Karin Holmes named permanent principal at Sierra House

Karin Holmes can now take the "Interim Principal" off her name tag and add "Principal."

During last week's Lake Tahoe Unified School District(LTUSD) Board of Trustees meeting, the new position was made official.

"We're fortunate to have Karin Holmes," said LTUSD Superintendent Dr. James Tarwater. "She is an outstanding educator."

In July 2017, Holmes was given the interim principal job at Sierra House Elementary after Ryan Galles left the district for a job in Vacaville.

Holmes, a South Lake Tahoe native, graduated from South Tahoe High in 1984. She went to UC Davis and landed her first job in LTUSD as a physical education teacher at Sierra House, then moved on to be 6th grade PE teacher and coach at South Tahoe Middle School (STMS) where she was also able to coach South Tahoe High School country running, cross county skiing and track for 12 years. She moved up to the assistant principal job at STMS before taking the Sierra House interim job last summer.

"I already felt very much a part of the Sierra House family," said and elated Holmes. "I'm glad the District office felt the same."

Tarwater said Holmes was given the permanent title because of her outstanding ability to work with the community and her creative ways to to implement physical education into the schools. She has led the LTUSD board-driven physical education committee.

"She has proved herself to go above and beyond," said Tarwater. "She is a perfect fit for that school and for the District."