Longtime Indian River School principal retires; replacement returning from Cornish

Indian River School Principal Kevin Towle will retire at the end of the school year after 14 years with the Mascoma Valley Regional School District. (Photo courtesy Mascoma Valley Regional School District) Courtesy photograph—Courtesy photograph

Current Cornish Elementary School Principal Karin Denholm will serve as principal of Indian River School in West Canaan beginning during the 2025-2026 school year. (Photo courtesy Mascoma Valley School District) Courtesy photograph—Courtesy photograph

Staff report

Published: 04-28-2025 1:58 PM

WEST CANAAN — It’s both the end of an era and a happy homecoming at Indian River School.

Kevin Towle, who has served as the middle school’s principal for 14 years, will retire at the end of the school year.

Karin Denholm, currently principal at Cornish Elementary School, has been hired to fill Towle’s role. Indian River School, has about 290 students in grades 5 through 8, according to data from the New Hampshire Department of Education.

Towle is the longest-serving principal in school history, according to a news release from the Mascoma Valley Regional School District, which includes the towns of Canaan, Enfield, Dorchester, Grafton and Orange.

This will be Denholm’s second stint as an administrator in the Mascoma district: From 2017 to 2020, she served as assistant principal at Mascoma Valley Regional High School before departing to Cornish, according to the release.