Tami King, assistant principal at Lomax Elementary School, will be the new principal at College Park Elementary School, replacing long-time principal Deborah Shearer, who recently announced her retirement.

Shearer, whose last day was June 30, has been the principal at College Park for the past 10 years. She served as a campus administrator in LPISD for 11 years, with her first year at Baker Junior High as assistant principal. She is also the author of several books.

"Mrs. Shearer has been an outstanding leader and was instrumental in the tremendous success of College Park Elementary School," said Lloyd W. Graham, LPISD superintendent of schools. "There's no doubt that our entire district will miss her, and we wish her all the best in her retirement."

Mrs. King was selected from a strong pool of internal candidates," Graham continued. "LPISD is fortunate to have this depth in its assistant principal corps. We believe that Mrs. King is an excellent fit for the College Park family and will do an outstanding job in her new role."

King joined LPISD in August 2008 as assistant principal of Rizzuto Elementary and moved to Lomax in October 2008. Since 2009, she has served as co-coordinator for the district's Saturday school for tardy management.

She came to La Porte from Pasadena ISD, where she was assistant principal at Golden Acres Elementary School from 2006 to 2008. She served as special education resource teacher, dyslexia and intervention specialist, and administrative intern from 1999 to 2006.

Prior to entering the field of education, King earned her bachelor's degree in business management from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. Serving as a HOSTS (Help One Student to Succeed) and Junior Achievement volunteer piqued her interest in education, and she returned to UH-CL to complete graduate hours in education. She entered the alternative certification program in Pasadena ISD and began her career in education there.