After fifteen years at South Salem High School and eight as Principal, Lara Tiffin will be undertaking a new role next school year: Coordinator of Athletics and Activities for the Salem-Keizer School District.
According to Salem-Keizer, the purpose of the role is to “Expand equitable opportunities for all students to have access to engaging activities and athletics as directed by supervisor.” and involves developing strategies to expand access to, and promote inclusivity and engagement in, activities, athletics and extracurricular programs in Salem-Keizer Public Schools
“I am extremely concerned about our community’s youth and especially their lack of connections and their mental health due to living through a global pandemic,” Tiffin explained. “This position provides me an opportunity to give back to the greater Salem community by identifying resources and collaborating with community partners to improve our students’ access to athletics and activities.”
Tiffin was an active member of the South Salem High School community from a young age. In 1986, she graduated from South as a valedictorian, 4-year letterwoman, 8-time district champion in swimming, ASB vice-president, and co-editor of South’s yearbook, Sword & Shield. She went on to earn a B.S. in mathematics at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, earning the titles of All-American swimmer and Academic All-American. After graduating she worked as an admissions counselor for the University of Puget Sound for two years before returning to Salem for a Master of Arts in Teaching at Willamette University.
Tiffin spent the following seven years teaching Math at South, where she became the head swim coach in her second year and activities director in her third.
“[Being South’s Activities Director] was a really fun time for me as I got to infuse some new ideas, such as the Halloween Trick-or-Treat Party which continues to this day,” she said.
In 2000, she became the first female athletic director in the district and in the league. In 2007, she was appointed principal of Judson Middle School where she served for seven years.
In 2014, Tiffin was appointed South Salem’s next principal, replacing David Phelps. During her tenure, South’s graduation rate rose by 10% and the dropout rate fell below .5%. With the help of community members, she created the Saxon Success Fund, a non-profit that raises money for Saxon graduates and capital improvements, like the new College and Career Center set to be built in 2023. She also oversaw an $84,000,000 bond project and the transition in and out of distance learning, which proved to be a difficult task: “Most recently, I think the biggest challenge was to lead an educational institution without getting the benefit of being around students.” she said. “Interacting with our students is what fills my cup. When we shifted to online learning, my job became more about protocols, procedures and paperwork, which was a difficult phase for me. In general, an increasingly difficult challenge is to try to meet the needs of all staff members, students and families.”
For Tiffin, who has invested so much into the South community and cultivated the admiration of students, faculty, and administrators alike, saying “goodbye” will not be easy. “I love our school and the people in it […] and hope to continue to be very involved in the South Salem High School community in numerous ways,” she said. “Meanwhile, I feel like South High is set up for a great year next year as the class of 2023 is full of strong leaders and our staff is full of excellent educators and amazing human beings.”
Administrators are still interviewing candidates for the position of South’s principal next fall.
