Holmes accepts Assistant Principal position at Midtown
MADISON – Midtown Elementary School’s administrative staff has increased with Nathan Holmes’ accepting the position of Assistant Principal.
“I love Madison City! This is where my family and I call home,” Holmes said. The Holmes children’s school path includes Heritage Elementary School, Liberty Middle School and James Clemens High School.
“I spent the first 14 years of my teaching career commuting to a neighboring district,” Holmes said. He worked in Huntsville City Schools’ extended day and as instructional aide at Hampton Cove Middle School. During 2007-2020, he taught at elementary and middle-school levels in Decatur City Schools.
At Liberty, Holmes served as math teacher for grade 6, innovations teacher for grades 7-8, running coach and on committees for local-school and district-level leadership and curriculum. Last year at Mill Creek Elementary School, he worked in the Madison Aspiring Administrators Program or MAAP.
“Our leaders are some of the most thoughtful and talented individuals that you could ever hope to collectively find in any one place. From the Central Office personnel to building site leaders, our district truly aims to provide world-class educational experiences for each and every student in this district,” Holmes said.
MCS students have experiences that are truly special. Holmes considers himself blessed for his association.
“My goals support Principal Demeester’s overall vision for the school, which works in tandem with district goals, objectives and initiatives,” Holmes said. “Ultimately, I strive to be a community partner that cultivates relationships and creatively uses data-driven, researched-based strategies to improve overall student outcomes.”
Holmes believes a school can be a fun and exciting place that’s also educational. “The learning environment should be a place where children can safely explore, experiment, innovate and practice real-world problem-solving.”
“Additionally, I believe in cultivating relationships while providing thoughtful, standards-based curriculum that positively impacts student achievement,” Holmes said. “Ultimately, teaching children to be the best version of themselves is one of the most important tasks in our society. I strive every day to provide the highest quality educational experience for each student.”
In his approach for discipline, Holmes said, “I’m a dad first. Mistakes are opportunities to learn. Even though there may be consequences for our actions, the end goal is to create learning opportunities that curb negative future behaviors in exchange for more positive outcomes, while simultaneously cultivating positive decision-making strategies and character development.”
When his students succeed, Holmes always feels successful. “Success can be highly personal and measured individually. Therefore, I adhere to the growth mindset, where students grow from challenging curriculum which, in turn, positively impacts student achievement,” he said.
“However, I personally love it when any student learns to think critically, conceptually and (can) make connections to problem solve,” Holmes said.
“I’m married to a wonderful woman named Dana, who is an International Program Management Specialist with the federal government.” The Holmes’ children are Nathan, a prospective sophomore at James Clemens, and Nadia, a prospective eighth-grader at Liberty. The family owns Muddy, their pet dog.
Most people don’t know that Nathan Holmes was a collegiate, track-and-field athlete. “I like trail mix, reading fantasy novels and anime,” he said.
“At this stage in my life, my hobbies are my kids’ hobbies. Nathan plays football, wrestles and runs track at James Clemens. Nadia is on James Clemens Cross Country and Track teams,” Holmes said.
Holmes fills the vacancy for Quentin Turner, who now is principal at Rainbow Elementary School.
