very good teacher than just a teacher.” Dalton plans to see his grandchildren more often and to check travel destinations, such as the Hawaiian islands, off his bucket list. While he’s looking forward to his retirement, he’ll miss the students. “I’ve taught at a couple other schools, but I really enjoy the students here. Most of them work hard, and they take it serious, and I appreciate that,” he said. “I hope they learned something in my class, and I hope they enjoyed it. And if you ever see me on the street, say ‘hi.’”
Jane Jones also teaches Earth Science, as well as AP Environmental Science and Medical Anatomy. Jones decided to retire because of Granite’s early retirement program, though she has also felt a shift in teaching since 2020. “Ever since Covid, I’ve had a hard time. I started forgetting students’ names and just the whole having to do everything during Covid. I kind of felt like I was done,” she explained. Since she is retiring at only 60 years old, she still plans to work. Jones said, “I’m looking to hopefully do some subbing here at Skyline and some other schools, maybe doing some tutoring, or I love to knit, so I might work at a yarn store.” After 36 years of teaching, she’s looking forward to her retirement, but she knows she’ll miss the students. She said, “I’m here in a hard part of life. You’re teenagers; you’re going to make mistakes, and we’re here to help you get through. […] So, I just want the students to know I love all of them, even if I had to get mad at you or you felt like I hated you. I really didn’t.”
Lisa Darling teaches all painting classes, AP 2D Studio Art, and Beginning Drawing. She is also retiring after 21 years at Skyline, citing that she wanted to leave things on a high note. She said, “About halfway through the school year, I was having such a great year. I really liked my kids, and probably the best year of teaching I’ve ever had, so I thought maybe this would be a good year to go.” She explained that she’s looking forward to spending more time with her husband and her hobbies, such as painting and mountain biking. In leaving, she will miss the “funny and interesting and kind” Skyline students. Darling stated, “I will always remember them and think of them with warmth and happiness that I was able to be a small part of their lives, and I hope they take away a love for art and find that they were able to discover or able to do something that they didn’t think they could.”
English Department Head Jill Thackeray is retiring this year. In her 26 years at Skyline, Thackeray has taught every grade level (except Freshmen) and has piloted the AP African American Studies course. To the future teachers of AP Literature and IB English HL 1, she says, “Be prepared to get a run for your money, ‘cause students that tend to take these rigorous courses have high expectations, and they don’t put up with lazy teaching. They keep you on your toes, but […] if you give them a certain amount of freedom, they’ll blow you away with their brilliance.” In her retirement, Thackeray plans to do more of the things that she loves that have been “put on the back burner” while she worked. “My response [to what I’ll do] is always the same: ‘What am I not gonna do?’” she said. From reading books and watching new movies to jewelry making and volunteering, she is excited for what awaits her.
Spanish teacher Elizabeth Johnson plans to pursue a certification in medical interpreting in her retirement. “That way I can just have flexible time to take assignments as they come and just […] a little slower pace, perhaps, in just a different environment, because medicine has always been my other interest in life,” she said. Johnson’s decision to retire stems from a sense of exhaustion. She explained, “I just don’t feel I am as quick as I used to be. I struggle with retention and […] to motivate others, and I’m exhausted. […] I don’t wanna leave a negative [sentiment], because that’s not the right feel. I just feel it’s time to go. […] It’s time for a new beginning for someone else.” To her students, she urges, “Lock in! Keep going! Should I say something in Spanish, cause they know this one: lock in, equivalent to pongo de las pilas. […] No matter how hard things get, give it your all.”
Jack Lambert is the Honors Physics, IB Physics, and AP Physics Mechanics teacher, who will be moving to Belgium in August to live with his long distance spouse. “Skyline is not a job that I am happy to give up. Skyline is a really incredible school, and if I find anything half as good as Skyline over there, I’m gonna be pretty lucky,” he said. He plans to continue working as an IB teacher as soon as he can. Lambert explained, “My first year is probably not going to be teaching. It’s probably gonna be some mix of private tutoring and some just like retail job to give me a little bit more time to get up to speed with the local languages.” To his students, Lambert says, “The first thing I’d do is I’d call them nerds, because they are, because we all are. I say that with love. […] Every single day I’ve been at Skyline I’ve been impressed by […] how passionate or hardworking or how clever they are in approaching some of the problems that understanding the universe poses. And whether or not I am here, I have no doubt that they’re gonna keep doing that. They are gonna continue to be incredible.”
Football coach and US History teacher Marcus Mailei is leaving to pursue college football coaching. While he’s only been coaching at Skyline for four years, he feels that his goals here have been completed. “My son is graduating, and the biggest reason I came over was to volunteer and help out while he was coming up through the program,” he said. Mailei has applied to college coaching positions, but in the meantime, he plans to assist the next football coach next year. As this chapter closes, he’s excited for what’s ahead. However, he said, “I’m gonna miss the students just as much as the football players, because even though the football players are rockstars on the football field, the students are rockstars in the classroom. And so, both are elite, and I’ll miss that portion of it after leaving and chasing my dreams and my aspirations in the coaching profession.”
