About Us

Mission

To cultivate critical thinkers and compassionate leaders through personalized education that honors each student’s unique learning style, cultural background, and personal strengths. We combine evidence-based teaching methods with supportive relationships to help all students achieve their highest potential.

Our Story

Founded in 2025, Tara International School was established with a simple yet powerful vision: to provide the children of Sikkim with world-class education that blends modern approaches with the strength of local culture. Our foundation rests on the Montessori method—globally recognized for fostering independence, curiosity, and creativity—enriched by the timeless values of mindfulness and compassion.

Nestled in the serene surroundings of Gangtok, our school offers an environment where children learn not just from books, but from nature, community, and experience. We aspire to raise lifelong learners who are academically strong, emotionally balanced, and socially responsible.

Vision

Tara International School aspires to be recognised globally as a beacon of holistic educational innovation, where students seamlessly blend academic excellence with ethical leadership to positively transform their communities.

The goal of early childhood education should be to activate the child's own natural desire to learn.

- Dr. Maria Montessori

Founders with a Vision

Established by passionate women leaders from Sikkim who bring together global exposure, Montessori expertise, and community commitment.

Community-centered

A school that was born from and for the local community, with an emphasis on mindful living, compassion, and responsibility.

Progressive pedagogy

An evolving model that combines Montessori with research-driven practices and values-based learning.

Meet the founders

Guided by experience, driven by purpose

Ms. Karma Yangchen Doma

Principal

Karma is a well known educationist in her community, with a long and respected career in Sikkim’s leading public school, Tashi Namgyal Academy (TNA). After her schooling in St. Joseph’s Convent and TNA, Karma completed her English Honours from Delhi University’s coveted Lady Shriram College and her BEd from IGNOU. With a desire to work for her community in Sikkim, she joined TNA in 2005 as a Teacher for Middle and Senior school in their English Department.

Read more about Karma

A passionate educationist with a gift for working with children, Karma played many roles alongside her teacher position at TNA. She trained the debates and elocution teams, judged competitions, managed school plays and musicals and major school events like the Golden Jubilee. A Sikkim state level athlete during her school years, she even coached the Girls Basketball Team at TNA.

In 2019 she took a study leave to pursue a Diploma at the Sri Ratan Tata Institute in Montessori education from the ‘Association Montessori Internationale’. As part of the program she had the opportunity to intern at the famed Harmony Montessori in Mumbai.

She completed a certificate course in Montessori Sports Fundamentals from AMI.

Karma returned to TNA after her program and was appointed Coordinator for Pre-primary, where she transformed the section into a Montessori curriculum and developed six mix-aged learning environments with 180 children in a span of 18 months. A lifelong learner herself she has completed multiple courses and workshops such as Drug Abuse in Adolescence conducted by Sir Thutob Namgyal Memorial Hospital, NISHTHA 3.0 by Ministry of Education GoI, a Systematic Synthetic Phonics Program at Jolly Phonics, Handwriting Development & Remediation at BalMemaji EduServe, among others.

At Tara, Karma seeks to establish the Tara Way, a model that takes the best of the Montessori curriculum and combines it with the latest research in pedagogy and Buddhist philosophies on educating young minds.

Ms. Dolka Densapa

Director

Dolka as Director of Tara International manages the administration and corporate affairs of the school. A multi-talented and passionate entrepreneur, Dolka’s career began with internships at IL&FS, Mumbai and ITC Foods, Bangalore from where she joined the advertising sector working with leading global agencies Ogilvy & Mather and J Walter Thompson. She later joined VF Arvind Brands as marketing manager for Lee Jeans in India.